# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1956_S143 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) SEMINARIES AND COLLEGES 143 Pastor Supply from Seminaries Table Seven estimates the pastor supply that can be expected from Synod’s two seminaries at St. Louis and at Springfield. The St. Louis Seminary obtains its enrollment from nine preparatory colleges that offer four years of high school and two years of col- lege. However, the number of students who enter at various high school levels, and especially at the college level, is increasing greatly. In 1957 the nine preparatory colleges will send their graduates to the Senior College at Fort Wayne, currently under construction, where they will be trained for two years, after which they will enter the St. Louis Seminary for a four-year term, including a year of supply work as vicars. Table 7— Estimate of Pastor Supply from Seminaries, 1956—~1965 Jr. College Estimated Estimated Year Sophomore Sr. College Year St. Louis Springfield Total Class Jr. Class Grads. Grads. Grads. 202 1956 150 40 190 245 1957 155 40 195 271 1958 151 40 191 247 1959 159 40 199 258 1960 168 40 208 286 1961 176 40 216 — 1962 No class 40 40 329 347 1964 202 40 242 240 1965 210 40 250 Totals: 1,564 400 Total estimated pastor supply from seminaries: 1,964 Year 312 1957 1963 193 40 233 1958 1959 The estimated pastor supply from both seminaries, 1956—1965, totals 1,964. This estimate was obtained in part by carrying the trend in graduates forward from 1948 to 1955, rather than from 1946 to 1954, in order to get away as far as possible from the accelera- tion program at Synod’s seminaries in 1944—1945 and to permit a more optimistic forecast. The rate of increase in the number of St. Louis graduates is a strong rate, stronger than that of sophomore college enroll- ment or of first-year seminary enrollment. This is significant, for it indicates a continuing reduction of student dropout at the sem- inary level at the same time that it indicates an alarming increase in student dropout between sophomore college and first-year seminary enrollments. ; A total of 1,564 St. Louis graduates in the next ten years is obtained on the assumption that the Senior College will enroll 220 students in 1957, 230 students in 1958, and 240 students in 1959.