LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1975, Page 272

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272 HIGHER EDUCATION

the Synod continue to express the desire to use these schools.

For these reasons the Board for Higher Education agrees
with the position consistently held by the Synod through its
action in recent years, that beyond the special cases. one or
more strong high schools should be maintained that can be
fostered as outstanding academic institutions for the early re-
cruitment and training of ministers.

Transfers

The number of transfers who enter synodical colleges for
the first time at the college junior year has increased slightly
in recent years. However, their total still accounts for only about
three percent of the college junior class. This is an area that
should receive more attention for recruitment in the future. The
percentage of students nationwide who begin their college work
at local community junior colleges has continued to rise sharply.
Although it is true that less than 25 percent of those who enroll
at a community college ever transfer to an upper level school.
the potential exists for synodical colleges to receive more such
transfers than at present, especially in the teacher education
program. Generally very little of the recruitment effort in the
Synod has been directed at those enrolled in junior colleges.

Seminary Level

The number of students who enter the synodical system
for the first time at the seminary level has remained constant
during the past 6 years. Prior to this past fall, the number of such
students at St. Louis had increased slightly but had dropped
somewhat at Springfield. The public and private colleges and
universities of the nation could become a much better source
for prospective seminary students. Closer relationships between
campus pastors and the seminaries need to be developed. All
members of the Synod should be doing more recruiting for the
pastoral ministry from among college and university students.

However, appropriately individualized programs need to
be structured to meet the needs of matriculating students from
diverse academic backgrounds. The experiences in the synod-
ical college pastoral training program still provide the best
preparation for entrance to the seminaries. More efforts are
needed to provide as many similar experiences as possible for
those who enter for the first time at the seminary level.

The number of synodical teacher college graduates entering
the seminary has increased slightly. This. of course. does help
the supply of pastors but not the total supply of workers.

General Education Students

The number of young people who enroll as general education
students in a synodical school and later change to a ministerial
program has been increasing but still accounts for only about
four percent of the church work graduates. This number, how-
ever, can likely be increased if more efforts are made to recruit
Lutheran students. rather than non-Lutherans, into the general
education program and if the on-campus recruitment efforts
are increased.

Withdrawal Rate

Increasing the supply of workers through any significant
change in the withdrawal or drop-out rate among students is
not a likely option. The number of withdrawals does vary from
year to year according to factors such as the social and political
climate but has remained surprisingly steady for the past 20
years. School officials who have done student-by-student studies
of withdrawals generally conclude that only a small number
of drop-outs probably could or should have remained in the
program.

College Freshmen

Finally then, the biggest immediate hope for increasing the
future supply of workers is in turning around the downward
trend in the number who enter the various ministerial pro-
grams at the college freshman level. The enrollment at that level
continues to be the most immediate, sensitive, and accurate way
to predict the future number of eligible workers.

As can be seen in Figure 1, the freshman pastoral and male
teacher enrollments suffered another sharp drop in the first
year of the past biennium and a slight drop in the second year.
The female teacher enrollment dropped sharply both years. In
order to understand the implications of these figures for the
future supply of workers, it should be remembered that the
pastoral students who were placed this spring and summer

were those who entered as college freshmen in 1967, and the
teachers placed were those who entered in 1971.

FIGURE 1

Enrollments in College Freshman Pastoral and Teacher
Education Programs at Synodical Colleges

a

Cs es ee
AN Oe ee ee ee
Lp [tees

100

Fall of: 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974

Recruitment Plans

The facts remain then that the major purpose of our schools
is the preparation of ministers and that more students must be
enrolled in the ministerial program if we are to have an ade-
quate supply of workers in the future. Success or failure in
recruitment is never dependent simply on the amount of pro-
gramed effort exerted by the organized church body, never-
theless added attention to recruitment responsibilities remains
essential for the individual Christian. for congregations, for
Districts. and for the Synod.

President J. A. O. Preus in his ‘A Report to the Church,”
distributed to all synodical officials. pastors, and congregation
chairmen in January 1975. devoted a very significant part of
his statements to recruitment needs. He ended that section of
the report by stating: ‘Therefore I am requesting the Board
for Higher Education to give me information for presentation
to the Anaheim convention concerning their plans and activities
of recruitment of church workers. I am also asking the District
Presidents to give me a report for presentation to the convention
of the efforts of the recruitment and scholarship committees in
their respective districts. And I am asking the presidents of our
colleges to give me a report relative to their plans, activities,
and achievements in the area of recruitment of students which
can also be presented to the Anaheim convention.” Certainly
such a direct attack on the recruitment needs by so many in
the Synod should have a significant effect.

On the basis of its studies and findings concerning needs
and programs in recruitment, the Board for Higher Education
plans to give special emphasis during the years ahead to five
aspects of its work with those responsible for recruitment at
the colleges and in the Districts of the church. The five areas
include: local congregations, District recruitment committees,
community Lutheran high schools, community junior colleges,
and private and public 4-year colleges and universities. Under-
lying all of the suggestions relating to these five areas is the
continuing belief that a renewed emphasis must be placed on
vocational concerns and teachings by the church.

Individual Christians and Local Congregations

Young people are looking for guidance as they face the
task of selecting a career from among the exploding number
of possibilities open to them. Many college students say they did
not consider the ministry as a possible vocation because they
were never confronted by anyone who suggested it to them as
an option. Individual Christians, parents, pastors, teachers, and
peers in the local congregation are often in the best position to
“confront” our young people with the opportunities in ministry.
Church work students have consistently identified pastors,