LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1975, Page 296

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296 HIGHER EDUCATION

as a life of service to the Lord and His church, indicating that
they have been chosen with great care.

When these young people have indicated a desire to begin
such preparation, the congregation “lays hands’ on them,
thereby indicating that it is Christ through His church who is
calling them to begin preparing for the professional ministry.
On the recommendation of the pastor and the elders the con-
gregation approves any necessary financial support for these
young people and encourages preparation to begin already at
the high school age.

B. Financial Support of the Synodical Educational Objective

Synodical financing of its educational programs has indeed
fallen short of needs in recent years. In past years The Lutheran
Church — Missouri Synod was able to provide nearly free educa-
tion for its future professional ministry. This gradually changed
so that by 1953 nonsynodical finances were required to pay for
costs not directly related to the academic program. In recent
years educational costs have risen much faster than contribu-
tions made available to the Synod. As a consequence tuitions
have had to be increased dramatically to assure the financial
stability of the various schools.

Changes in enrollment trends, differences in student com-
mitments to professional ministry at similar ages as in previous
times, and educational innovations require that the synodical
educational objective of training for the professional ministry
be emphasized to our congregations. These changes also dictate
that the synodical financial resources for education be specifi-
cally directed to the synodical objective.

In order to assure that contributions of congregational mem-
bers support the purpose for which they are given and in order
to fully recognize the necessity for colleges to serve the needs
of students as well as the Synod, it is necessary that subsidy
dollars be provided to the college in behalf of students who
desire to enter professional church ministry.

The present method of synodical subsidy distribution is no
longer equitably supporting students for the professional
ministry. The Board for Higher Education has been unable to
respond to the financial needs of the schools with additional
dollars or by way of a redistribution of support based on the
service performed for the Synod. Changes have been occurring
rapidly while subsidy dollars have remained almost constant.
The subsidy distribution appropriate a few years ago is now
drastically out of proportion.

There is no perfect solution to distributing the synodical
educational dollar, yet it is clear to the Task Force that the
synodical objective of “training” professional workers must be
the criterion for the distribution of congregational contributions.
To meet this need, it is felt that financial support must be
provided to the school for the direct benefit of the individual
student committed to the professional ministry. This can be ac-
complished by a method of tuition support in the form of synodi-
cal “scholarship aid.’ The institutional needs must be recog-
nized but must be secondary to the primary objective of provid-
ing assistance to the students interested in the professional
ministry.

The Task Force Recommends

Bl. That synodical resources available for educational objec-
tives be allocated for tuition support in the form of scholarships
for church-work students who can become qualified for Board
of Assignments placement in the Synod:

B2. That such tuition support be directed so that church-
work students, as defined above, are encouraged to complete
their studies at the college(s) designated by the Synod:

B3. That tuition support be allocated to present synodical
schools for credit to the accounts of church-work students so
long as the church-work programs offered by these schools meet
the requirements established by the Board for Higher Educa-
tion:

B4. That tuition support be allocated for such students
according to a formula developed by the Board for Higher
Education based on the following principles:

a) an increasing amount of tuition support shall be allocated
as students progress through the class levels of each
church-work program:

b) priority shall be given for support of students preparing
for the pastoral ministry:

c) a significant factor in determining the allocation of tuition
support shall be the ability of each school to meet the
needs of the Synod as reflected by the percentage of
graduates who enroll in the next level of study (e. g., pre-
seminary to seminary) and the percentage of graduates
placed in full-time professional service of the Synod:

a minimum of 75% of the funds available for the support
of educational objectives shall be allotted as tuition sup-
port with the balance made available for special ministries
and for general institutional support to meet special and
contingency needs as determined by the Board for Higher
Education: and

all of the above principles shall be phased into operation
immediately with full implementation by Sept. 1, 1978.

d

e

A number of other support methods are being used by
governmental and private organizations to attain desired
objectives. The Task Force is aware that the tuition-support
or scholarship-aid method suggested may be subject to some
abuse by individuals or schools. However, it is expected that
the suggested formula will provide adequate safeguards and
incentives for students to be properly counseled to pursue
appropriate career objectives, so that the success rate of trans-
fer for continuing church-work programs or of professional
placement will permit interested students to attend school with
significant synodical assistance. In the case of students who
are unable to make a church-work commitment, aid needed by
such students will have to come from nonsynodical sources.

C. Necessity for a Synodical Academy

Studies on the recruitment of young persons for full-time
ministry in the church indicate that this vocational decision
is made by a significant number of people at an early age.
Preparation for their vocational choice could and probably
should begin during the high school years. The years spent in
high school play a significant role in reinforcing such a decision
or in altering that decision. The opportunity to attend a synodi-
cal high school, which through its curriculum and instructors
encourages and reinforces the commitment to enter the full-time
ministry of the church, is extremely important. Our Lutheran
community high schools also have a responsibility to seek every
possible way to identify students who have potential as future
full-time church workers and to encourage them to begin early
preparation for this service.

At the present time the Synod is subsidizing the operation
of four high school departments. All of these are operated in
conjunction with a junior college program. With the exception
of the high school enrollment at Concordia, Mo., the vast ma-
Jority of these high school students have not made acommitment
to study for professional church work. In the case of Portland,
the high school largely serves as a community high school, de-
sires to do so, and is encouraged to effect such a transfer in the
near future. The program at Selma, while having largely a
general education enrollment with a sizable number of students
of non-Lutheran backgrounds, has served and continues to
serve as the primary recruitment source for blacks in The
Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod. The enrollment at Con-
cordia High School, Edmonton, is almost totally general educa-
tion with a majority of non-Lutheran students from the local
area. Recommendations for Edmonton and Selma appear else-
where in this report.

The geographic distribution of synodical congregations is
such that a large segment of the Synod is far removed from the
communities where Lutheran high school programs are being
offered. In order to adequately serve the congregations of the
Synod, at least one facility is necessary to offer young people
the opportunity to begin preparing for full-time ministry at high
school age. Such a facility, in order to attract committed stu-
dents, must offer a quality academic program where ministry
interests can be nurtured. Available data indicate that congre-
gational and synodical commitment to such a worthy objective
could secure sufficient students to justify the costs involved.

The Task Force Recommends:

Cl. That the Synod retain one academy thigh school) in
which young people may receive education directed toward
preparation for full-time ministry in the church:

C2. That an academy with high standards of academic excel-
lence in a curriculum directed primarily toward full-time