by Jayne E. Sheafer

When choosing the institution

Where you will study for the Holy Ministry or for the vocation of deaconess there are certainly many outside factors to consider: location, cost of living, city size, etc. But what you come to realize is most important is the seminary itself. When weighing this important decision you will want to prayerfully consider the history, worship, faculty, and many more factors. When considering this we’re sure you will find that Concordia Theological Seminary is the place for you.

The seminary at Fort Wayne had its humble beginnings in 1844 when the Rev. F. C. Wyneken began training two missionaries in his parsonage. Two years later he began to work with the Rev. Wilhelm Loehe of Bavaria, Germany, who in addition to his desire to train men for the ministry was instrumental in beginning the deaconess program. From that beginning CTS focused on sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ in the Biblical and historical tradition of the Lutheran Church. Now, in 2005, CTS continues to prepare faithful pastors, missionaries, and deaconesses to serve God’s people around the world.

The programs and services available at CTS offer an understanding of the Christian faith which is Christ centered and Biblically based, confessionally Lutheran, and evangelically active. The graduate level theological education addresses meaningfully our non-Christian, pluralistic, and culturally diverse society and world.

CTS has been blessed with an extraordinary and diverse faculty. The appointment of each of our professors is a process which is taken quite seriously. Besides comprehensive academic credentials (80 percent of CTS faculty have earned the doctorate or terminal degree in their field),all our faculty members demonstrate the knowledge, attitude, and skills to prepare best CTS students for service in the church. To do this they must be fully committed to the teachings of The Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod (LCMS) and integrate their knowledge into the teaching of each course. In addition to academic expertise our faculty is well known for its ability and desire to work with one another, the staff, and our student body in an effort to support the community atmosphere of the seminary.

One would rightly expect worship to be an integral part of theological education. At CTS it is woven in the very fabric of day-to-day life with worship offered for times daily. The centrality of worship life at the seminary is explained very well on the CTS website. "Theological formation begins in the chapel and is centered there. Every weekday the seminary community gathers in the chapel to receive the gifts of life and salvation, pray, sing, and make music to the Lord. It is in the chapel that the seminarian is shaped as a child of God, and it is where future pastors learn to worship, lead the liturgy, sing, and preach." These services afford seminarians the opportunity to explore the wealth of liturgical and hymnic resources available in the three official worship books of the LCMS: The Lutheran Hymnal (1941), Lutheran Worship (1982), and Hymnal Supplement 98. The seminary also serves the church as a test site for materials being developed by the Commission on Worship for the new hymnal scheduled for publication in 2007.

Entering Master of Divinity students:

• Are required to have completed a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university and have attained a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.25 on a 4.0 scale. Since courses in Greek are not always available in American colleges and universities, some college graduates will enter the seminary without the necessary pre-seminary Greek requirement. The seminary offers Greek to these students. Because Greek is a pre-seminary requirement, credits in Greek do not apply to the M.Div. graduation requirements.
• Applicants must be a member of a LCMS congregation for a minimum of two years prior to admission. If married, their wife must also be a member of a LCMS congregation.
• Because of the doctrinal position of the LCMS, all candidates for the Master of Divinity degree must be male.

• Are required to have completed a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution or the equivalent with a minimum GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale.
• Applicants must be a member of a congregation in the LCMS for a minimum of two years prior to admission.

Comprehensive Curriculum: From the Church, for the Church-In Mission As stated in the History section of this article, CTS was specifically founded for the training of pastors and missionaries. To do that the curriculum used must not only academically prepare future pastors, but also form them for Christ-like service to the church. "Theological education is fundamentally the forming of the mind according to the life of Christian in the context of the Church in Mission. This is what From the Church, for the Church"In Mission provides,- offers Dr. William C. Weinrich, CTS Academic Dean. Additionally, the curriculum offers a more comprehensive look at the Old Testament, Major Prophets, the Psalms, all the Gospels, and the Pauline Epistles. "The heart of the CTS curriculum is the Scriptures. Students will hear Jesus, see Jesus, and be formed by Jesus for the mission He has given to the church," explained Dr. Charles A. Gieschen, Chairman, CTS Exegetical Theology Department.

When continuing your education factoring in needs for tuition and learning about financial aid are of utmost importance. The tuition at CTS is quite reasonable compared to other institutions of its stature. For the 2005-06 academic year tuition is $335/credit hour. In an effort to help both single and married students figure out just what that will mean for them, the Financial Aid Department provides a Cost of Attendance (COA) budget at www.ctsfw.edu, click on Admission, click on Financial Aid. There you will see sample budgets which include tuition costs, books, supplies, housing costs, etc. This is a great tool for anyone planning on attending CTS. On the same webpage you will also find everything you need to explore tuition assistance possibilities.

Why CTS? In these short paragraphs we’ve presented some reasons from the academic side that better explain why you may want prayerfully to consider attending CTS. But, of course, there is more to the seminary. There are the wonderful people who make up the seminary community. (Be sure to read Mary’s Corner in this issue.) There is also the beautiful campus with its extraordinary architecture that make working and learning in this environment a true joy. If you would like the opportunity to learn about these things firsthand, we encourage you to fill out the Prayerfully Consider Campus Visit Application in the center of this newsletter and plan to join us September 22-24, 2005.

You may also receive more information online at www.ctsfw.edu, click on Admission, click on Prayerfully Consider, or call the Admission Office at 1-800-481-2155.

Jayne Sheafer is a Public Relations Officer at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

From Volume 8, Issue 2, Summer 2005