Theme: Stewarding Gifts

How do we hope our school will continue?

Not so long ago, seminaries were “wholly owned” by the church. In order to prepare ministers, they received secure finances, sound facilities, and guaranteed students. Such assurances, however, have eroded. Our school gladly remains in close partnership with the church, but the burden for resources and recruitment is now decidedly on us. For the sake of our church, then, we must take that lead to expand our student base beyond conventional sources to discover new leaders for tomorrow. We must also develop new resources to support those students and the programs they will need, not just with creative forms of revenue but also through greater efficiencies that expand our capacity. Amidst it all, we need to reach out and tell our story effectively, so the wider church learns of our distinctive value. For such a time as this, we will identify more kinds of gifts and steward them wisely into the future.

“LSTC cannot afford to be all things to all people, nor would such an approach be faithful. Our institutional future lies in setting priorities that reflect the needs of our society and building corresponding partnerships.”

– Marvin Wickware Jr., Assistant Professor of Church and Society and Ethics

2022 Priority Initiatives of Stewarding Gifts Theme

Software integration
Fully integrate the institution’s software systems and programs to ensure seamless efficiencies in reporting and decision-making processes

Coordinated evaluation
Implement an institutional data management plan for streamlining information collection and use to successfully support seminary initiatives

TEEM program
Develop, enroll, and support clusters of students through the TEEM program, and support enrollment and retention of these candidates through mentoring initiatives with our alumni

Alumni involvement
Design and implement multiyear strategy to enlist alumni board to increase unrestricted donations from alumni; recruit alumni as volunteers for communicating our story to potential donors; connect alumni with students in mentorship roles

Review the full strategic plan or 2021 strategic plan priorities at any time.