Last summer a good friend called with some great news. His adult son had just told him the evening before that he wanted to follow Christ. My friend was ecstatic. Far more important than his son’s excellent job, athletic ability, or status in the community, was the simple fact that his son was walking in the truth.

We experience a similar joy as a Lutheran Brethren Seminary (LBS) faculty when we hear that our graduates are walking in the truth of God’s Word. Just last week one pastor described for me how he helps seekers discover peace with God. He shows them from God’s law that they are sinful, lost, and facing eternal judgment. When they humbly agree without excuses that this is true, he then tells them what Christ has done in bearing their sin to the cross and suffering God’s judgment in their place. He directs them to the promise of God’s Word that God forgives their sin fully for Jesus’ sake. When he sees that they have by faith believed the gospel, he leads them in a prayer of confession and repentance.

As this pastor told me about his work with seeking sinners, I was captivated by his words. I was drawn to Christ again. We want all of our graduates to walk in this same truth as they serve our Lord. This fits so well with one of our core values as the Church of the Lutheran Brethren (CLB): “We long for people to trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, to come to know him in a personal way.”

To keep these core values before us, we have included the following strategic direction in the seminary plan*: “Serve the congregations of the CLB in a manner consistent with the CLB Statement of Faith and Core Values.”  “As the Statement of Faith declares our core beliefs, our Statement of Core Values explains how we desire to live out our faith.”  To discover how well we are fulfilling this major direction, we want to do the following.

1. Communicate the vision and ministry of LBS to congregational leaders within 100% of the CLB congregations.
2. Complete an annual survey of congregational leaders in preparation for the annual strategic plan update.
3. Survey the congregations served by recent LBS graduates to discover the effectiveness and value of the ministry preparation provided by LBS.
4. Create a structured environment(s) for theological discussions with congregational leaders.
5. Through the Alumni Relations Committee, complete a survey of LBS Alumni regarding the value of the educational programs.

We look forward to hearing of many people coming to trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord through the ministry of our graduates and the congregations they serve. This happens as they proclaim everywhere that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin, and people believe and follow this Savior. What could bring us more joy!

Dr. David Veum is President of Lutheran Brethren Seminary in Fergus Falls, MN.

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