Cost of Seminary
Cruising Down the Coast of the High Barbaree
To readers: seminary costs $30,000 per year. There are more expensive seminaries. There are also less expensive seminaries. However, 1% of our funding comes from Synod, and the rest comes from other donations. Right now, grant-in-aid will provide up to about $10,000 of the costs, leaving $20,000 for the seminarians to come up with. Given the average income of pastors on their first calls, that's a steep amount. So what I'm saying is SUPPORT OUR SEMINARIES. In 2004, per capita giving was $688 per confirmed member. By contrast, per capita giving in the PCA in 2002 was $2009 per communicant member. I somehow doubt that the per capita income of the PCA is triple that of the LCMS. Trusting in Jesus to have already given his possessions up for the kingdom of God perfectly in your stead will not solve the basic practical problem of funding pastors, missionaries, and local ministries. So I have an idea, instead of complaining about Ablaze, give a few extra bucks to your church, LCMS mission, or the seminary and hold off on that new SUV, HDTV, or addition. And get your friends to do the same. If Lutherans gave half as much as Presbyterians do, things would look a lot different. For example, there tend to be about 400 students here at CTS, each with at least $20,000 in expenses they themselves are responsible for. Let's do some math: $20,000 * 400 students = $8,000,000 in yearly student expenses.$8,000,000 per year/1,880,213 confirmed members = $4.25 per confirmed member per year.Josh succinctly presents the financial status of the Synod's seminaries. I would add that the costs increase for those with children (the majority here in Fort Wayne.) Josh is just now entering the St. Louis seminary. $4.25 per member is pretty reasonable to support every student here in Fort Wayne. Triple that and you've given a free ride to every Synodical seminarian (or closer for those with families!) He has many more good points; click the link.
