How We Teach

Our faculty has engaged in sustained dialogue with pastors, congregations, students, and others about the challenges and opportunities of being a church leader in the 21st century. These conversations have shaped our vision for theological education. We think that, above all, theological education must help us grow as disciples of Jesus Christ in the Lutheran tradition; it must inspire commitment to public leadership among God’s people; and it must equip us to lead in diverse and challenging cultural contexts.

We refer to this as Dimensions of Ministry Excellence. “Dimensions of Ministry Excellence” names who we want our students to become throughout a lifetime of church leadership. We have committed ourselves to frequent and regular assessment of our curriculum and community, asking the question: does theological education at PLTS foster these dimensions?

Our challenge then is this: given our vision of who we want our students to become, how do we actualize that vision? In response we have developed four Perspectives for Ministry. These perspectives orient our approach to teaching and learning. From study of the Bible and theology to history, ethics and practical ministry, we are committed to consciously using these orienting perspectives as lenses for focusing our work in every course.