Dimensions of Ministry Excellence

We want our graduates to become:

Disciples of Jesus Christ
Growing in personal faith
Grounded in a faithful and critical appropriation of the Bible and the Lutheran tradition
Committed to serving

Lovers of God and of the people of God
Practicing personal and corporate spiritual discipline
Participating in activities that promote justice, relieve misery, and reconcile the estranged
Developing a healthy pastoral identity

Readers of cultural, political, and social issues
Understanding global urbanization, secularism, fundamentalism, and religious pluralism
Dedicated to ethnic and cultural diversity
Learning to analyze the causes of oppression and injustice

Tellers of the Christian story
Knowing the story of Jesus Christ and its significance, through study, reflection, and experience
Proclaiming this gospel message with its healing and freeing power
Preserving and transmitting the gospel faithfully to future generations

Builders of community
Leading Christian worship in Word and Sacrament
Empowering and equipping the people of God for their ministries in daily life
Understanding the basics of organizational dynamics and developing interpersonal and conflict management skills as they relate to congregations

Leaders of congregational community
Having discerned a genuine call to a specific ministry
Dedicated to being a servant among the servants of God, a “servant leader”
Inspiring a shared vision of daily life as the primary setting for the exercise of people’s Christian calling

Missioners reaching out to the wider community and world
Dedicated to evangelism
Acting as a public theologian to help congregations see and respond to the needs of the world
Fostering unity and working collaboratively with other church and community leaders

Learners for a lifetime
Deepening participation in the practices of faith
Challenging the mind through study and through dialogue with communities of other faiths 
Expanding the heart through love of God and service to one’s neighbor
Energizing missional vocation for the sake of the gospel