With joy and gratitude, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis is pleased to announce the creation of a new endowment fund to assist students and their families as they study and prepare for life in the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ in the name of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). The endowment, established by the LCMS Foundation, was made possible through a $50,000 matching gift from the John and Harriet Wiebe Mission Advancement Fund. 

“With gratefulness to God, from whom all blessings flow, we are so thankful for the generous support the LCMS Foundation has provided,” said Vicki Biggs, senior vice president for Seminary advancement. “This new endowment is a faithful investment in the mission of the Seminary and a tangible demonstration of the love and support our students have from across and throughout our church.”

The LCMS Foundation’s dollar-for-dollar matching gift encouraged new and lapsed donors to support the Seminary. The match challenge was met, with an additional $73,000 raised. Currently, $123,000 has been raised for the new endowment.

“What a blessing it is to have our seminaries preparing our men and women for a life of service to Christ,” said David Fiedler, LCMS Foundation president. “The people of the LCMS are generous people, and through this matching gift opportunity provided by the foundation, an endowment has been created that will support in perpetuity the education and training being provided for our church workers at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.”

The funds used for the matching gift come from the John and Harriet Wiebe Mission Advancement Fund. The Wiebes, lifelong Lutherans with a passion for church planting and ministry outreach, left a significant estate gift and requested that the LCMS Foundation distribute funds to LCMS entities working to share the Gospel with others.

Concordia Seminary is grateful for all of its supporters, many of whom choose to make a gift that establishes a permanent endowment. The Seminary currently has more than 500 endowments. The vast majority have been established to honor esteemed pastors, faculty or family members, and to provide tuition aid and assistance for students. The Seminary also is blessed with a student aid endowment to which anyone may make a gift of any size. Collectively, these funds provide the resources for the Seminary to assist students in paying a very sizeable portion of their tuition expense.

To make a gift to this new endowment or to support the annual operations and scholarships of this mission, please contact Seminary advancement at 800-822-5287 or advancement@csl.edu. For more information, visit www.csl.edu/give.

About The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) Foundation
Established in 1958, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Foundation is the Synod’s primary financial organization providing Lutheran donors with charitable expertise and opportunities to ensure that families are provided for and beloved ministries are supported. The foundation also manages financial instruments and the gifts they represent, entrusted to it by congregations, organizations and individuals.  As of fiscal year 2016, the foundation managed more than $900 million in assets and distributed more than $29.8 million in new funds for 866 LCMS ministries. For more information, visit www.lcmsfoundation.org.

About Concordia Seminary
Concordia Seminary, St. Louis provides Gospel-centered graduate-level theological education for pastors, missionaries, deaconesses, scholars and other leaders in the name of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). To learn more, visit www.csl.edu.