Twelve awards were presented to Concordia Seminary, St. Louis from the Associated Church Press (ACP) and the Evangelical Press Association (EPA) during the organizations’ recent award ceremonies for exceptional communications work completed in 2022.

“We are mightily blessed here at Concordia Seminary with extraordinary stories to share as we communicate our mission of preparing future church workers who will serve the Gospel,” said Vicki Biggs, senior vice president of Seminary Advancement and chief communications officer. “It is a great honor to be recognized for this work, especially among such venerated company, and we are grateful beyond measure.”

The ACP, the nation’s oldest interdenominational religious press association, presented its awards April 20, 2023.

In the ACP’s “Overall Excellence/Best in Class” contest, the Seminary received a second-place Award of Merit in the category “Best in Class Seminary Publication or Journal” for Concordia Seminary magazine. Named in the award are Vicki Biggs, executive editor; Melanie Ave, managing editor; Beth Hasek, art director; and Courtney Koll, designer.

Additional ACP awards include:

• For “Video—Educational/Informative/Advocacy (less than 10 minutes),” the Seminary received a first-place Award of Excellence for “Merry Christmas from Concordia Seminary!” by Lifetime Media.
• For “Books—Nonfiction,” the Seminary received a second-place Award of Merit for Opening the Scriptures: Expository Preaching in the Lutheran Tradition (Concordia Seminary Press) by Dr. David Peter.
• For “Video Series,” the Seminary received a second-place Award of Merit for the recruitment-focused Under the Fig Tree video podcast. Named in the award are Rev. Micah Glenn and Dr. Benjamin Haupt, hosts, and Dale Ward, producer.
• For “Single Photo with Article or Cutline,” the Seminary received a second-place Award of Merit for a photo of the “Hoops for Hope” alumni basketball game by Michael Thomas in “First Look” in the spring issue of Concordia Seminary magazine.
• For “Integrated Communications,” the Seminary received two awards:
  • A second-place Award of Merit for the 2022-23 New academic year branding: Sharing the Gospel—Sharing Our Lives. Named in the award are Beth Hasek, Julia Staggenborg, creative; Vicki Biggs, Melanie Ave, Rebekah Lukas, communications; Chris Miller, web; and Dale Ward, video.
  • An honorable mention for Theological Symposium 2023: Search the Scriptures: Finding Christ and Ourselves in the History of Exegesis. Named in the award are Beth Hasek, Courtney Koll, creative; Vicki Biggs, Melanie Ave, Sarah Maney, communications; Chris Miller, web; and Dale Ward, video.

In addition to the ACP awards, the Seminary was recognized by the EPA, a professional organization of Christian publications including magazines, newspapers, newsletters and content-rich websites. 

In the EPA’s “Awards of Excellence” contest, the Seminary received a second place Award of Merit in the “Higher Ed (Digital)” category for Concordia Seminary magazine.

In the EPA’s “Higher Goals” contest:

• For “Student Writer of the Year,” the Seminary received first place for “Field education: Offering hands-on ministry experience” by Jacob Moore, a concluding fourth-year Master of Divinity student, in the fall/winter 2022 issue of Concordia Seminary magazine.
• For “General Article/Medium,” the Seminary received fourth place for “The camp connection” by Rebekah Lukas in the spring 2022 issue of Concordia Seminary magazine.
• For “General Article/Short,” the Seminary received fifth place for “Starting with a seed: Lehenbauer Legacy” by Michael Stainbrook in the spring 2022 issue of Concordia Seminary magazine.
• For “Infographic,” the Seminary received fifth place for “The camp connection” by Courtney Koll in the spring 2022 issue of Concordia Seminary magazine.

Read the full list of ACP awards and the full list of EPA awards.

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 csl.edu.