Seminary Update, December 2025
Dear Saints,
Thank you for your prayers, financial support and words of encouragement.
Seminary Establishment Fund
Since the launch of the seminary establishment fund in September we have been overwhelmed by your generosity. As of December 1st, you have generously donated $129,000 towards our goal of $300,000 by the end of 2025!
If you have not donated but would like to, please prayerfully consider doing so before the end of the year. While not reaching our target by 2026 will not stop the project, it may delay opening our doors in 2027. Given the number of students who have already contacted us saying that they are waiting for LTS-A to commence teaching, we would prefer not to make them wait any longer than necessary!
Finally, if you are not able to give a lump-sum at this time, we encourage you to consider making regular donations via direct-debit instead. A regular amount will allow our treasurer to estimate future income.
Answers to questions
In the past two months I have visited some of our larger/more established congregations to present our plans for LTS-A. From these sessions we have had a number of common questions. To provide answers to these questions beyond just those information sessions we have started a "Vlog" (video blog).
Please subscribe to LM-A's YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@LutheranMissionAustralia) to receive notifications when a new SemVlog Q&A is published.
For those of you who prefer your answers in real-time, we will be holding an online information session on Tuesday 9th December from 7pm Adelaide time. The session will run for about 1 hour. I will give an overview of our plans, an update on the latest activities, and you will have the opportunity to ask any questions you might still have about the project. If you are interested in attending, please fill out the following form with your name and an email address: LTS-A information Session – Fill out form. You will then be emailed a link to the presentation on the day (we will be using LM-A's "Teams" platform).
While I am talking about answers to common questions, a number of you have had issues transferring your donations to LTS-A via bank transfer. The common factor in those situations appears to have been that the bank software the donor was using could not accommodate the length of the account name. So if you run into issues transferring money from your bank, please try a shorter name; e.g. "Lutheran Theological Seminary" (i.e. drop "Australia"). If you still have issues after trying this, please contact us at info@lutheranmissionaustralia.org.au and we will try to help.
Other activities
While the focus for the last few months has been on the information sessions and funding appeal, much is happening in the background as well. Thanks to our faithful volunteers, we have been supporting our students in the US and Canada, preparing for the recruitment (once we have secured funding for their positions) of an Academic Dean and Registrar, and preparing for a governance restructure (from the current interim Board to a full Board appointed by Synod in August 2026).
Regarding that last item, one of the challenges we currently face is finding volunteers with governance experience to serve on the full LTS-A Board. If you have that experience (and particularly in an educational institution) and a sense of call to serve our Seminary, please contact us to start a conversation about how you might assist. And for those not able to help in that way, please continue to pray that God would provide all the resources we need as LTS-A becomes established.
Thank you again for all your support, and I look forward to giving you another report in the New Year.
God bless you, your families and congregations as you celebrate God's gift of His Son to us!
Pastor Michael Prenzler
Seminary Development Officer