Martin Luther College
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This article deals with the WELS-affiliated tertiary institution in Minnesota. See Luther College for the ELCA institution in Iowa.
Martin Luther College is the college of ministry operated by the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). Located on a 50 acre (200,000 m²) campus in New Ulm, Minnesota, the college prepares men for pastoral training at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and men and women for service as early childhood teachers, elementary, and secondary teachers and staff ministers in WELS churches, schools and missions. A faculty of 84 educators serves approximately of 800 students during the school year. The school is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and its teaching program has been approved by the Minnesota Board of Teaching.
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[edit] History
Martin Luther College was established in 1995 when Northwestern College, located in Watertown, WI, and Dr. Martin Luther College in New Ulm amalgamated on the New Ulm campus.
Dr. Martin Luther College was established in 1884 by the Minnesota Synod to train Lutheran pastors and teachers working in Minnesota. Northwestern College was established in 1865 by the Wisconsin Synod to train Lutheran pastors in Wisconsin. In 1892, when the Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan Synods formed a federation called the Evangelical Lutheran Joint Synod of Wisconsin and Other States, it was agreed that Northwestern College would become the primary college for training men to serve as pastors in the new synod's churches. This purpose was carried out by Northwestern College on its campus in Watertown, Wisconsin, from 1865 to 1995.
It was also agreed that Dr. Martin Luther College would discontinue its pastor training course and would become a teacher training college. Graduates of Dr. Martin Luther College would also teach in any of the new synod's schools.
After several years of study and discussion, the WELS in convention voted to amalgamate its two training schools at the New Ulm, Minnesota campus. The new school, named Martin Luther College, opened its doors for the 1995-1996 school year.
[edit] Graduates
Those students who complete the program offered by the Studies in Pastoral Ministry department continue their education at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon, Wisconsin. Those students who complete the requirements of the Studies in Educational Ministry department(with an emphasis in elementary, secondary, or early childhood education or a preparation for a parish staff ministry position) become candidates for a call, or assignment, to serve in a Lutheran elementary or high school operated by a WELS congregation. Students who attend Martin Luther College in preparation for the Lord's Gospel Ministry "have made a choice to place their lives at the disposal of the church. They will accept assignment to a location and a slate of duties that meets the church's needs as opposed to their individual preferences. Put another way--where the church needs him is his preference" (Leyrer 2006:94).
[edit] References
Leyrer, Philip (2006). "Two innocent questions about teacher training in the WELS". The Lutheran Educator 46 (3): 92-96.
[edit] External links
| Upper Midwest Athletic Conference |
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| Bethany Lutheran‡ • Blackburn† • Crown • Maranatha Baptist Bible† • Martin Luther • Minnesota Morris • Northland‡ • Northwestern C. • Presentation‡ • Principia† • Rockford† • St. Scholastica‡ • Trinity Bible† • Westminster† † football-only member • ‡ non-football member |
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