In every generation, the Church is faced with a question: how will we raise up faithful pastors for the work ahead?
Twenty years ago, when Luther House of Study (LHOS) was founded, that question wasn’t theoretical. It was urgent.
Dr. Chris Croghan, now the chief academic officer of LHOS, was working on his PhD from Luther Seminary at the time and had moved to Sioux Falls, where he was doing pulpit supply in neighboring rural congregations.
One Sunday, he was preaching in the small town of Miller, SD, and the congregation, which had been without a pastor for two years at that point, asked if he would be willing to take their call.
“I said I would consider it, but if not, I’d do my best to find someone,” said Croghan.
That moment highlighted something larger. Many churches, especially within smaller or more rural contexts, were struggling to fill pastoral calls. To remain sustainable, they needed support in identifying and equipping future pastors from within their own congregations.
At the same time, traditional paths to pastoral formation were becoming increasingly difficult for many called individuals to pursue, whether due to cost, geography, or life circumstances.
In response to this growing need, three institutions came together: Augustana College (now University), North American Baptist Seminary (now Kairos University), and the South Dakota Synod of the ELCA.
Both Augustana and NABS needed a professor to teach the Lutheran confessions—Augustana, as a Lutheran college, and NABS, as a Baptist seminary that served many Lutherans. Meanwhile, the SD Synod recognized the urgent need to get more people in the pipeline to be pastors.
All three institutions recognized that this venture would serve three communities: future ministry professionals, current ministry professionals, and congregations.
In late 2006, Luther House of Study was formed with Croghan at the helm. Just a few months later, Sarah Stenson (now the CEO of LHOS) was searching for a Lutheran seminary to pursue her own M.Div, and came across the press release announcing LHOS’ launch. She got involved right away as a student, but also as a volunteer, helping to shape the curriculum, and ultimately joined the faculty.
Over the years, LHOS has adapted to fulfill a mission continually shaped by the needs of congregations.
“Because it’s been a grassroots mission, it’s always been adaptive to the changing economy of ministry. You have to provide a product that meets the needs of what the people are asking for. You can come up with a great product, but if the people don’t need it you go bankrupt,” explained Croghan.
“Luther House has flourished because we’ve always been responsive to the needs of the students and congregations. Our first instinct is pastoral, which is why it’s relational. We don’t do this for the purpose of pure academics or success or right theology or finance—all those things are supportive, but it’s our pastoral drive that has caused this from the get-go,” said Croghan.
Rather than seeking to replace the traditional, residential seminary model, the purpose of LHOS is to extend and support it—creating a pathway for students to receive rigorous theological education while remaining rooted in their local context.
This allows them to continue serving in their home congregations, stay connected to their communities, and grow under the mentorship of pastors already engaged in ministry.
This reflects a distinctly Lutheran understanding of vocation. The call to pastoral ministry does not emerge in isolation—it is discerned, nurtured, and affirmed within the life of the church. Luther House of Study helps facilitate that process by walking alongside congregations as they identify and form future pastors.
“The people in the pews in Miller, SD are the ones who launched LHOS, not me,” he said.
In this way, the seminary is not just an institution, it is a partnership.
At its heart, Luther House of Study exists because congregations need pastors, and because, in many cases, those pastors are already sitting in the pews.
