October 22, 2024

Quarter 4 Newsletter, 2024

Dear friends of LCC,

Greetings in Christ! We hope this letter finds you well and settling into a delightful fall season. God continues to bless the college as we approach the end of the year.

It has been quite a busy season for us. At the beginning of this month, President Ristau’s inauguration took place at Trinity Lutheran Church in Casper, Wyoming. Over 200 guests were in attendance. Of special note were Pres. Gene Pfeifer of Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, Minnesota, and Pres. Kyle Washut of Wyoming Catholic College in Lander, Wyoming, together with Rev. Ted Giese, who marched in the procession on behalf of Pres. Timothy Teuscher of the Lutheran Church–Canada.

Pres. Benjamin Merkle of New Saint Andrews College in Moscow, Idaho, was unable to attend, but sent a personalized note, as did Pres. Thomas Egger of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis and Pres. Jon Bruss of Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne. Letters of congratulations also were received from Pres. Thomas M. Winger of Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary in St. Catharines, Ontario, and Interim Pres. Joel Heck of Concordia Lutheran Seminary in Edmonton, Alberta, as well as Pres. Timothy Teuscher of the Lutheran Church—Canada, Rev. Stephen Kieser as chairman of the Consortium for Classical Lutheran Education, and Mr. Mark Stern, co-trustee of the Walter C. Dissen Charitable Trust that includes a $2 million endowment supporting LCC. Pres. Matthew Harrison of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod sent a personalized greeting that was read by Academic Dean Ryan MacPherson.

We are grateful to everyone who made this event so special for so many, especially for our esteemed president, Rev. Dr. Harold Ristau. God has blessed us with a truly remarkable leader and accompanying team.

Besides celebrating the momentous occasion of Dr. Ristau’s presidential inauguration, we have made much of the progress necessary to welcome a growing number of new students out West to begin fulfilling our mission, what you have so generously supported. Here are some updates:

Our librarian, Mr. William Gottwalt, has been hard at work creating our online catalog of the thousands of useful and time-tested books being received through generous donations. As our educational model highlights the importance of the Great Books of Western civilization, returning students to the primary sources, a well-organized and well-endowed library is a major priority for our launch. Yet, as you know, the goal is not to have as many books as possible. It is to have good books that help our students establish a firm foundation, that lead us to Scripture, and that are useful for godly living. As Dr. Luther once wrote, “It is not the many books that make men learned, nor even reading. But it is a good book frequently read, no matter how small it is, that makes a man learned in the Scriptures and godly.” The progress on our catalog and our library wish list can be found and searched online at lutherclassical.org/academics/library. We thank God for positive developments on this end.

Our Admissions Director, Dr. William Lipke, has made outstanding strides working with our prospective students. Every week he has new enthusiasm, complimenting the exceptional quality of these young men and women. And the students themselves are pleased with their interactions as well. One young lady said that LCC’s outreach has impressed her more than any other college. Not only is LCC offering a bridge course for Latin in the summer (similar to “Summer Greek” at our seminaries), but the team is also facilitating Latin tutoring and even offering free online seminars in Latin for students who wish to brush up their skills. A year before opening, twelve students have already tested out of Latin 131 or Latin 132. All in all, 23 students have now been accepted at Luther Classical College with the final (and longest) application window open from November to March.

But it’s not just Latin that excites our students. It is the entire experience of a Luther Classical College education. Yes, they will study Latin. Yes, they will be immersed in the Great Books, in Holy Scripture, the Lutheran Confessions, and so many of the great classics that have educated our forefathers and shaped our civilization. But they will be doing it in a setting centered around daily chapel and an unapologetically Lutheran culture. Luther wrote in his Letters of Spiritual Council, “If studying is to be encouraged, you must have… a city in which many people come together, work together, and incite and stimulate one another. Solitary studies do not accomplish this, but common studies do, for where many are together one gives another incentive and example.”

Casper as a city has been blessed with two beautiful, confessional Lutheran LCMS congregations, both of which have shown amazing support to LCC. Mount Hope is right next door and provides such essential support that without these saints, it is certain LCC would not exist. Trinity Lutheran Church is across town. Besides providing many supportive households and volunteers, they have also hosted our last two events, namely, the Christian Culture Conference and the Presidential Inauguration. Each event brought in over 200 guests. And we can’t forget the support from Mount Hope Lutheran School and our LCMS Wyoming District Office. The school, now grown to over 80 students through the 12th Grade, serves as a center of learning already present and thriving in Casper’s Lutheran community.

Luther Classical students will be joining a community where two lively, confessional Lutheran congregations work happily together, not only to support a school and a college, but also each other. Fundraising events, picnics, conferences, sports events, concerts, and invitations to dinner, all center around Sunday church, daily chapel, home devotion, and talking about Jesus in everyday conversation. Dr. Peter Scaer from our Fort Wayne seminary put it this way, very kindly, during his visit last summer: “You’ve got it all here… a lot of intentional young men, a lot of young women who are proud to be mothers, a lot of growing families, people dedicated to God’s Word. It’s a humbling experience to be here.”

This is the community to which parents are sending their children. It is a heaven on earth, as far as we are concerned, and not because it is by any means perfect in and of itself. It is a heaven on earth, because God’s Word richly dwells in Casper just as it does in your own communities, informing customs, traditions, manners, conversation, and flowing in and out of each day, inspiring hope in the Gospel. God’s Kingdom may come without our prayer, of itself, but God promises to make His home wherever His Word is heard and believed, and this is an essential environment for Lutheran education.

This brings us to a second update from Dr. Lipke’s work. As construction continues on our 13-acre campus, Dr. Lipke and his team have worked successfully to find host families for our students to dwell in Christian homes during their first year at college. So far we have fifteen to twenty families attending a Homestay Program information session where they will receive details concerning the housing of incoming LCC students and how they can provide pious dwellings. Students also have off-campus housing options secured for them near campus as we work toward the completion of our first student residence on campus.

We would have to send you an entire book to fully report all the work being advanced by our President, Dr. Ristau, our Academic Dean, Dr. MacPherson, and our CFO, Mrs. Bennick. Meeting with supporters, interviewing professors, polishing our strategic plan, writing syllabi, working closely with our contractors on our campus construction, and ultimately transforming Luther Classical College into a distinct reality of God’s active Church from its visionary roots is all a team effort. The efficient and careful stewardship of your support by our top administrators is a true blessing from God, and it is bearing the fruit for which we all have longed.

We often remind ourselves that this fruit is from God. Our labor, including the generous donations from over 1,300 households, 320 of whom donate monthly as Patrons, and nearly 200 supporting congregations, is all God’s work, though He uses us as his tools in getting the job done. Thus, His work and ours concerns not only forming our children’s souls, but also their minds, talents, treasures, and anything else they will set before God with their own bodies as living sacrifices to Him forever. The work of LCC is therefore a blessed service to God, who serves us perfectly with His grace and forgiveness unto life everlasting. May our children grow more and more in this hope and service at Luther Classical College.

We ask for your continued prayers and financial support as we inch closer to the realization of this amazing mission. May God grant them all to us out of sheer delight in His children, whom He has given the privilege to serve Him with equal delight forever and ever.