Our pre-secondary schools were the means through which hundreds of thousands of children from non-Lutheran, non-Christian households came to hear the Gospel. Myself and my pastor (celebrating 50 years in the pastoral office this year) would know nothing of God’s grace through faith in Christ alone were it not for our divinely-inspired, forward-thinking LCMS forefathers who understood that our schools were an investment in Christ’s Church - an engine for sustaining and growing our congregations. Unfortunately, I have been hearing a lot of recent discussion about the future of Lutheran educational institutions - pre-K through post-graduate studies - using the glib, bumper-sticker slogan “Lutheran schools for Lutheran students.” May God grant us the wisdom to make the necessary, and often painful, investments in our school system to proclaim the Gospel to all children to the glory of the Triune God.