The historic tradition of the Lutheran church is that it has been proactive in attempting to strengthen the societal fabric. Lutheran congregations have given a firm faith witness to their community through the Christian education programs for their youth. It was in the mid 1500's when Dr. Martin Luther advocated the training of a productive citizenry in order to satisfy both the needs of the state as well as the church. Luther's position was that education focusing upon the arts and sciences, incorporated with theological education, would serve to prepare homemakers as well as physicians. Today that is the call of the Lutheran Schools of America being extended to Lutheran and non-Lutherans alike.

Since the early 1900's, the leaders of the Norwegian Synod/the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) have committed themselves and the Church to maintaining church-related schools. In 1919, one synodical forefather, the Reverend Bjug Harstad, declared his view of the importance of starting schools in these words:

"Let the starting and maintaining of Christian schools be our chief concern and a life-and-death matter in all our life and work."

Pastor Harstad's voice has been joined by countless other pastors and Christian parents who share his passion for Lutheran Christian education. Today nearly 20% of the 135 congregations of the ELS support a Christian school in a pre-school setting and/or as a PK-8 educational environment. Increasingly, these church-affiliated schools have become centers of outreach and service to the communities in which they serve. They are being sought out by parents outside of the related church who are actively seeking an alternative to the public education they have found to be less than what they believe to be best for their children.

In June of 2003, the Convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod demonstrated an unusual commitment to providing Christian education. A memorial presented by one of its member churches in Scottsdale, Arizona offered the strongest possible urging of the Synod to consider a project challenging the moral decline and decreasing effectiveness of America's public schools. It was termed the "Lutheran Schools Initiative." Specifically, this memorial urged the Synod to undertake an effort to dramatically increase the number of church-related, Christian schools within the Synod. The proposed goal which was established is remarkable: to start at least twenty new schools in ten years for a period of fifty years.

The memorial was received by Synod delegates with a strong spiritual endorsement and a sense of awe at the magnitude at its stated goals. The synod's president, the Rev. John A. Moldstad, identified the project's great potential for spiritual and culture good and created a committee to study the impact of the memorial. By June of 2005, the ELS resolved to extend this schools' initiative to an active project and approved its naming as the "Lutheran Schools of America." With the goal of starting two new schools a year, the members and leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod have enthusiastically dedicated themselves to creating Christ-centered, excellence-focus, service-driven schools.

The Lutheran Schools of America is surely among the most aggressive and proactive programs in the history of the Church. It is a resounding call which echoes in support of a return to the basics of classical education taught from a confessional Lutheran Christian-based ideology. Truly it merits the involvement, investment and advocacy of Christians both in the ELS and beyond for the sake of the Church and for the strengthening of America. It is a new day of opportunity for people of integrity and leadership to strive together in weaving a refined cultural moral fabric.