The Faith+Lead Academy

Thanks to the Lilly Endowment Inc. support from a Pathways for Tomorrow grant, Luther Seminary launched the “Faith+Lead Academy” to equip a wide range of ministry leaders in today’s rapidly changing world. This project offers high-quality online theological education that is theologically rigorous, practice-oriented, and contextually responsive. It centers on developing the Academy’s curriculum, cultivating partnerships, connecting with Luther Seminary’s degree programs, and scaling for growth.

Susan Leigh Brooks, Ph.D., Director of the Faith+Lead Academy, shares detailed insights into the project and the experiences they have encountered along the way.

Briefly describe the project.

The Faith+Lead Academy offers non-credit, asynchronous online courses for anyone interested in theological education or church leadership. It’s not continuing ed, so you don’t need a seminary degree to join. Our courses are designed to help people learn new things, including spiritual practices and scripture, to strengthen their faith muscles and apply their knowledge in practical spaces. This unique pedagogical approach is specifically adapted for an asynchronous online environment. Additionally, these courses are part of a broader ecosystem that includes diverse learning opportunities, such as blogs and podcasts.

What have you learned so far?

We’re three years into our five-year grant, and we've already launched 41 courses with more than 1,300 learners – a strong start. It took 15 months to release our first course, and as we gain traction, the data shows that people are truly benefiting from what they’re learning.

We follow up with participants after they complete courses, asking questions like, “As a result of this course, are you more likely to recognize God’s presence in your daily life?” Ninety percent of our learners agree or strongly agree with that statement, demonstrating the impact of our work. Additionally, we track various metrics such as the number of courses taken, learner engagement, and the time spent on the material.

What has surprised you along the way?

We’ve encountered several surprises along the way. For instance, one major shock was realizing just how long it takes to get things moving – 15 months for our first course, even though I’ve created online courses before. The behind-the-scenes work of aligning a shared vision, securing buy-in, and figuring out the project’s shape took much longer than expected, and we often wondered, "Will this ever come together?"

Another unexpected delight was the sheer fun of experimenting. Thanks to the Pathways funding, we were able to take risks on ideas that might have been costly and uncertain. Sometimes our experiments succeed, and other times they don't, but that's all part of the journey. I find myself waking up each morning excited to discover what new insights we'll uncover; every day is a fresh adventure.

What have been a few successes?

We're now consistently releasing two courses each month. Along the way, we've learned that it takes our audience a surprisingly long time to discover us and then take the next step. While many people interact with our wide range of free resources, our research shows that it typically takes about four to five months of engagement before they're ready to enroll in a course or join a learning community. For those coming from the business world, that's considered a remarkably lengthy period to spur further involvement.

What aspects of the project are you hopeful about?

I joined Faith+Lead because I was disheartened by the current state of the church. The statistics were grim, and many decisions made by the church didn't, in my view, align with Jesus’s teachings. I was eager to learn how we could provide the resources needed to help the church improve. One of the most inspiring aspects of this work has been hearing from congregations that are making positive changes. All across theological education and within various Christian communities, I’ve seen incredible initiatives – churches may have lower attendance, but they're repurposing their empty spaces to feed and shelter those in need. Sharing these success stories through our curriculum has truly renewed my hope.

Additionally, I find hope in reflecting on the past. Historically, the church has successfully navigated cultural challenges by making necessary adjustments. Witnessing the long arc of God’s work, combined with these pockets of modern transformation, fills me with optimism for the future.

What are you learning that could help other schools?

One thing we learned is that there’s a huge need for well-prepared church leaders. Expanding the idea of who those leaders could be has been helpful. Expanding access is one thing that faith leaders do, but we also want to expand vision. We want people to be able to see themselves as ministers and leaders, even if they aren’t on the payroll somewhere, or even if they aren’t traditionally doing the things that pastors normally do. We’ve learned is to expand that definition.

We’ve also learned that we’ve done a lot of experimenting around the content of courses and which topics resonate with people. For example, a donor came forward and said they would like to underwrite a course in mental health because they have an interest in that and experience with that. So, we created a course called “God and Mental Health Issues.” The donor again approached us with additional money to subsidize and offer the course for free. We offered it for free to the first 100 people. The long story short is that we had more than 500 people take a course in mental health challenges between September 13 and December 1.

We found there’s a hunger for particular kinds of topics, and this one was something that hit a nerve with people as something they want to learn. This is important to us. We saw people in that course from all over the map, everyone from seminary-trained pastors to people who are caregivers for a parent who has dementia. This course has been really helpful.

I guess we hope to encourage others to learn how to listen and experiment to see what happens.

Luther Seminary educates leaders for Christian communities across the country and around the world. An innovator in theological education, the seminary is committed to exploring leading-edge approaches for Christian ministry, proclamation, and faith formation in a rapidly changing world. As one of the seven seminaries in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Luther Seminary has educated more than one-third of ELCA pastors, lay professionals, and leaders of many global Lutheran and ecumenical churches. Learn more at luthersem.edu