Concordia University, St. Paul is strengthening its commitment to the church through an expanded Church Work Tuition Guarantee, offering $0 tuition for all students preparing for full-time church work vocations. This initiative affirms CSP’s long-standing mission to prepare workers for the church wherever and however they are called to serve. CSP is now the most affordable church work option in the Concordia University System of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS).
“This commitment reflects who we are and what we value—affordable tuition, outstanding faculty, and a robust, confessionally Lutheran curriculum,” says the Rev. Dr. Mark Koschmann, Chief Mission Officer at Concordia St. Paul. “Our prayerful hope is that this removes financial barriers so that more students can joyfully prepare for lives of service in the Church, strengthened by the gifts God has entrusted to them.”
The Church Work Tuition Guarantee is available beginning fall 2026 to all incoming and current full-time students enrolled in the following programs:
- Director of Christian Education
- Director of Christian Outreach
- Director of Parish Music
- Lutheran Classroom Teacher
- Pre-Deaconess
- Pre-Pastoral
Through this commitment, CSP ensures that financial barriers do not prevent students from responding to God’s call into church work. Whether graduates serve in congregations, schools, mission settings, or other ministries of the church, CSP remains focused on forming faithful, well-prepared leaders rooted in Lutheran theology.
“I feel so much gratitude to be part of a community that supports my classmates and me,” says Director of Christian Education (DCE) student Grace Wiebe, ‘27. “I hope that any student considering a career as a DCE and studying at CSP feels encouraged by this and that they are needed in the church.”
This initiative also reflects CSP’s strategic fiscal stewardship. Building on its history of innovation, including being the first Concordia University to implement a tuition reset and later to offer $0 pre-seminary tuition, CSP’s strong financial position allows the university to lead once again in addressing the church’s need for workers.
“We pray that this commitment to ensuring an affordable Christ-centered Lutheran education will bless countless students now and in the years to come,” says the Rev. Dr. Brian Friedrich, President of Concordia St. Paul. “We are grateful to CSP’s many friends and alumni who generously support our students through scholarships and endowments, which help us underwrite their educational costs. CSP desires to do everything possible so that more workers can proclaim and teach the Good News of the Gospel and strengthen our Lutheran congregations, schools, and ministries.”