The North American Lutheran Seminary (NALS) is the seminary of the North American Lutheran Church. The proposal resulted from the work of NALC's Task Force for Theological Education and recommended two components for the seminary system. The seminary describes itself as "not investing in bricks and mortar, but rather investing in people." As such it has no buildings of its own.
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History
In 2012, the Joint Commission on Theology and Doctrine of the NALC recommended the formation of a Commission on Theological Education. This was approved by the NALC's Executive Council and was appointed with Dr. Roy Harisville III as chair. The Commission on Theological Education recommended the creation of a seminary for the North American Lutheran Church. The proposal for the establishment of a NALC seminary was approved at their Convention held in 8-9 August 2013, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Organisation
The seminary operates similar to a wheel, with a hub and spokes. The hub is the seminary center located at Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge. The spokes are various Houses of Studies in NALC mission districts. The first House of Studies was located on the Charlotte campus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. This was discontinued effective May 31, 2016. More Houses of Studies are planned in the future. Potential locations include Texas, the Dakotas, the West Coast (California) and Alberta, Canada.