Why Choose PLTS?

As you pursue your calling to serve others and make a difference in the world, your journey of spiritual growth and adventure will be guided by pastors, educators and church leaders who are committed to teaching, faithful in ministry and excellent in scholarship. You will be well-prepared for the challenges and opportunities of ministry in the 21st century.

At PLTS, we:

• Fight for justice. We equip leaders of spiritual and moral courage to act on their faith in public by working for racial, gender, economic, and environmental justice.

• Immerse ourselves in a dynamic urban context. Being immersed in Berkeley provides many opportunities to critically reflect and practice spiritually at the intersection of culture, faith, and politics.

• Unleash the power of diversity. We collaborate as people from diverse cultural and faith traditions claiming the Spirit’s power for liberation and healing to transform our communities.

Our Perspective

Four orienting perspectives characterize PLTS’ role in the church and our approach to theological education:

1. Nurturing a life-giving relationship with God includes embracing and sharing the life-changing power of God’s love through Jesus and cultivating spiritual practices and skills for building community that strengthens people spiritually.
2. Intellectual engagement with Scripture, faith traditions, and the world involves hearing and interacting with theological voices from the margins of power and privilege and putting Christian beliefs and practices into collaborative engagement with other religious traditions and secular disciplines.
3. Faithful social transformation grounded in the good news of Jesus Christ endeavors to build communities of resistance and hope by integrating the spiritual and political dimensions of life through theological reflection, social analysis, and implementing strategies to work for justice and ecological healing.
4. Learning through a socio-ecological lens that looks at race, class, gender, and earth in order to develop competencies for effective community engagement in diverse cultural and political contexts.

15 Reasons to Choose PLTS

1. On the Cutting Edge of Theological Education
   Recognizing that the church of today is changing rapidly, we are developing new courses and programs to help leaders respond with creativity and vision.

2. A Strong Sense of Lutheran Identity
   PLTS was founded to meet the needs of Lutheran congregations in Western U.S.  While we value our interdenominational and interreligious relationships, PLTS remains grounded in the transformative theology of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

3. An Agile Institution
   A small but mighty seminary, PLTS is well positioned to be agile and adapt to change. Throughout our history, we have made courageous decisions to respond to student needs and changes in the Church, decisions like: becoming the first Reconciling in Christ Seminary, helping launch the new Theological Education for Indigenous Leaders program, being the first ELCA seminary to focus entirely on online education, and more.

4. Our Student Body has Diverse Goals
   Our students are preparing for pastoral ministry, chaplaincy, academia, outdoor ministry, faith-based advocacy, and more. This diversity within our community makes for a rich learning environment. We challenge each other, reflect together, and ensure that the learning process is rewarding and fun!

5. Specialized Training for Contemporary Ministry
   We offer specialized training in cross-cultural ministry, youth and family ministry, Latiné ministry, faith-based community organizing, climate justice and faith, and more. How can you grow in your call to serve your community through a PLTS program?

6. A Supportive Community
   Our students quickly discover that they are part of a supportive community of faculty, staff, students, and alumni. You will enjoy a network of relationships helping you navigate and integrate your coursework, contextual ministry experiences, and life of faith.

7. Student Diversity
   PLTS welcomes students from all backgrounds and identities, and we greatly value the gifts of diversity. Our students identify as LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, people whose first language is other than English, people with disabilities, and other minoritized identities. While there is always more work to be done, we strive to be a courageous community where all people matter.

8. Focus on Context
   PLTS understands that scripture and theological study can not be separated from their historical contexts, and ministry in practice is highly contextual. With students serving in varied cultures and communities, we know that a one-size fits all approach does not work. Rather, a PLTS education trains leaders to be attentive to your context, no matter what that looks like.

9. Liberative Theology
   Courses at PLTS center theologies of liberation like Womanist Theology, Mujerista Theology, Black Liberation Theology, Post-Colonial Theologies, and more. Lutheran and ecumenical students at PLTS find an expansive understanding of what it means to be Lutheran and what it means to be faithful leaders in today’s world.

10. Flexibility and Support
    We are a small seminary with staff and faculty who are deeply committed to our students. We work with students of all backgrounds to help you find a path that fits into your life circumstances and your particular sense of call. This means flexible pathways and contextual learning opportunities, as well as one-on-one support throughout your time here.

11. Focus on Climate Justice
    PLTS is leading the way in training leaders to address climate change through the lens of our faith. Through a degree concentration and certificate programs, the PLTS Center for Climate Justice and Faith empowers leaders to cultivate moral, spiritual, and practical power for the work of climate justice in communities of faith and in collaboration with others.

12. Intersectional Lens
    The PLTS curriculum is taught through the lens of intersectionality, particularly focusing on the nexus of RACE, CLASS, GENDER, and EARTH justice. Inside the classroom, in our worship, and in our community life, we seek to resist white supremacy, heterosexism, patriarchy, and all other systems that are antithetical to God’s love. 

13. Spiritual Direction and Small Group Spiritual Care
    Seminary isn’t just about intellectual learning; it is also a time to continue to deepen your relationship with God and help others do the same. As a PLTS student, you have access to free spiritual direction through our spiritual care team. You also have the opportunity to participate in spiritual care small groups and explore new spiritual practices with faculty each semester.

14. Top Notch Faculty
    One thing you will notice when you come to PLTS is that the majority of our faculty are women and all are leading voices in their fields! Check out what Dr. Cynthia Moe-Lobeda has to say about climate justice and building moral economies. Ask Rev. Dr. Shauna Hannan about preaching as a ministry of the whole congregation. Dive into Lutheran history and the freedom theology of our Reformation traditions with Rev. Dr. Kirsi Stjerna. And study Paul through a contextual lens and explore new areas of biblical scholarship with Dr. Adam Braun.

15. We Ask Different Questions
    Rather than focusing just on the decline in church attendance or the mounting struggles to maintain expensive church properties, PLTS is asking broader questions about what and who church is for. How is God working among us today to build new models of ministry we have yet to imagine? And how can we be partners in expanding theological education to serve the church we are becoming.