Did you know that Islam is one of the fastest-growing religions in the US
and by 2010, Muslims are expected to surpass the Jewish population, making
Islam the second-largest religion after Christianity in the US?  There are
nearly 2000 mosques nationwide as well as numerous Islamic day and weekend
schools. (U.S. Dep. of State)

Only when the church and school work together can we hope to . . . save
future generations from a fate worse the physical death.Did you know that as
a result of the rise of feminism in the west, witchcraft (WICCA) in America
is becoming increasingly popular, especially on college campuses?
The United States is also seeing a marked increase in the practice of
eastern religions (Hinduism, Taoism, and Buddhism).

The rationalism of the Enlightenment is giving way to a new way of thinking
that promises to be as influential as any of the ideas that marked Ancient
Greece, western cultural Christianity, or the Enlightenment.  This new way
of thinking is called "Post-modernism," and it believes that "true truth" is
a myth.

The America that was once shaped by the western and Christian traditions is
passing away.  A new culture has emerged; one that is hostile to the
exclusive claims of Christianity.  Within the next couple of decades the
United States will look more like the religious culture of Europe and much
less like the America of days gone by.

Religious and moral pluralism, new racism, multi-culturalism, and of course,
the ever present and escalating forms of hedonism are the greatest challenge
to the Christian church in America.  If the 20th century is an indication of
how the church will fare in the 21st century, the future is not very bright
for Christians in the US.

How will your children and congregation stand-up to the temptations of
pluralism, hedonism, and skepticism?  Will they remain Christian?  Will they
remain loyal to the Lutheran Church, actively worshiping God the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit?  Or will they forsake their baptismal grace for the
world's false religions?  Is there any question that we need schools that
prepare young people to think more clearly about the temptations of the
modern world?  Is there any question about the need to support schools that
rise above mediocrity to create graduates who have mastered the basics and
understand the world in a theological/biblical way?

On August 25th, 2003, the Good Lord began a new school that is completely
devoted to training students to think and to act according to sound pattern
of Holy Scripture.  Second only to the offering plate on Sunday morning,
there can be no better place to give money than to a Lutheran school that
does the job right.  A school such at this will serve families, the church,
and our country for years to come.  Only when the church and school work
together can we hope to meet the challenges ahead and save future
generations from a fate worse the physical death.