SPIFE History

The Rural Mission Resource Center -SPIFE is located in Schroeder Memorial Leadership Center on the Saint Paul Lutheran High School & Ministries campus, Concordia, Missouri. Saint Paul Institute for Education (SPIFE) is a RSO working in partnership with LCMS World Mission under supervision from the National Rural and Small Town Mission Committee.

In 2000, a number of individual families and organizations caught the vision for a leadership training center under the direction of Rev. Keith Christiansen and Dr. Ralph Geisler.

In 2001 the Board of Trustees for Saint Paul Lutheran High School commissioned a study to explore potential mission opportunities to complement secondary education.  Practical leadership training for professional and lay workers was identified as an educational avenue of increasing urgency. The Board addressed this urgency and Saint Paul Institute for Education was born. The word “Ministries” was added to the school’s name to incorporate this new educational avenue.

The fiscal years 2001 – 2003 explored ministry challenges in Missouri and nine (9) surrounding districts of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.  Information was gathered and analyzed from pastors, lay leaders, district officials, and congregational members through think tanks, surveys and listening posts.

In 2005, the Schroeder Memorial Leadership Training Center was dedicated to begin services through the districts to congregations for congregational professional and lay leaders.  Due to the interest and response from rural and small town congregations, the primary mission transformation focus was placed on congregations in communities of 15,000 population or less.