Immanuel Lutheran College - Faithful Effort in a Fated Cause

Abstract

Paul Workentine’s 1986 essay chronicles the history of Immanuel Lutheran College in Greensboro, North Carolina, a Synodical Conference institution dedicated to training Black pastors and teachers from 1903 to 1961. Founded amid segregation-era challenges, Immanuel provided theological, normal, and high school education to African American students, often underfunded and understaffed but sustained by committed faculty and students. The essay traces the college’s development under successive presidents, its struggle for accreditation, and its evolving “Open Door” policy to admit non-Lutheran students. Despite its vital role in supplying pastors for “colored missions,” Immanuel faced mounting pressures from social change, integration, and internal debates, culminating in its closure in 1961. Workentine evaluates the college’s legacy with admiration and sympathy, emphasizing its faithful service amid adversity and its lasting impact on Lutheran ministry. —Abstract created by Microsoft Copilot (GPT-4)