Do Lutheran schools make a difference?
Yes! Quite!

What kind of difference? Reliable statistical research* reveals that those who attended Lutheran schools:

* Report more frequent experiences with God in their personal lives. 
* Exhibit a more consistent belief in the divinity of Jesus. 
* Profess a greater clarity on the way of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone (show more tendency to reject belief in salvation by works). 
* Display more Biblical knowledge. 
* Engage in a much fuller devotional life. 
* Do more witnessing to others about Christ. 
* Hold a more balanced theology (not liberal, not ultraconservative, but a balanced conservatism). 
* Have a greater awareness of the presence of the Trinity in one’s whole life. 
* Give a higher value to relationships with God and other persons. 
* Show more reasonable respect for authority. 
* Live out stronger tendencies to be forgiving and personally forthright with other people. 
* Evidence greater avoidance of over-simplistic views. (i.e., views of social issues as mere power struggles.). 
* Reveal less tendency to be anxious about their faith. 
* Are less swayed by their peers. 
The research also proved that the more years a person attended a Lutheran school, the more significant the difference became.

The research does not indicate that these same qualities cannot be present in individuals who have not attended a Lutheran elementary and/or secondary school, but it is less likely. Similarly, it is recognized that the power to lead a Christian life is a free gift of the Holy Spirit working through the Word.

* Milo Brekke, How Different Are People Who Attended Lutheran Schools (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House; based on data compiled by Youth Research Center for “A Study of Generations.”)