Rev. John Bush joined Concordia Seminary, St. Louis [1] in January as executive director of Seminary Support. In this role, Bush oversees a staff of 19 and directs fund development strategies including the major gifts and annual giving programs.
Prior to joining the Seminary staff, Bush served as senior director of Donor Relations at Concordia University, Ann Arbor, Mich., since 2014. Bush succeeds Thomas V. Rehkop, who left the Seminary in 2017 to join the staff at Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Bush will be installed during a chapel service set for April 19.
“As an alumnus of the Seminary, and with his previous service to the church and in the for-profit arena, John brings a unique skill set to this position,” said Vicki Biggs, senior vice president of Seminary Advancement. “We are thrilled to welcome John to the Advancement team and eager to see how the Lord will direct John’s talents and abilities for His glory and for the sake of the mission of the Seminary.”
Bush earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and economics from Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Mo., in 1971. After college, Bush began a career in marketing and sales promotion, launching his own agency in 1985 and helping start the Special Offers Department of the catalog brand Montgomery Ward.
He later worked full time as director of marketing and communications for the LCMS Foundation from 1995-99 while he attended the Seminary part-time. He received a pastoral certificate from the Alternate Route program (now known as the Residential Alternate Route Program) May 31, 2000.
Bush was ordained and installed as associate pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Trenton, Mich., in 2000. He became the congregation’s senior pastor in 2002 and served in that capacity through 2014.
“The mission of the Seminary is unique in that we serve to prepare the church’s future pastors, missionaries, deaconesses and leaders,” Bush said. “The students are sincerely focused on preparing for their future ministry. Having the opportunity to give back, to be part of the Advancement division, is an honor to me and very humbling as well.”
Bush and his wife, Laurel, have three grown children; Sean, Christopher and Jamie.
About Concordia Seminary
Concordia Seminary, St. Louis provides Gospel-centered graduate-level theological education for pastors, missionaries, deaconesses, scholars and other leaders in the name of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) [2]. To learn more, visit www.csl.edu [1].