2020: Rev John Hill
July 2020: The Consortium for Classical Lutheran Education Board of Directors is pleased to confer the distinguished Magister Magnus award to Rev. President John Ernest Hill for his exceptional vision, service, and dedication to the cause of classical Lutheran education.
Rev. Hill was born in Paris, Texas, on October 10, 1963. He graduated from Concordia, Ann Arbor in 1986 with a BA in Biblical Languages and Communication, and from Concordia Theological Seminary in 1990 with a M.Div. In 2009, he earned an STM from CTS. He served Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Forbes, ND from 1990-1995, and Mount Hope Lutheran Church in Casper, WY, from 1996-2015. In 2015, he was elected District President of the Wyoming District.
He married Angela Marquart on September 26, 1992. They have five children and six grandchildren. John enjoys Nordic skiing and jogging on Casper Mountain. When he has time, he goes backpacking with his sons.
Rev. President Hill has been a strong supporter and advocate for classical Lutheran education. While serving as pastor and headmaster at Mount Hope Lutheran Church, classical education was adopted as the teaching philosophy and additional levels of classes were added annually. By 2015, Mount Hope served students in K-8 grades. During this time, Rev. President Hill served two terms on the CCLE Board of Directors, participated in school accreditation site visits, and gave many presentations on classical Lutheran pedagogy and education at CCLE Annual Summer Conferences. He was featured as the Plenary Speaker at CCLE XVII.
The early vision of dedicated individuals, including Rev. President John Hill, has produced an expansion of classical Lutheran education in many areas over the past three decades:
- Classical Lutheran day schools
- Classical Lutheran home schools
- CCLE School Accreditation recognized by The LC-MS
- CCLE Educator & Administrator Certification
- New classical Lutheran print resources for families and schools
- Annual CCLE conferences with accompanying classical Lutheran children’s programs
- Emerging Concordia University programs in the classics and in classical Lutheran pedagogy
- Lutheranism and the Classics conferences at Concordia Theological Seminary
- Hundreds of Lutheran radio interviews on classical Lutheran education
- An annual CCLE academic journal, the Classical Lutheran Education Journal (CLEJ)
- An online classical Lutheran academy
The Consortium for Classical Lutheran Education Board of Directors is honored to confer the Magister Magnus award to Rev. President John Hill.