The Rev. Bob Quam Board Designated Endowed Scholarship Fund at Luther Seminary

ABOUT BOB QUAM: Bob grew up with his two brothers, Jon and Tom, and sister Ann, in Frazer, Montana. They attended the same school where his grandfather sat on the first school Board and his mother graduated from the very first class.

After attending Concordia College, Yale Divinity School and Luther Seminary, Bob was ordained into ministry of the American Lutheran Church in 1972. He served parishes in Casper, Wyoming and Watford City, North Dakota before being called back to Montana to serve at Atonement and Peace Lutheran Churches in Billings.

While still in college, Bob began what would become his life’s passion, outdoor ministry. He first led campers on float trips down the Missouri River before becoming Pastor/Director of Christikon Lutheran Bible Camp, 40 miles south of Big Timber, Montana, in the Absaroka-Beartooth Mountains. He flourished in that great “cathedral of the wilderness” from 1975 until his retirement in 2013.

From a dais in the Christikon meadow, Bob welcomed scores of teen campers to the mountains, fostering a conversation on faith, hospitality, and care for each other and the land itself. His staff not only received these lessons on a close-kinit scale, but life lessons too: how to cook, clean, meditate, doctor, speak, and be in community with one another, all while celebrating the innate gifts residing in each person.

For many staff members, Christikon become a second home and family – one that continued to support them through the “changes and chances of life”, emphasizing the importance of servanthood, Bob also made a concerted effort to welcome campers of all abilities, setting aside dedicated time for disabled, differently abled, and “at risk” campers to experience the joys and wonder of the wilderness.

Throughout his life of service, Bob inspired and provided guidance for hundreds of young people called into the ministry – around the country and beyond the ELCA AND Lutheran Church. During his lifetime, he recruited more than 100 students to Luther Seminary, fulfilling his call to lift up the body of Christ.

The PURPOSE of this Fund is to provide scholarships annually for any deserving learner at Luther Seminary. This Fund can support tuition and/or living expenses for a qualified recipient. This Fund is established with the hope and knowledge that it will help learners who discern God’s call to ministry to attain a theological education and go on to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with generations of disciples across the globe.