Wyneken took a call in 1845 to a congregation in Baltimore, Maryland, and was replaced by Wilhelm Sihler, who continued the training.

Two years later the seminary purchased 14 acres (5.7 ha) about 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Fort Wayne and erected the first building on its new campus.

The pre-seminary course of work was similar to that of a high school, and the seminary classes provided enough theological training to enable the graduates to serve the congregations.

However, there was friction between the two institutions among both faculty and students, in part due to the differences in academic rigor and purposes.

[5] In 1875, the practical seminary itself moved to the Springfield campus, with president F. A. Craemer and the pre-seminary instructor serving as the faculty.

Nevertheless, the seminary began making changes: Greek was made a required course; new students had to have had at least two years of high school, and accreditation by the state of Illinois was sought.

In 1976, the seminary returned to Fort Wayne, where it inherited the Senior College's award-winning campus, designed by Eero Saarinen.

It is a liturgical community following the practice of praying the divine offices each day, including Matins, Vespers and Compline, as well as celebrating the Lord's Supper each week.