Annual Report

WELS Foundation

2024/01/11/in Annual Report

For Don and Joyce Frisque, supporting Christ’s gospel ministry is close to their hearts. Joyce served as a WELS teacher for more than 35 years, and Don served as a WELS teacher for 6 years and as a school social worker for 31 years. Their two children, Deb and Paul, have also devoted their lives to ministry.

As they planned their retirement, the Frisques wanted to thank the Lord for his goodness to them. “God has blessed us, and we want to pass those blessings on,” Joyce says. “We don’t need anything more for ourselves, so we are going to give it back where we can to the church.” They also wanted to share their blessings with their children and grandchildren.

The Frisques knew that funding a legacy gift from their individual retirement accounts (IRAs) could help them fulfill their giving goals, but they were searching for the right type of planned gift. When they met with WELS Christian Giving counselor Tom Mielke, he explained the benefits of a legacy charitable remainder trust (often called a “give it twice” trust), which would allow Don and Joyce to support both the people and the ministries they love, in addition to providing tax benefits.

The Frisques set up a legacy charitable remainder trust, with WELS Foundation serving as trustee. When they are in heaven, their children will receive quarterly income payments from the trust for 15 years. After that, the remainder will support the multiple WELS ministries that the Frisques have chosen.

“Everything we have been given has been entrusted to us, and we are responsible for managing it in a God-pleasing way,” says Don. “In this way we believe we are doing that.”

As the Frisque family (pictured) learned, there are many ways to leave gifts to support gospel work, based on your situation and giving goals. Visit wels.net/foundation to learn more or contact your local WELS Christian giving counselor at wels.net/givingcounselors.

Financial Services

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Financial Services provides finance and accounting services that support WELS ministries and safeguard the assets that God has provided.

“WELS is in a very strong financial position as we enter the fiscal year 2023–24 and 2024–25 biennium,” notes Mr. Kyle Egan, WELS’ chief financial officer and treasurer. “It is with joyful thanks to our gracious Lord that the synod has continued to see strong levels of unrestricted support through gifts, grants, and bequests, which allows for the continued expansion of mission and ministry. We ask God to provide pure hearts, clear vision, and patient faith as the plans for this biennium are carried out.”

Congregation Mission Offerings (CMO) are critical to WELS’ financial position as they fund approximately 70 percent of WELS’ operating budget every year. WELS finished fiscal year 2023 (year ended June 30, 2023) with CMO of $23.4 million, which was 1.3 percent higher than the previous year. WELS is thankful for the continued generosity of its people in supporting ministry efforts.

Other critical components to WELS’ financial position are strong reserves, including the Financial Stabilization Fund, which is utilized every year to support approximately 30 percent of WELS’ operating budget. The Financial Stabilization Fund holds all undesignated non-CMO funding sources (gifts, grants, bequests, investment income, and other support) to assist in supporting the synod’s annual operating expenses.

Synod convention delegates passed the proposed fiscal year 2023–24 and 2024–25 ministry financial plan in July 2023, which includes support for WELS ministerial education, home and world missions, congregation and district ministry, and general ministry. Total synod expenses (including the four ministerial education schools) for the biennium are expected be approximately $90 million each year supported by synod operating support consisting of CMO and the Financial Stabilization Fund (approximately 35 percent) as well as tuition, reserves, individual gifts, and grants (approximately 65 percent).

WELS Benefit Plans

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The WELS Benefit Plans Office (BPO) serves WELS and Evangelical Lutheran Synod workers and organizations through administration of the WELS Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association (VEBA) Health Plan, the WELS Pension Plan, and the WELS Shepherd Plan.

The WELS VEBA Health Plan provides benefits for church and school workers and their family members in accordance with God’s Word while remaining compliant with applicable law. The VEBA Plan provides comprehensive, nationwide coverage. More than 80 percent of WELS workers and calling bodies participate in WELS VEBA.

The WELS Shepherd Plan is the retirement savings plan for synod workers. WELS called workers earn retirement benefits through defined contributions made to their Shepherd Plan accounts. In addition, workers can save and invest a portion of their earnings and calling bodies can make employer contributions to provide income to workers during their retirement years.

The WELS Pension Plan provides WELS called workers with a valuable source of guaranteed income during
retirement. The Pension Plan was frozen on Dec. 31, 2021. All Pension benefits earned through the freeze date will be paid to participants but no new Pension benefits can be earned for service performed after the freeze date.

Coverage and benefits provided through WELS Benefit Plans are uniform throughout all 50 states. This supports WELS ministry and the call process by providing access to high-quality, affordable benefits for workers and calling bodies regardless of geographic location. Visit welsbpo.net for more information.

Northwestern Publishing House

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Northwestern Publishing House (NPH) provides Christ-centered, biblically sound resources to the members of WELS and beyond. NPH publishes Forward in Christ and Meditations: Daily Devotional, elementary and Sunday school curricula, Bible studies, worship materials, music, and faith-strengthening books. In 2023, NPH released more than 30 Christian resources in print and digital formats, including:

An Ever-Present Help in Trouble: A portable devotional booklet containing 40 devotions that offer gospel comfort for any personal or widespread crisis, whether economic, natural, medical, a loss, or another traumatic experience. The reflections share the comfort of God’s love and providence with those suffering from life’s disasters, reminding you of God’s promises of strength.
Esther: Providential Persian Queen: Invites participants to examine Esther’s epic saga in this seven-session Bible study. Each session includes an opening prayer, references to other parts of Scripture, and multiple discussion questions ideal for either individual or group study.
Hymns for Life Hymnology Curriculum: A three-year, three-level curriculum for K-8 that studies 90 hymns from Christian Worship: Hymnal.
The Splendid Task of the Ministry: A Pastoral Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles: This professional commentary features verse-by-verse translations from the Greek text and extensive “Thoughts for Ministry” applications throughout. It is one of the relatively few current commentaries on 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus written from a conservative Lutheran law and gospel, Word and sacrament perspective.
Christian Worship resources: Resources released in 2023 include “Easy Hymn Accompaniments: Chorale and Piano Editions,” “Foundations,” “Commentary on the Propers Year B,” “Playlist,” and “The Service: Setting Five.”

NPH released several other titles to strengthen faith, including The Baptismal Life, The Heart of Faith, My Christian Worship, Singing the Small Catechism, and many additional books, Bible studies, and music pieces.

Visit nph.net or call 800-662-6022 to learn more about the ministry of NPH.

WELS Church Extension Fund

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WELS Church Extension Fund, Inc., (WELS CEF) provides financing through loans and grants to mission congregations so they can acquire land and ministry facilities to be used for gospel outreach in coordination with WELS Home Missions. WELS CEF also provides loans to mission-minded self-supporting WELS congregations and schools for land and facility projects. The money to carry out WELS CEF’s mission comes from investments and gifts from WELS members, congregations, and affiliated organizations.

In the fiscal year end-ing June 30, 2023, $55.8 million of new loans and $2.7 million of new grants were approved to mission and mission-minded self-supporting congregations. In addition, WELS CEF disbursed $2.1 million of endowment and unrestricted net asset grants to Home Missions.

Good News, Mount Horeb, Wis. (pictured), a WELS home mission, received support from WELS Church Extension Fund as it built its new church.

For more information, visit wels.net/cef.

WELS Investment Funds

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Since 1997, WELS Investment Funds has been providing investment portfolios to benefit WELS and its affiliated ministries.

We know that we are better together, which is why 255 WELS organizations have invested nearly $300 million with WELS Investment Funds (as of June 30, 2023). By pooling our resources, we can enjoy benefits we wouldn’t have by investing individually.

Our investors benefit from lower investment costs, oversight by a national board of directors made up of WELS members with relevant experience, the expertise of professional institutional investment consultants, and ease of use as investors work directly with our professional WELS staff to set up and manage accounts.

Does your congregation or school have funds that you are considering investing? Contact us at [email protected] or 877-888-8953 to explore your options.

Learn if WELS Investment Funds can be a blessing to your ministry at wels.net/welsfunds.

WELS Congregational Services

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WELS Congregational Services exists to encourage and equip congregations for faithful and fruitful gospel ministry.

The more ministry the better

After analyzing WELS’ 2022 statistics, Jonathan Hein, coordinator of WELS Congregational Services, wrote the following:

A little over a decade ago, some WELS congregations began exploring multi-site ministry. In a multi-site ministry, the congregations are one entity: one governance, one budget, and typically one name. The one church simply operates on multiple sites.

In more recent years, this has evolved to the next step—consolidation, where multiple churches merge into one. A recent WELS Connection told the story of Living Hope Lutheran Church in West Allis, Wis., which is a merger of three WELS congregations that were located within two miles of each other.

In 2022, WELS had almost 460 congregations with an average weekly worship attendance under 50. A little more than half of those congregations (about 230) are within a 10-minute drive of another WELS congregation, many in a similar worship attendance situation. If those congregations were to consolidate at a 2:1 ratio, it would mean 115 fewer congregations.

One might ask, “Why do that? The more congregations the better.” But in our shared effort in WELS to proclaim the gospel, is the total number of congregations what really matters? Or is it the ability to do zealous ministry? Could consolidation help some congregations achieve a sort of “critical mass” that might potentially assist ministry efforts?

Imagine three WELS congregations in close proximity. Each has a sanctuary that can seat about 120. Each has a weekly worship attendance in the low 30s, which means the church is about 25 percent full.

Now imagine those three congregations consolidate at one location. Worship attendance is now in the 90s, meaning the sanctuary is more than 70 percent full. Does it enable the church to better do certain things—youth group, a choir, simply singing during worship? Does it help evangelism efforts when a guest walks into a church that is mostly full versus mostly empty?

If nothing else, that consolidation allows the same number of people to be served by one pastor instead of three. In 2022 WELS had almost exactly the same number of active pastors as it did in 1990. Yet, at the end of 2022, WELS had almost 91,000 fewer members than in 1990.

There is a common obstacle to this strategy
—an understandable sentimental attachment to location. Overcoming that understandable attachment will require time and the Spirit-wrought understanding that “the end” is Christ’s glory and mission. Church facilities are a means to the end. Thus, a strategy of consolidation will also take something of a culture shift, away from the mindset of “the more churches the better” to the mindset of “the more ministry the better.”

WELS Congregational Services is available to help leaders learn more about collaborating with area congregations to carry out more ministry. Contact [email protected].

Resources to build up Christians of all ages

Youth Ministry

Who am I? Your identity in Christ” is a three-part youth ministry resource that takes an in-depth look at real-life problems that overwhelm teens. The videos explore the identity crisis among teens and look to root teens’ identity in Christ through the facts of God’s Word rather than personal feelings. The series is adaptable for use in a youth group setting, home setting, or for personal teen viewing.

“Never too young to talk about Jesus: Why your witness matters” is a two-part video study for teens that shows why sharing their faith is their responsibility and privilege. Multiple “pause points” give teens a chance to engage in discussion with one another and apply what they learn about sharing their faith. This study highlights the important role teens have in sharing Christ with their generation.

Family Ministry

“Fostering faith in the next generation: Making time for what matters the most” is a webinar from WELS Women’s Ministry that features panelists who are parents in the trenches of discipling children for a lifetime of spiritual growth. These women speak to the challenges that come with the desire to live counterculture in a world that is so good at keeping us distracted and busy.

Compassion Ministry

“Helping the hurting with hope” is a five-lesson Bible study to help Christians appreciate the role of compassion in their personal and congregational lives. It provides gospel motivation to go beyond our comfort zones and act in compassionate ways through the Holy Spirit’s power.

Military Services

WELS Military Services produces a weekly video devotion for members of the military, their families, and their loved ones. You can subscribe to have these devotions e-mailed to your inbox each week at wels.net/subscribe.

WELS Military Services commissioned two new full-time chaplains in August 2023 to serve WELS members in the military and their families. Robert Weiss was commissioned as the new European civilian chaplain. Paul Horn was commissioned as the new WELS national civilian chaplain. To receive support from these pastors, visit wels.net/refer.

Learn more at welscongregationalservices.net.

Record enrollment

Area Lutheran high school enrollment is up five percent for the 2023–24 school year in comparison with the year before. Enrollment has been steadily increasing, resulting in 20 percent more students attending area Lutheran high schools today than five years ago.

“In these trying and troubling times in America, we are seeing more people saying, ‘I want Jesus for my kids’ or ‘I want Christian values.’ They want to know that’s what their kids are going to hear at high school,” says James Rademan, director of WELS Lutheran Schools. “And our 30 high schools are excited and poised to share that gospel message.”

Leadership conference equips members to serve

More than 1,300 WELS members gathered in Chicago in January for the WELS National Conference on Lutheran Leadership. For three days they dedicated themselves to learning about leading in the congregation and community as well as enjoying worship and fellowship. The conference was for all WELS members, both called workers and laypeople, men and women of all ages, current leaders and future leaders. About 47 percent of attendees were called workers, 44 percent were lay members, and 9 percent were high school or college students.

Sixty-one teenagers from WELS high schools attended the conference. One of the breakout sessions even featured a panel of high school students discussing their experiences and views.

“[Our church body] is hemorrhaging young adults, and you often hear people my age (or even older) speculating on why that is the case,” says Jonathan Hein, coordinator of WELS Congregational Services. “So we wanted to have some presentations where we actually listened to young people. What are their views on why their generation is quitting church? What do they think we can do better to attempt to retain and reach young people today?”

Hein adds, “Teens want to be more than consumers of gospel ministry. They want to be doers of gospel ministry.” The conference exposed them to some of the very real conversations happening in the synod surrounding leadership, ministry, and outreach.

Videos of select presentations are available at lutheranleadership.com. To learn more about topics covered at the conference, visit forwardinchrist.net/lutheran-leadership.

Everyone Outreach

Thirty-six WELS congregations participated in an Everyone Outreach workshop in 2023. Everyone Outreach was designed by Kurt Nitz (pictured presenting at the National Conference on Lutheran Leadership) and Eric Roecker, the director of WELS Evangelism, to help congregations build a culture of outreach so that every member and every ministry is thinking about and participating in outreach.

When a congregation participates in Everyone Outreach, a facilitator visits the congregation for a two-day workshop. During the workshop, the facilitator uses group exercises and reflection, grounded in God’s Word, to help members focus on outreach. After the workshop, the facilitator continues to encourage and support the congregation in maintaining an outreach mindset.

Learn more at everyoneoutreach.com.

Prison Ministry

Matt Brown (left) and Don Tollefson at the Harris County jail with some of the devotion books provided by Institutional Ministries.

“The prisoners are able to live their faith. . . . It’s amazing to see how God works [and] gets his Word out through these guys,” says Matt Brown about his ministry at the Harris County jail.

Since 2017, Brown, pastor at Abiding Word, Houston, Texas, has been ministering to prisoners at the Harris County jail, the third largest jail in the country with more than 10,000 prisoners. With the support of his congregation and help from volunteers, Brown has reached more than 3,000 prisoners with God’s Word. Not only have Brown and the volunteers shared God’s Word with the inmates but they also have preached the gospel to healthcare and detention workers.

“God’s Word does work,” says retired pastor Don Tollefson about his experience volunteering at the Harris County jail. “Many [prisoners] are open and willing to listen—they’re at this point in life that they need something that is more than themselves.”

Dave Hochmuth, director of WELS Prison Ministry, says, “Jesus died for these people too. . . . There are some huge barriers to getting people back to the body of Christ, and we need people who have the heart for that, who are willing to reach out to somebody who is not like them.”

Numerous partnerships have developed to support this ministry. WELS Prison Ministry provides training for the volunteers. Brown uses existing materials from Institutional Ministries, WELS Prison Ministry, Time of Grace, and WELS Multi-Language Productions to preach the good news of Jesus to the inmates. Having some of these resources available in both English and Spanish has increased the reach even more, especially as other chaplains have begun to use these materials.

Through the partnerships and relationships formed, thousands of people have heard God’s saving Word. “This is what God has called us to do—to serve in love,” says Brown.

Learn more about how you can get involved in prison ministry work in your community or through serving as a pen pal at wels.net/prison-ministry.

Did you know?

The 2024 WELS National Conference on Worship, Music, and the Arts will feature a 120-voice festival choir with full orchestra, a 120-voice high school honor choir with full orchestra, and a 70-voice children’s choir.

WELS Christian Aid and Relief

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WELS Christian Aid and Relief reflects Christ’s love and compassion to those suffering as the result of disasters or other hardships as well as through humanitarian aid distributed through WELS’ home and world missions.

Leaders from WELS Christian Aid and Relief traveled to a predominantly Hindu country in South Asia early in 2023 to see how humanitarian aid grant money is being used there. While there, Christian Aid and Relief leaders attended the following humanitarian aid events:

Sewing schools: These schools provide women with a skill that enables them to set up a small business in their village and earn income to support their families. The women are given the foot-pump sewing machine on which they are trained.
Free medical camps: These two-day medical camps serve about 500 people, offering basic dental, medical, and vision care.
Education for young mothers: Infants and toddlers are weighed and given check-ups. Participants receive information about proper nutrition and basic food staples.
Smokeless stove distribution: Many heat their homes and cook their meals over open fires inside their homes. The smoke causes respiratory illnesses and negatively impacts vision. At this event, one hundred smokeless, wood-burning steel stoves with chimneys were distributed, offering families a safer alternative.

“It’s a joy to know that these acts of kindness lead to many opportunities to share the reason for our hope in Christ,” says Daniel Sims, director of WELS Christian Aid and Relief. WELS is working with 89 congregations and 7,000 Christians in this area of South Asia.

Domestically, WELS Christian Aid and Relief provides matching grants of up to $2,500 to self-supporting WELS congregations once a year to carry out compassion ministry in their communities. In October 2023, WELS Christian Aid and Relief approved a Community Care and Compassion matching grant for Christ, Denver, Colo., to assist the congregation as it reaches out to Venezuelan migrants in its area.

Only a month after receiving the grant, Paul Biedenbender, pastor at Christ, Denver, noted: “After a Bible study on baptism, six children were baptized (two others will be soon when the fathers have a day off of work). Combined with a similar event two weeks before, we have baptized 15 children. Warm clothing and coffee during the week keeps bringing people in who then also receive pastoral care.”

For more information, visit wels.net/relief.

Support Services

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Planning for 175th anniversary underway

The 175th anniversary of the founding of the Wisconsin Synod will occur in 2025. A WELS 175th Anniversary Planning Committee began meeting in January 2023 to discuss and carry out plans to help WELS celebrate this milestone of God’s grace. Two major projects are being planned—a new pictorial history of WELS and an accompanying video. All WELS members are invited to submit historical photos (such as the one above) for consideration in these projects. Submissions can be made at wels.net/175-photos. Watch for more information about anniversary projects and events at welshistoricalinstitute.org.

Pictured is the dedication of the new seminary campus in Thiensville (now Mequon), Wis., on Aug. 18, 1929. The service was one of the largest gatherings of WELS members in history with more than 10,000 people estimated to have attended.

Ministry of Christian Giving

WELS Ministry of Christian Giving works on behalf of the Conference of Presidents, assisting with gathering Congregation Mission Offerings (CMO) and encouraging direct gifts to WELS through mailed appeals, coordination of special offerings, and WELS Christian giving counselors.

We praise God that Congregation Mission Offerings have set new records each year since 2019 and as of this writing, 2023 is also looking to finish with strong congregational offerings.

In 2023, the Ministry of Christian Giving worked with Martin Luther College to promote competency-based education, a program that provides training to second-career teachers. We rejoice that $581,000 was given through November.

WELS Ministry of Christian Giving is working with WELS Home Missions on the effort to plant 100 new home mission churches and enhance 75 existing ministries from 2023–2033. From July 2021 through November 2023, 1,587 individuals and groups have offered 2,285 gifts/commitments totaling $2.76 million. Christian Giving is also working with Luther Preparatory School on a capital campaign to build a new music center on the Watertown, Wis., campus.

In fiscal year 2023 Christian giving counselors made thousands of contacts with WELS donors and helped them arrange 202 major gifts and expectancies totaling $40.5 million. Visit wels.net/givingcounselors to find your giving counselor and receive free, confidential assistance with offering a gift to WELS.

Did you know?

You can find information about WELS churches, schools, called workers, and WELS-affiliated ministries at yearbook.wels.net. WELS Technology maintains a database that allows for this comprehensive look-up service. Wondering where the closest WELS church is in a particular city? Visit yearbook.wels.net and choose “Organizations.”

World Missions

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WELS World Missions conducts gospel outreach in 45 countries and is exploring outreach opportunities in 19 prospective new mission fields. World Missions brings the light of God’s Word to the world through evangelism efforts, church planting, training national workers for ministry, and providing religious materials in foreign languages through Multi-Language Productions. Forty-four world missionaries partner with more than 400 national pastors to conduct outreach and train more than 380 students for service in Christ’s kingdom.

World Missions supports mission work:

on Native American reservations, where the gospel is being shared on the Apache reservations in Arizona and exploratory mission work is beginning on other reservations throughout North America;
in Africa, where missionaries partner with national church bodies in seven countries and are exploring outreach in at least six more countries throughout the continent;
in Asia, where 16 missionaries have joined together to equip, encourage, and empower others to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to 1.8 billion unreached souls;
in Latin America, where hundreds of thousands of people are being reached through Academia Cristo online courses and more than 25 individuals are actively leading a group in worship and study;
in Europe, where missionaries partner with national churches to train the next generation of church leaders and bring the true gospel to countries without a strong Lutheran presence; and
through Multi-Language Productions, which has produced materials in more than 56 languages and reaches tens of thousands of English-speakers in more than 30 different countries through the TELL online training platform.

For more information, visit wels.net/missions.

Africa

WELS world missionaries in Africa spend much of their time exploring outreach in other countries and relationships with other national church bodies. In August 2023, members of WELS’ One Africa Team visited congregations in Tanzania that are part of the Africa Mission Evangelism Church, a Lutheran church body of almost one hundred congregations. WELS first visited in 2021 to start discussions to see if the church bodies share the same scriptural beliefs and practices and could one day be in fellowship.

At the 2023 synod convention, WELS declared fellowship with Obadiah Lutheran Synod of Uganda, which it began working with in 2017.

Pictured above: WELS missionary Benjamin Foxen and the members of Kyakojogoma church in northwest Tanzania outside the temporary shelter they built for worship.

Latin America

When 17-year-old Tonny Quintero walked up the hill in the barrio of Medellín, Colombia, in 1980, he thought he was going to learn English. But Larry W. Schlomer, a WELS missionary, taught him “something much more beautiful,” says Quintero. He was confirmed by Schlomer three years later.

On Aug. 2, 2023, Quintero (pictured) stood before delegates of WELS’ 67th biennial synod convention representing Iglesia Cristo WELS Internacional, with which WELS affirmed fellowship. When addressing the delegates, Quintero, now a pastor in Medellín, brought greetings and thanks. “Instruments that God used were sent by you to share the Word of God with me and others,” he says.

He went on to share how the Word of God has grown in Latin America to the point that in 2021 Iglesia Cristo WELS Internacional was formed by five WELS sister churches—all of which originally started as WELS missions—from Colombia, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Bolivia, and
Venezuela. This new church body is the landing point for new congregations in Latin America that grow out of Academia Cristo, a multi-faceted program that shares the message of God’s grace with as many people as possible, identifies and trains potential leaders, and encourages these leaders to make more disciples who plant churches.

“Why was Iglesia Cristo WELS Internacional formed? So that these new churches that are being formed aren’t left alone but they have a group to become a member of,” says Quintero. A church in Bolivia recently was accepted into this church body; more than 25 are now working through the process.

Vietnam

In July 2023, God’s grace could be seen on WELS’ work in Vietnam with the formal building dedication of the new Theological Education Center in Hanoi and the graduation ceremony of the first class of 55 pastors from the Hmong Fellowship Church who have completed their seminary training. WELS President Mark Schroeder and WELS Missions representatives Sean Young and Larry Schlomer attended the events. Among others present were Jon Bare, president of Asia Lutheran Seminary; Bounkeo Lor, Hmong Asian ministry coordinator; and Joel Nitz, Hmong Asian missionary.

“We are grateful to the government of Vietnam for granting WELS permission to carry out this training and to erect a building in which to do it. We are thankful to the Hmong Fellowship Church for inviting us to train its pastors. We thank the members of our synod for their generous gifts of love and faith to make this possible. Above all, we are thankful to our gracious God for giving us this amazing opportunity to share the gospel in Vietnam,” says Schroeder.

Meet pastors from the Hmong Fellowship Church in Vietnam at wels.net/vietnam.

Native American Missions

Eight churches, one preaching station, and two Lutheran elementary schools serve those on the Fort Apache and the San Carlos Apache Reservations. David Bostedt (pictured) serves at East Fork and Canyon Day.

WELS Mission Journeys

Seven people from St. Martin’s Lutheran Church in Watertown, S.D., participated in a WELS Mission Journeys trip to London in October 2023. They volunteered at two different charities in the area to assist WELS missionaries in building connections in the community. Pictured here are St. Martin’s members as well as members of WELS’ mission in London and WELS’ two missionaries in London, Mike Hartman and Conifer Berg. Interested in participating in a short-term mission trip with members of your congregation? Visit wels.net/missionjourneys for more information.

Home Missions

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Pictured above: Joseph Lindloff was installed as the new home missionary in Marquette, Mich., in October 2023. Marquette received funding as a new mission in March 2023 in the first round of missions approved as part of WELS’ initiative to launch 100 missions in 10 years. Pictured with Lindloff are his wife, Julie, and their three children.

WELS officially launched its 100 missions in 10 years initiative in 2023. The initiative includes plans to plant 100 new home mission churches and enhance 75 existing ministries from 2023–2033, and it is off to a strong start. In 2023, the Board for Home Missions approved support for 10 new missions and 10 enhancements.

New missions

Bentonville, Ark.: Bentonville, the headquarters of Walmart, is anticipated to see 35 percent population growth in the next three years. Only two churches of any denomination are located in the target area of southwest Bentonville/Centerton. The 12-person core group has been active in the community and looks forward to planting a new church in an area with no current WELS presence.
Panama City Beach, Fla.: Amazing Grace, Panama City, is looking to expand west and start a second site in the greater Panama City Beach area. The core group of about 12 members has been meeting regularly for more than two years as they make plans to reach a growing retirement population and the young families that serve the aging population and tourists.
Idaho Falls, Idaho: The greater Idaho Falls area is experiencing tremendous growth due to jobs, quality of life, and cost of living. The Mormon church has a strong historical presence in the area so the 11-person core group has been working with Truth in Love Ministries, a WELS-affiliated organization that reaches out to Mormons and equips others to do so.
Boston, Mass.: Boston, a city with 4.3 million souls, is known as “America’s College Town” with 53 colleges and universities. The closest WELS church to the urban center is a 90-minute drive to the south. This unique urban mission is being modeled after church plants in Atlanta and New York City and has strong potential for college and cross-cultural ministries.
Marquette, Mich.: Marquette serves as the hub of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and 52 percent of the people in and around Marquette do not have a home church or attend a church. It is also home to 7,000 students at Northern Michigan University, a ripe opportunity for a campus ministry program. A group of WELS members live in Marquette, and many students remain in the area after graduation.
Kalispell, Mont.: Kalispell is considered the fastest-growing micropolitan city (population 10,000-50,000) in the United States and is 100 miles away from the nearest WELS church. The dedicated core group has been gathering for worship on a regular basis for years, first in private homes and currently in a motel conference room. The pastor at Living Savior, Missoula, Mont., leads onsite worship twice a month while lay leaders organize other weekly Bible studies and outreach events.
Cincinnati, Ohio: Beautiful Savior, Cincinnati, Ohio, is starting a second site in the Oakley and Hyde Park neighborhoods, just northeast of downtown. A core group of 20 members have been meeting regularly for fellowship, Bible study, and outreach since fall 2022. This new location would put Beautiful Savior closer to three colleges in the area, opening opportunities for campus ministry growth.
North Collin County, Texas: A core group of 15 members from Atonement, Plano, Texas, are starting a new church in North Collin County, a northern suburb of Dallas. Divine Savior Ministries, a WELS-affiliated ministry with four church/school campuses, has committed to providing guidance and resources to the new mission and is planning to build a Divine Savior Academy by year five of the mission start.
Kronenwetter, Wis.: Five WELS churches in the greater Wausau, Wis., area are supporting a new mission in Kronenwetter. This growing community south of Wausau is home to Northland Lutheran High School, which houses this new church. The 22-member core group has been meeting monthly since December 2021 for Bible study and mission planning.
Buffalo, Wyo: A group of 27 WELS members living in the Buffalo area have been worshiping weekly in the local civic center since March 2020, led by the pastor from Lord of Lords in Casper, Wyo. Core group members have started three different Bible study/book study opportunities outside of Sunday worship and Bible study and are actively inviting friends to join.

Enhancements

Beautiful Savior, West Des Moines, Iowa
Our Redeemer, Ladysmith, Wis.
Good Shepherd, Midland, Texas
Fairview, Milwaukee, Wis.
Christ the King, Port Charlotte, Fla.
Divine Savior–Sienna, Missouri City, Texas
Mount Calvary, Redding/Anderson, Calif.
Christ the King, Palm Coast, Fla.
Hope in Deerfield, Wis.
Cross of Christ, Las Cruces, N.M.

Did you know?

WELS Home Missions supports 145 home mission congregations, including churches in 38 states, Canada, and the English-speaking West Indies.

North Collin County, Texas

“We are so humbled and excited to have been chosen for mission status in this first year of WELS’ 100 in 10 mission initiative,” says Brad Johnston, the core group leader of Divine Savior, North Collin County. “We have learned so much about our community and the needs of our neighbors and friends over the past two years of active outreach efforts. They have no greater need than to hear the message of peace that comes from knowing their Savior Jesus.”

Johnston and other members of the core group in North Collin County have been meeting every other week since 2021 for planning meetings and Bible studies. They have also participated in community outreach opportunities, including cleaning up litter. In July 2023 Caleb King was installed to serve as a home missionary for Divine Savior in North Collin County.

Divine Savior–Sienna

In March 2023, members of Divine Savior–Sienna submitted a request through our district mission board to the Board for Home Missions for an enhancement grant to allow us to call for a second pastor. The Board for Home Missions granted that request.

Dan Laitinen was the first pastor we called. He moved with his family to Sienna in July 2023, and we celebrated his installation on July 30 with worship and a massive serving of Texas-smoked pulled pork.

So . . . how’s it going? Incredibly!

As we partner with Divine Savior Academy on our campus, there are so many opportunities for ministry. This year, the school has grown to 350 students in PreK–11th grade. We anticipate more students next year with the completion of a building project.

So much ministry can happen with two pastors! While I serve 10th graders and teach the Old Testament, Pastor Laitinen can study the Bible with Kenneth, our security officer, and Keith, our technology specialist, progressing toward membership at Divine Savior Church. While Pastor Laitinen invites Connect Group leaders to his home to encourage and equip them for our small group ministry, I am the invited guest at the homes of academy parents like Jake and Amanda or Will and Jordan, who take our START class to become members. While I take time to engage and interact specifically with worship visitors and guests, Pastor Laitinen leads a Sunday morning small group study. While Pastor Laitinen works with our youth group leaders to plan consistent events to connect teens to Christ, I work with the outreach team to plan our soccer camp and Easter egg hunt.

More kingdom work is happening. More people are equipped to serve in our mission. More souls are connected to Christ!

Kevin Boushek, home missionary at Divine Savior–Sienna

Campus ministry in Atlanta

Colleen Thorson didn’t grow up in the church. In fact, when she started at Agnes Scott College, Decatur, Ga., she hadn’t ever set foot in a worship service. On the other hand, Colleen’s new roommate, Megan Smith, a member at Victory of the Lamb, Katy, Texas, had been going to church her whole life. When Megan asked if she wanted to check out a new church together, Colleen joined her at Intown Lutheran Church, a mission congregation in the heart of Atlanta, Ga.

After that first worship service, Colleen didn’t waste any time making plans to come back. “All I could think about was that I wanted to learn more,” she says. “I felt incredibly blessed to worship with so many kind people and was very inspired by the beautiful message Pastor Lucas was sharing.”

Lucas Bitter accepted the call to start a new mission in Atlanta in 2017. He sees the city’s college students as souls hungry to hear about the peace and security Jesus offers. When Megan and Colleen first attended worship at Intown, Bitter quickly learned their names and invited them to attend that week’s Campus Ministry Bible study. If there was any doubt in the roommates’ minds that they belonged at Intown, these weeknights spent in the Word dispelled them immediately.

“When things get tough during the week,” explains Colleen, “this time in the Word is a great reminder of what’s really important. We’re always trying to get more people from the area involved, to show them how much of a difference Jesus can make in their lives too.”

When Colleen approached Bitter one Sunday after worship and asked what she needed to do to prepare herself to take Holy Communion, he saw an opportunity. He invited her to take the church’s Bible Basics course. She completed the course and was baptized and confirmed on Easter Sunday 2022.

“Since Colleen completed the course and got baptized, several other students have enrolled in the class,” says Bitter. “Lord willing, there may be more adult baptisms coming soon!”

Visit wels.net/college to learn more about WELS Campus Ministry.

Joint Missions

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WELS Joint Missions supports mission opportunities that are the responsibility of Home Missions, World Missions, and Ministerial Education. Much of this work centers around people-group ministries, where immigrants who have joined our fellowship in the United States and Canada are able to take the gospel back to friends and family in their country of origin.

Taste of Missions

Pictured above: Many of WELS’ newest home and world missionaries attended Taste of Missions 2023. This family-friendly event aimed at giving WELS members a “taste of missions” is being held again on June 15, 2024, at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wis., and online. Learn more at tasteofmissions.com.

Connecting people to the gospel

Steve Gabb, pastor at Hope, Los Angeles, Calif., baptized Amber in February 2023. Neil Birkholz connected Amber, originally from East Asia, with Gabb when he learned that she was looking for a WELS church in the Los Angeles area.

“I would use the illustration of a switchboard operator from the early days of telephone communication to explain the work of a diaspora ministry facilitator,” says Neil Birkholz, WELS’ Asian ministry consultant and diaspora ministry facilitator for East Asia. 

Birkholz further explains, “If someone from Korea is looking to connect their son with a WELS church in the United States, I help connect them with the local WELS church where their son will be living. If a member of my WELS church in California is returning to their home country of Thailand, I help connect them with our WELS World Mission One Team in Thailand so this member can continue to worship with other confessional Lutherans while living in Thailand.”

Diaspora ministry—or people-group ministry—involves both World Missions and Home Missions. Each World Missions One Team (Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Native American) has at least one diaspora ministry facilitator, which is a role that a pastor takes on in addition to his full-time call.

Learn more at wels.net/jointmissions, including how to contact diaspora ministry facilitators to connect people groups.

One campus, three languages

In August 2023, King of Kings, Garden Grove, Calif., ordained and installed its second and third pastors in a trilingual worship service. The three languages woven throughout the service reflected the congregation’s three distinct ministries: English, Vietnamese, and Spanish. Trung Lê (right), a recent graduate of the Pastoral Studies Institute, is leading the Vietnamese ministry, which is funded by the WELS Joint Mission Council. Grant Hagen (middle), a 2023 graduate of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, is leading the Hispanic ministry. Lê and Hagen serve alongside Brian Doebler (left), lead pastor at King of Kings.

When King of Kings was established in 1962, the community surrounding it looked—and sounded—very different than it does today. The population in Garden Grove was largely English-speaking Anglo. Today, about 40 percent of Garden Grove is Hispanic and 40 percent is Vietnamese. King of Kings’ members knew that to reach their neighbors with the gospel they would have to embrace the changes around them and adapt their ministry.  

“Our prayer is to have a thriving gospel ministry in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese and a congregation that [works] together to share the gospel,” says Doebler. “We want a campus that reflects the diversity of our community, like in Revelation 7—a glimpse of what we can anticipate in heaven.” 

Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary

2024/01/10/in Annual Report

Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary (WLS) prepares men to serve in the pastoral ministry by providing them with spiritual, theological, and professional training. Students attend classes for two years, serve as full-time vicars during their third year, and then attend classes and write a thesis in their fourth year. Throughout their time at the seminary, students receive opportunities to serve in a variety of ministries and to experience other cultures to help prepare them for their future calls.

On May 26, 2023, 39 students graduated. The day before, the seminary held its assignment service, where nine of those graduates were assigned to home and world mission fields, including Caleb King (pictured middle in the inset photo), who was assigned to a mission start in North Collin County, Texas. After the service, graduates met with their district presidents and in King’s case, with representatives from WELS Home Missions, including Matthew Vogt (pictured right), a mission counselor.

Following graduation, the seminary provides pastors with opportunities for continued growth through its institute, Grow in Grace. Grow in Grace offers continuing education courses, a mentoring initiative for new graduates, a clearinghouse of resources for pastors, and an annual retreat for pastors who are celebrating milestones in their ministries.

The mentoring program in particular is a blessing to new graduates. Participation is optional but the program has proven so valuable in recent years that nearly every graduate chooses to have a mentor. Resignation from the ministry has significantly decreased since the mentoring program began in 2010.

For more information, visit wisluthsem.org.

Winterim

In January, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary offers students a two-week learning opportunity known as Winterim. Classes range from special topics presented in the classroom to trips to important biblical locations (pictured left is a group in Turkey) to time working with home mission congregations.

In 2023, the seminary teamed up with WELS Home Missions to organize a church planting course during Winterim hosted at The Way, Fredericksburg, Va. The course was led by home missionaries Jared Oldenburg and Matt Rothe and mission counselor Mark Birkholz, each of whom came with a wealth of experience and knowledge to share. Eleven seminarians traveled to Virginia to learn more about starting new churches in places where WELS may not have an established presence.

“We want to offer students the opportunity to spend time with church-planting pastors who can open their eyes to the challenges and blessings of starting a congregation,” says Bill Tackmier, the WLS professor who organized the trip to Virginia.

During their time at The Way, seminarians studied core principles of confessional Lutheran mission work and were challenged to apply these concepts to actual WELS mission fields. The capstone project for the course was a presentation of each seminarian’s mission strategy.

“Mission planting is an enormous undertaking,” notes Justin Steinke, who is pictured right giving his capstone presentation. “From the early stages on it takes a community of believers who love to share the gospel and a whole synod’s support!”

Did you know?

Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary is pursuing accreditation through the Association of Theological Schools. The school began the process by conducting an in-depth self-study that faculty members believe has already led to improvements in the school’s program.

Pastoral Studies Institute

When David, a member at Hope, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, expressed interest in attending a seminary in 2020, his pastor, Mark Henrich (pictured with David and his wife), encouraged him to study through WELS and contacted the Pastoral Studies Institute, a program coordinated by WELS Joint Missions and Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, that guides and assists spiritual leaders around the globe through pre-seminary and seminary training.

Once he was accepted into the program, the Pastoral Studies Institute coordinated instructors—including Henrich—to take David through four levels of courses. Some classes are taught in Mandarin, David’s first language. Many classes are online. Most students take one or two classes at a time since they also work full time. David is taking four—and asking for more. He currently is in level three of the program.

David began to lead an online Bible study from his home in March 2022, which has led to 40 East Asians from 20 cities around the world being baptized.

To learn more about David’s story, visit forwardinchrist.net/delightful-trouble.

Mission and ministry

Each February, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary hosts a Mission and Ministry seminar for its students. The seminar teaches students about the resources available and the ministry taking place through the synod’s areas of ministry and affiliated ministries. The event includes displays, devotions, keynote presentations, and breakout presentations.

Senior thesis

In his final year of study, each seminary student chooses a topic to explore in depth in a thesis, which is then presented to his classmates.

Martin Luther College

2024/01/10/in Annual Report

Pictured above: The Lutheran Women’s Missionary Society sponsored a card-signing event for Martin Luther College students during fall 2023. The students wrote notes to missionaries and their families.

Martin Luther College (MLC), New Ulm, Minn.:

prepares men for pastoral training at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary;
prepares men and women for service as teachers and staff ministers in the synod’s churches, schools, and other institutions;
prepares men and women for other church ministries, both full- and part-time, responding to the needs of WELS;
prepares international students for ministry in partnership with WELS mission fields; and
provides programs of continuing education that meet the ministerial needs of WELS.

For more information, visit mlc-wels.edu.

620

undergraduate enrollment

465

education/staff ministry majors

155

preseminary majors

states represented in student body

countries represented in student body

133

Graduate Studies enrollment

Did you know?

Martin Luther College launched a new and improved curriculum for child development
associates titled the CDA Prep Series. The Child Development Associate credential is considered the best first step in early childhood credentialing. Learn more at mlc-wels.edu/continuing-education/cda-prep-series.

Competency-Based Education

On Aug. 21, 2023, Martin Luther College installed seven new faculty members. Doctors Martin and Nichole LaGrow (front row, left) are helping develop the college’s new nontraditional elementary education degree. Martin is the instructional designer and Nichole serves as the program director.

Beginning in January 2023, Nichole began putting the pieces into place for this new degree program, which utilizes Competency-Based Education, a method that awards degrees based on proven competence instead of credit hours, taking into account students’ past experiences and previous job skills. Competency-Based Education is an alternative pathway to ministry for those who are unable to move to New Ulm for a traditional on-campus program. It allows WELS members to obtain education degrees while staying in their own communities and their own jobs—some of which are in WELS schools.

The first students to enroll in the program will begin coursework in fall 2024. For more information, visit mlc-wels.edu/nep.

Excited to serve

One-hundred sixty-six students graduated from Martin Luther College on May 13, 2023. Many of them also received their first calls into full-time ministry that day. Pictured below are Maria and Josiah Klatt at MLC’s assignment service. The Klatts were assigned to serve at Apostles, San Jose, Calif. Josiah is a staff minister and Maria teaches fourth grade.

Early ministry experience

When preseminary students step on campus as freshmen, it’s an eight-year journey to the pulpit, which can feel distant and daunting. A new field experience at Martin Luther College, known as Early Ministry Experience 1, now provides early encouragement to men on this journey by taking them directly into the life of a congregation for several days.

Matt Koelpin, Zach Maedke, and Ben Schoch (pictured) participated in the pilot of the program in spring 2023. They traveled to San Antonio, Texas, to shadow Micah Koelpin (also pictured), who is pastor at Our Savior–San Antonio West, a young daughter congregation of Our Savior–San Antonio East.

They participated in the worship services at Our Savior, helped with the congregation’s Easter outreach program, learned how to write and format a devotion, discussed the ministry and the logistics of a mission congregation with Pastor Koelpin, and visited members. As Zach noted, “I’m glad I’m just a first-year and I have seven years left, because I have a lot more to learn!”

The experience taught Matt that “being a pastor doesn’t just revolve around what you do on Sunday and how you get people to church. . . . It’s also just being a friend to your neighbors, helping out in every and any way you can. . . . I have a newfound passion for going out and talking to people, initially about their lives, and then, more importantly, about God’s Word.”

Thank you to Martin Luther CollegeInFocus for the information and photo

Preparatory Schools

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Michigan Lutheran Seminary, Saginaw, Mich., and Luther Preparatory School, Watertown, Wis., prepare high school students for future service as pastors, teachers, staff ministers, and congregational leaders. Both schools offer “Taste of Ministry” opportunities for students, which include shadowing called workers to learn more about their work. Students also are given firsthand gospel experiences on campus and during mission trips. Michigan Lutheran Seminary opened the 2023–24 school year with 192 students, and Luther Preparatory School opened the year with 410 students.

Michigan Lutheran Seminary

Six students from Michigan Lutheran Seminary (MLS) traveled to Asheville, N.C., to help with Living Savior’s soccer camp in June 2023 (see photo above and to the right).

“Living Savior has been partnering with Michigan Lutheran Seminary for more than 10 years through their Project Titus program,” says Caleb Kurbis, pastor at Living Savior, Asheville. “Church members and these young people from MLS mutually encourage one another as they serve the Lord and share in gospel ministry together. These young people and their chaperones greet new families, lead games and Bible lessons, and experience the impact of reaching diverse families in a harvest field they’ve never seen before. In addition, church members get to learn more about our ministerial training system and see the impact firsthand.”

For more information about MLS, visit mlsem.org.

Luther Preparatory School

Arthur Robinson and Cristian Ferrer Bonilla, two Luther Preparatory School seniors, shadowed Thomas Kock, pastor at Atonement, Milwaukee, Wis., in October 2023. The students read Scripture during a worship service, observed a middle school religion class, helped plan the upcoming Advent worship services, and visited with members who are homebound or in assisted living.

“Every young man needs some degree of encouragement along the way,” says Kock. “ ‘Can I really do it?’ ‘Yeah, you probably can, if you’re willing to work at it!’ If I can be an encourager for some of these young men, that’s worth it.”

For more information about LPS, visit lps.wels.net.

WELS Church Extension Fund

2023/01/11/in Annual Report

Pictured above: In 2022, Living Shepherd, Laramie, Wyo., bought the facility it had been worshiping in for a year with the help of WELS CEF.

WELS Church Extension Fund, Inc.

In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, $24.1 million of new loans and $2.4 million of new grants were approved to mission and mission-minded self-supporting congregations. In addition, WELS CEF provided grants of $1.13 million and $0.5 million to the Board for Home Missions from its annual endowment distribution and its annual unrestricted net asset grant program.

Pictured are members of Good News, Mt. Horeb, Wis at the site of their future church building. As a Home Missions qualified congregation, WELS Church Extension Fund provided $747,914 in land and facility grants to Good News, along with a low-interest loan for the remainder of the cost of the land and construction of its new church.

For more information, visit wels.net/cef.

Northwestern Publishing House

2023/01/11/in Annual Report

Northwestern Publishing House (NPH) provides Christ-centered, biblically sound resources to the members of WELS and beyond. NPH publishes Forward in Christ and Meditations: Daily Devotional, elementary and Sunday school curricula, Bible studies, worship materials, music, and faith-strengthening books. In 2022, NPH released more than 725 Christian resources in print and digital formats:

Musicians Resource (found online at nph.net) released more than 700 various digital resources that support, enhance, and add variety to congregational singing.
Deep as the Sea uses doctrinal expertise to address trauma through a Christian lens.
God Loves Nobodies offers gospel-centered hope for average believers in a world that recognizes and praises only the most exceptional people.
From Egypt to Sinai is a devotional commentary exploring the relationship between the events recorded in Exodus and the Christian’s daily struggle to trust in God alone.
Wauwatosa Theology IV is a comprehensive offering of the literary work of three significant Wisconsin Synod theologians during the first 30 years of the 20th century—J. P. Koehler, August Pieper, and John Schaller.
Inashood tells the love story of dedicated Lutheran missionaries and the Apache people on eastern Arizona’s Fort Apache and San Carlos Reservations.

In addition, NPH released Christian Worship: Service Builder a custom-designed software application that allows planners to manage the complexity of worship planning and service folder creation. Christian Worship: Service Builder combines all the best features of a calendar, a word processor, and a database to unify the work of planning and preparing for worship. To learn more, visit christianworship.com/products/service-builder.

NPH continues to increase and grow audiobook offerings. In 2022 NPH released The Narrow Lutheran Middle: Following the Scriptural Road; God Loves Nobodies: Good News for Somebody Like Me; and Who Am I? Understanding Your Identity in Christ Through Facts Not Feelings to audiobook format via audible.com.

Visit nph.net or call 800-662-6022 to learn more about the ministry of NPH.

Financial Services

2023/01/11/in Annual Report

Financial Services provides finance and accounting services that support WELS ministries and safeguard the assets that God has provided. These services include financial planning and analysis, financial statement preparation and audit coordination, transaction processing, payroll services, insurance and risk management, cash and investment management, and legal-related services.

“WELS is financially strong,” notes Mr. Kyle Egan, WELS’ chief financial officer, “as God continues to provide the financial gifts needed to grow funding levels, which allows for expanded mission and ministry initiatives.”

Congregation Mission Offerings (CMO) are critical to WELS’ financial position as they fund approximately 70 percent of WELS’ operating budget every year. WELS finished fiscal year 2022 (year ended June 30, 2022) with CMO of $23.1 million, which was $0.5 million higher than the previous year and the first time CMO exceeded $23.0 million. WELS is thankful for the continued generosity of its people in supporting ministry efforts.

Other critical components to WELS’ financial position are strong reserves, including the Financial Stabilization Fund, which is utilized every year to support approximately 30 percent of WELS’ operating budget. The balance of the Financial Stabilization Fund increased during fiscal year 2022 due to higher than planned levels of CMO and overall operating expense underspending. The Financial Stabilization Fund is not an emergency or contingency fund. Rather, it holds all undesignated non-CMO funding sources (gifts, grants, bequests, investment income, and other support) to assist in supporting the annual operating expenses of the synod. WELS is blessed to have this stability in managing the operating budget year to year while allowing for the regular expansion of mission and ministry.

During the summer of 2022, the collaborative process of developing the synod’s ministry financial plan (budget) for the next two fiscal years began among the areas of ministry, ministerial education schools, synod leadership, and the Synodical Council. The ministry financial plan will be finalized at the July 2023 synod convention.

WELS Benefit Plans

2023/01/11/in Annual Report

The WELS Benefit Plans Office (BPO) serves WELS and Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) workers and organizations through administration of the WELS Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association (VEBA) Health Plan, the WELS Pension Plan, and the WELS Shepherd Plan.

The WELS VEBA Health Plan provides benefits for church and school workers in accordance with God’s Word while remaining compliant with the federal health care reform law. The plan provides comprehensive, nationwide coverage. More than 80 percent of WELS workers and calling bodies participate in WELS VEBA.

Delegates of the 2021 synod convention authorized significant changes to the WELS retirement program. Beginning January 1, 2022, WELS called workers earn retirement benefits through defined contributions made to their accounts in the WELS Shepherd Plan, which is the name of WELS’ retirement savings plan for synod workers. In addition to the defined contributions, workers can save and invest a portion of their earnings in the Shepherd Plan to provide income during their retirement years. The WELS Pension Plan was frozen on December 31, 2021, which means that all Pension benefits earned through the freeze date will be paid to participants but no new Pension benefits can be earned for service performed after the freeze date.

“There are three main advantages to the change,” notes Mr. Joshua Peterman, director of WELS Benefit Plans. “First, workers will receive meaningful contributions for retirement benefits. Second, workers will have more flexibility to provide for their retirement income needs and to share savings with their survivors. Finally, sponsoring organization costs are expected to be more stable over time.”

Coverage and benefits provided through WELS Benefit Plans are uniform throughout all 50 states. This supports the WELS ministry and call process because worker call decisions are not influenced by health insurance and retirement benefit decisions.

Visit welsbpo.net for more information.

WELS Foundation

2023/01/11/in Annual Report

Over the last three years, WELS Foundation has been privileged to distribute $37.5 million in donor-directed gifts to various WELS ministries. We praise God for his blessings and are so grateful to God’s people for continuing to support gospel work.

One of the more popular charitable giving plans is the charitable gift annuity. In addition to quarterly income payments for life, the donor can also receive significant tax benefits from the gift. Then when the Lord calls the donor home, the remainder of the gift will be distributed to the ministry or ministries that the donor has chosen.

Pictured are WELS members Carol and Arnie Nommensen, who have set up multiple charitable gift annuities to support the ministries they love. Visit wels.net/charitable-gift-annuity to watch Arnie and Carol’s story and to learn more about charitable gift annuities.

WELS Investment Funds

2023/01/11/in Annual Report

Despite the uncertainty of the last year, God continues to bless WELS Investment Funds. We are especially blessed through the WELS ministries that have chosen to invest in the WELS Funds. As of Sept. 30, 2022, WELS Investment Funds managed $250 million in assets for more than 245 WELS ministries.

Grace, Yorba Linda, Calif., is an example of how a congregation can use the services of WELS Investment Funds. After the congregation received a generous gift from a member, Grace’s leadership wanted to explore different options for investing the gift. Grace’s church council and its pastor, Phillip Sievert, met via video with Jim Holm, executive director of WELS Investment Funds, to discuss their investment options.

Sievert was grateful for the meeting and the direction it provided: “It gave our council confidence in WELS Investment Funds and a sense of relief knowing that we can leave the gift in good hands without having to worry about constant decision-making,” he says. “What I was really pleased with is the mission-mindedness that came out of our discussion.”

Sievert concludes, “WELS Investment Funds uses its time and talents and expertise in making the most of our congregation’s gifts and investments. This frees us up to focus on what Jesus has called us to do, to ‘go and make disciples of all nations.’ ”

Learn if WELS Investment Funds can be a blessing to your ministry at wels.net/welsfunds.

WELS Congregational Services

2023/01/11/in Annual Report

Pictured above: More than 2,220 teens and youth leaders traveled to Knoxville, Tenn., for the WELS 2022 International Youth Rally June 28–July 1 at the University of Tennessee. Participants joined together for worship, service, recreation, workshops, fellowship, and music under the theme “Here and now,” based on Esther 4:14. The rally was coordinated by WELS Discipleship.

Did you know?

The 2024 WELS International Youth Rally will celebrate 50 years of WELS youth rallies. Mark your calendars for June 25–28, Colorado State University, Fort Collins.

Congregational Services

WELS Congregational Services exists to serve congregations and schools and their leaders by providing resources, training, and personal assistance so that they may carry out gospel ministry in the most faithful way on the local level. Congregational Services consists of six commissions—Congregational Counseling, Discipleship, Evangelism, Lutheran Schools, Worship, and Special Ministries—that give focused attention to specific areas of congregational life.

Congregational Services shares its resources, including all the pieces of The Foundation, at welscongregationalservices.net. The Foundation focuses on a specific theme for each season of the church year and then a sub-theme each week. These themes are reflected in the Bible readings, sermons, and music in church and can be customized to fit each congregation’s needs. The Foundation includes images, videos, and bulletin blurbs to help congregations spread the word about each week’s theme and to invite people to worship.

Women’s ministry conference

The WELS Women’s Ministry Conference was held July 21–23, 2022, at Luther Preparatory School, Watertown, Wis. More than 330 women attended. The theme of the conference, Won to be One, really dug deep into the book of Ephesians and God’s grace that gives believers their identity in Christ.

“As a woman, I constantly ask what my role is in the church and in the ministry. I cannot be a pastor and I am not a teacher, so how can I be an asset to my congregation and to the church of Christ as a whole? This conference put the Great Commission in the forefront of everything and refocused my place and identity as an ambassador of Christ. We minister in everything we say and in all we do,” says Janet Block, member at New Hope, West Melbourne, Fla.

To learn more about all the resources that WELS Women’s Ministry offers, visit wels.net/women.

Pictured are members of the WELS Women’s Ministry executive team at the group’s 2022 conference.

Military contact pastor workshop

WELS Military Services, a part of WELS Special Ministries, held its annual workshop for military contact pastors in April 2022 at Risen Savior, Pooler, Ga., near Army Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield. Part of the workshop included visiting Fort Stewart, which also sponsored a meeting between attendees and more than a dozen of the post’s military chaplains. WELS has 125 congregations and their pastors near military installations providing care to men and women who serve in the United States Armed Forces and their families. Learn more at wels.net/military.

Did you know?

Free resources for service members are available at wels.net/refer.

Telling the next generation

Enrollment in WELS schools was up 9.8 percent during the 2021–22 school year, with 26,586 students in 282 Lutheran elementary schools and 11,672 students in 363 early childhood ministries.

This is the highest ever recorded enrollment for WELS early childhood ministries and the highest number for Lutheran elementary schools since the 2004–05 school year, according to Jim Rademan, director of WELS Lutheran Schools.

Nearly 70 percent of WELS schools increased their enrollment in 2021-22, while 25 percent decreased and about 5 percent stayed the same.

More and more students attending WELS schools are mission prospects, with nearly 33 percent of families in early childhood ministries and 16 percent in Lutheran elementary schools identifying either as non-Christian or no church home.

“Enrollment is up in our schools,” says Rademan. “Now how can we take advantage of the opportunity? Conditions have been favorable for having more students sit at the feet of Jesus in our classrooms. But how long will that window be open and how well are we going to take advantage of that open window and be as urgent and resolute as we possibly can about sharing the gospel with those children and their families?”

Telling the Next Generation is one tool to help congregations with planning, assistance, and resources for outreach strategies in Lutheran elementary schools and/or early childhood ministries. Visit welscongregationalservices.net/telling-the-next-generation to learn more.

Pictured is Blythe, a student at Cross of Glory, Peoria, Ariz., who was baptized at one of the school’s outdoor chapel services, with her parents. Cross of Glory has seen steady growth over the past five years, growing from 80 students in 2016 to 125 in 2021.

Connecting your devotional life to Sunday worship

Devotions prepared by WELS Congregational Services follow the theme that is set for each week’s worship in The Foundation’s resources. That means that the message that you hear on Sunday can be reinforced and expanded on in the devotions you read or hear. Here are the three devotions that offer this connection.

Daily Devotions: Published every day for general use by individuals and groups. Available as text and audio.
Family Devotions: Published Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for families. Available as text and audio.
Teen Devotions(titled “Transformed”): Published on Sunday to connect teens to Christ. Available as text.

Subscribe for free to any of these devotions at wels.net/subscribe.

Hymnal introduction resources

WELS Commission on Worship is sharing resources to help people gain an understanding of key features of the new Christian Worship hymnal and to help pastors orient people when the books are first used.

Visit welscongregationalservices.net/hymnal-introduction-resources to find the resources that are right for your congregation.

WELS Youth Night

In fall 2022 almost 30 congregations hosted WELS Youth Nights, offering area-congregation teens and youth leaders opportunities to grow in God’s Word and build relationships with one another.

Introduced at the 2022 International Youth Rally, WELS Youth Night is a series of three youth-focused events to bring teens and youth leaders together in between large rallies. WELS Discipleship provides all the resources to help congregations plan and run the events, which include games, food, music, prayer, a keynote address, and small group discussion.

King of Kings, Garden Grove, Calif., invited youth from 16 congregations in southern California to its WELS Youth Night in October. More than 50 6th- through 12th-graders from 8 different congregations attended.

“I had this dream of pulling [area youth groups] together out here just because when we get together it’s so special. But I was intimidated by all the work to make it happen,” says Josh Robertson, a teacher at King of Kings and the congregation’s youth and family elder. “At the youth rally, as I sat in on the WELS Youth Night presentation, I was floored by God and his goodness because literally my entire dream was already being planned by the synod.”

Learn more about WELS Youth Night at welscongregationalservices.net/wels-youth-night.

Everyone Outreach

WELS Commission on Evangelism designed the Everyone Outreach program to help congregations build a culture of outreach among their members. In August 2021, the commission trained 21 pastors to facilitate these workshops. In January 2022, 20 more were trained (pictured). More than 2,400 WELS members have participated in 59 Everyone Outreach workshops as of December 2022.

When a congregation makes the commitment to participate in Everyone Outreach, a facilitator visits the congregation for a two-day workshop. During the workshop, the facilitator uses group exercises and reflection, grounded in God’s Word, to help members focus on outreach. After the workshop, the facilitator continues to encourage and support the congregation in maintaining its outreach mindset.

One participant noted, “It helped me realize that if we each do our part to reach out it can have a huge impact on the lost souls in our community.”

Learn more at everyoneoutreach.com.

Grants available to help more people hear the Word

WELS Mission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, part of WELS Commission on Special Ministries, is offering $500 grants toward the installation of a hearing loop to WELS congregations that apply for it. A hearing loop works with people’s hearing aids to provide a clearer sound directly into their ears. The Mission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing can point congregations toward additional research, contacts, and other resources around hearing loops.

Tom Schultz, a member at St. Luke, Watertown, Wis., which has a hearing loop installed, explains, “I think one of the key factors is the clarity. Without the hearing loop, I pick up a lot of it, but with the hearing loop, I pick up everything; it’s crystal clear.”

If your congregation is interested, contact [email protected] for more information. Learn more about the Mission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at wels.net/mdhh.

WELS Christian Aid and Relief

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Community Care and Compassion grants

In 2020, Bethlehem, Richland Center, Wis., an exploratory mission, was looking for a ministry space to call home. After one option fell through, God provided a perfect fit—a former elementary school that had just come on the market. The building was more than just a former school. It was also home to a crucial community service—a county-run program that provides hot meals each week to senior adults. Daniel Lewig, pastor at Bethlehem, said it wasn’t even a question as to whether the congregation would continue to house the meal program.

“We didn’t just purchase a facility,” says Lewig. “We got a ministry right along with it—and an open door to see where God leads.”

Supported by offerings and a pandemic relief grant from WELS Christian Aid and Relief, Bethlehem members went to work upgrading the former classroom in which the meals are served. The revitalized dining area is so much more than a place to provide a hot meal. It also serves as Bethlehem’s fellowship hall, and seniors from the community are invited to all church activities. In addition, Lewig visits with guests each week and leads them in prayer. Bethlehem members help serve the meals or simply spend time getting to know their neighbors.

“It’s not the food that brings them together,” Lewig says. “It’s the connection. Our members help with that connection and connect it to a higher purpose. We created an environment where you’re not just eating a meal for a day but a meal for eternity.”

Once seniors are in the building, it’s a natural progression to introduce them to the renovated worship space in the gym. Several of the seniors have attended worship, and some have taken Bible information classes and become members.

WELS Christian Aid and Relief is offering matching grants to congregations that want to reach out in their community through a compassion ministry. Grants are available up to $2,500.

“When we act with compassion and love, it gains us opportunities to talk about our Savior,” says Daniel Sims, director of WELS Christian Aid and Relief. “I encourage congregations to find the people who are hurting in your community, formulate a plan to help them, and get in touch with us. Let us help you to reach out to them in love.”

Learn more at wels.net/relief.

Did you know?

In 2022, WELS Christian Aid and Relief distributed Community Care and Compassion grants to 25 congregations for a total of $45,975.

Disaster relief

Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida on Sept. 28, 2022, as a powerful Category 4 storm. Thirteen WELS congregations were in the vicinity of the storm. Although they had no loss of life, each congregation had varied degrees of damage to their church building and in their community. WELS Christian Aid and Relief responded with monetary relief and also helped coordinate manpower for cleanup and rebuilding.

Support Services

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Ministry of Christian Giving

WELS Ministry of Christian Giving encourages congregations and individuals to offer gifts of thanks to our Savior because of his love for us. These offerings support Christ’s gospel ministry through WELS. God has blessed WELS with two years of record-breaking Congregation Mission Offerings in 2020 and 2021, and, as of this writing, 2022 is also looking to finish with strong congregational offerings. We praise our Lord and thank his people for such generosity!

The Ministry of Christian Giving partnered with Martin Luther College to present the “Equipping Christian Witnesses” campaign, which received $9.6 million to fund tuition assistance and build the Betty Kohn Fieldhouse (pictured the day of its dedication, Oct. 8, 2022). This 36,000 square foot indoor turfed facility includes batting cages, golf simulators, indoor practice fields, and more.

The Ministry of Christian Giving is currently working with Home Missions to share the 100 missions in 10 years initiative with members. This initiative seeks to plant 100 new home mission churches and enhance 75 existing ministries from 2023–2033.

In fiscal year 2022 Christian giving counselors made thousands of contacts with WELS donors and helped them arrange 190 major gifts and expectancies totaling $36.9 million. Visit wels.net/givingcounselors to find your giving counselor and receive free, confidential assistance with offering a gift to WELS.

Did you know?

WELS Technology maintains a “Contact us” tool for the WELS website through which more than 1,000 questions or comments are submitted per year. The tool tracks and routes questions to those who can respond to the inquiry and provides reminders throughout the process. Have a question? Visit wels.net/contact-us.

World Missions

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WELS World Missions conducts gospel outreach in 44 countries and is exploring outreach opportunities in 18 prospective new mission fields. World Missions brings the light of God’s Word to the world through evangelism efforts, church planting, training national workers for ministry, and providing religious materials in foreign languages through Multi-Language Productions (MLP).

World Missions supports mission work:

on Native American reservations, where the gospel has been shared on the Apache reservations in Arizona for more than 125 years and exploratory mission work is beginning on other reservations throughout North America;
in Africa, where missionaries partner with national church bodies in six countries and are exploring outreach in at least seven more countries throughout the continent;
in Asia, where the two missionary teams have joined together to equip, encourage, and empower others to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to 1.8 billion unreached souls;
in Latin America, where hundreds of thousands of people are being reached through Academia Cristo online courses and more than 40 individuals are being trained to plant a church;
in Europe, where missionaries partner with national churches to train the next generation of church leaders and bring the true gospel to countries without a strong Lutheran presence;
and through Multi-Language Productions, which has produced materials in more than 56 languages and reaches tens of thousands of English-speakers in more than 30 different countries through the TELL online training platform.

For more information, visit wels.net/missions.

Did you know?

Forty-nine world missionaries partner with almost 500 national pastors to conduct outreach and train more than 380 students for service in Christ’s kingdom.

Academia Cristo

Meet Marli (front row, second from right) in Cuernavaca, Mexico. After intensive study with Academia Cristo, Marli now participates in the advanced classes of the program and is personally guided by a missionary as she shares the Word of God with the small group in her community (pictured). Her group meets regularly, digging into the Word of God, sharing Sunday school lessons with youth, and even doing periodic humanitarian services in the area.

As Academia Cristo has grown, many of those studying God’s Word are women. Elise Gross is now serving as the dean of women for Academia Cristo to encourage these women to carry out the Great Commission in their homes and respective communities while embracing biblical principles and Christian freedom.

Gross’s primary focus is the same as that of the rest of the Academia Cristo mission team:

Make disciples in Latin America by sharing the message of God’s grace with as many people as possible.

Identify and train potential leaders.
Encourage those leaders to make disciples who plant churches.

For more information, wels.net/academia-cristo.

TELL

Over a year ago Joseph stumbled across a Facebook ad for TELL and had to see what it was all about. After completing the three self-study courses he began live group classes with a pastor, studying the Bible and Lutheran catechism on Zoom. He formed friendships with students thousands of miles away. His best friend is from Trinidad. They make TELL T-shirts and share what they’re learning with others.

In October Dan Laitinen, a TELL missionary, visited Joseph’s home in Nairobi, Kenya. The two (pictured) finally had a Bible study together in person. Sitting knee to knee Joseph told Laitinen his story. He is the eighth of eight children, raised by his oldest sister. His parents passed away before he knew them. As a child, he learned how to work and paid for his own schooling through grade twelve.

Joseph could identify that sin was the problem and God’s grace was the solution. He has learned how to read the Bible and express his faith to others. Throughout the visit, Laitinen encouraged Joseph in his studies; introduced him to the local church affiliated with WELS’ sister church body, Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ–Kenya; and presented the next steps for him to gather in a Bible study group.

“Did you go to church as a child?” Laitienen asked. “No,” Joseph said, “We did not go to church.”

“Are you going to church now?” Laitinen asked. “I am,” Joseph replied, “with you and the teachers at TELL Network.”

To learn more, visit tellnetwork.org.

Ukraine

WELS is supporting the Ukrainian Lutheran Church, our sister church body, by providing aid for clothing, food, medicine, and other supplies. Before Russia invaded Ukraine, the Ukrainian Lutheran Church had 700 baptized members in 17 congregations served by 11 national pastors.

Africa

Mission work in Africa is changing. Missionaries working with WELS’ established missions—Cameroon, Malawi, Nigeria, and Zambia—focus on assisting the national synods and their churches as they mature, while also helping with their pre-seminary and seminary programs. Two synods in Ethiopia and Kenya reached out for assistance and are now in full fellowship with WELS and partner in outreach initiatives.

The new work before WELS missionaries is outreach, as individuals and church groups in seven additional African countries have reached out to WELS and the Lutheran Church of Central Africa (LCCA) for fellowship and theological training. Visits have been made to Liberia, Mozambique, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

Pictured are participants of an evangelism workshop held for members of the Lutheran Church of Central Africa–Zambia in November 2022. The workshop was a joint effort of WELS’ One Africa Team and Pastoral Studies Institute.

Indonesia

WELS Friendly Counselor Greg Bey visited WELS’ sister church in Indonesia, Gereja Lutheran Indonesia, to attend its synod convention, visit with leadership and discuss ministry ideas, and teach courses at the seminary there. Bey also visited Hosiana congregation to celebrate its 31st anniversary. Pictured is Bey with two of the founding members of Hosiana, who opened their home as a meeting place when the congregation first formed. Their son is now a pastor serving Gereja Lutheran Indonesia, which has 29 congregations.

Home Missions

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Pictured above: Foundation, Folsom, Calif. Clark Woods was in the right place at the perfect time to hear the message of free grace, forgiveness, and peace in Jesus when he most desperately needed it. Watch a video to learn more about Clark and how God used Foundation, Folsom, Calif., a home mission congregation, to deliver that message. Visit wels100in10.net to watch God’s plan unfold for Clark (pictured here with David Koelpin, pastor at Foundation).

In 2022, the Board for Home Missions approved 12 new home mission starts and enhancements.

New missions

Windsor, Colo.: WELS congregations in Ft. Collins, Loveland, and Greeley are supporting this new mission start in a rapidly expanding area in northern Colorado. Currently 20 WELS families are located in the target area, which has no Lutheran churches. Stephen Koelpin has accepted the call to serve this new mission.
Wichita, Kan.: Messiah is looking to start a second site on the east side of the city to better serve the 650,000 people in the greater metropolitan area. The area population is expected to grow by 10 percent over the next 10 years. Jacob Jenswold has accepted the call to start this new mission.
Canton, Ga.: Members and leadership from Beautiful Savior, Marietta, Ga., have identified Canton, a quickly growing suburb of Metro-Atlanta, as a prime location to plant a new mission church. Population has doubled in the past twenty years, and that growth is expected to continue. Cale Mead has accepted the call to start this new mission.
Conroe, Texas: Conroe, the northernmost suburb of Houston, is the fifth fastest-growing city in the United States. Abiding Word in Houston, Texas, is helping this new mission get off the ground. Jeremy Mattek has accepted the call to start this new mission.
Lodi, Wis. (unsubsidized): Zion, Leeds, Wis., is establishing a second site in Lodi. They leased a ministry center where the 17-person ministry team helped launch worship on Oct. 16, 2022.

Enhancements

St. John, St. Paul, Minn.
Cross of Glory, Baton Rouge, La.
Divine Savior, Delray Beach, Fla.
Abiding Savior, Killeen, Texas
Our Savior, Burlington, Iowa

Unsubsidized mission status

Mt. Calvary, Redding/Anderson, Calif.
Living Faith, Midlothian, Texas

What does it mean to be an unsubsidized mission?

Home Missions provides assistance to unsubsidized mission congregations through its district mission boards, mission counselors, synodical support staff, and special project funds, but does not provide direct financial support.

Did you know?

In 2022, Home Missions supported 134 congregations.

Carbon Valley, Firestone, Colo.

Jesse Jensen had recently moved to Firestone with his folks. He had just graduated from nursing school and was working full-time, but he knew something was missing. He grew up “Christian” in the sense that he knew of Christ and knew of church, but he had never actively practiced or been a member anywhere. What he did have was a grandfather who was a believer and had an interest in knowing more, so he picked up a phone and called me.

I told Jesse, “We aren’t actually worshiping in person, and we don’t actually have a building . . . but I’ll buy you a coffee.” He said yes, and his journey to Christ and Carbon Valley began.

Over the next year and a half, we systematically walked through the Bible. Jesse couldn’t get enough, which meant our classes went long and we added about four or five “bonus” lessons. It was incredible to talk through the Ten Commandments with someone who had never read them before.

Jesse stuck with us. He learned what worship looks like, built relationships, and watched how our members treated one another and modeled Christian living. But most of all, he heard about his Savior over and over again, and that Savior worked in his heart. So much so that when Jesse’s grandfather died, his family asked Jesse to say something and lead the memorial. I gave him some prayers and thoughts, and he took them and led his family to give thanks for his grandfather’s life but also to see Jesus. And after all that, Jesse was the first adult baptism and new member in our new building.

Tim Spiegelberg, home missionary at Carbon Valley Lutheran Church, Firestone, Colo.

Campus ministry in Reno, Nev.

When Light of the Valleys, Reno, Nev., discovered it was going to have a vicar for the first time in 2021, it decided to embark on a new ministry opportunity—a campus ministry. The congregation—along with its two sister congregations in the Reno area—gathered resources from WELS Campus Ministry and started putting together a core group of students to determine how to minister to and reach college-age adults.

Enter Sam Schulz. Sam, a student at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wis., was assigned as a vicar to Light of the Valleys in May 2021. When he and his wife, Maddie, arrived a few months later, the campus ministry was just getting started. Sam and Maddie got to work making contacts and planning events.

Besides studying the Bible, the group always did some sort of activity—things like playing games, bowling, rock painting. “We were solidifying friendships first, so they were comfortable talking about uncomfortable things,” says Sam. The group started small but grew to about a dozen who regularly attended the twice-monthly gatherings. Members of the group started bringing their friends and even began getting together socially outside of the scheduled meetings.

But the group wasn’t only about fun and games. “Members were so dedicated and so excited to get into God’s Word,” says Sam. “They really wanted to study it and they really cared about each other too.”

April (pictured on her confirmation day) is a prime example of the students that are being reached through the group. April’s parents already had joined Light of the Valleys, but she only had been attending sporadically. The campus ministry group made her feel more comfortable, so she started attending Bible information classes and worship and was then baptized and confirmed.

Visit wels.net/college to learn more about WELS Campus Ministry.

Joint Missions

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WELS Joint Missions supports mission opportunities that are the responsibility of Home Missions, World Missions, and Ministerial Education. Much of this work centers around people-group ministries, where immigrants who have joined our fellowship in the United States and Canada are able to take the gospel back to friends and family in their country of origin.

Hmong National Conference

From July 29–31, 170 Hmong members from 5 different congregations across the United States gathered at Manitowoc Lutheran High School, Manitowoc, Wis., for the Hmong National Conference. The theme of the conference was “One Faith, One Family.” Learn more about Hmong ministry in the United States at wels.net/hmong.

Chinese ministry in Canada

Abiding Love, Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada (pictured above), launched public worship on Nov. 27, 2022. The congregation will also continue to offer Chinese worship twice a month in Vancouver, which is central to many members of Abiding Love. Qiang Wang, a graduate of the Pastoral Studies Institute, serves Abiding Love, which began as an outreach ministry of Saviour of the Nations, Vancouver. Saviour of the Nations is also currently reaching out to the South Sudanese Nuer population in nearby Surrey.

Taste of Missions

(From left) Benjamin Foxen and Keegan Dowling were commissioned as missionaries to Africa at Taste of Missions on June 11, 2022, at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. Taste of Missions offers WELS members an opportunity to connect with brothers and sisters in Christ from around the globe. Those who can’t attend in person can participate online at tasteofmissions.com. The 2023 event will be held on June 10.

Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary

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Pictured above: “Here am I, send me!” On May 27, 2022, 26 men graduated from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary (WLS), Mequon, Wis., and began their pastoral ministries.

WLS prepares men to begin pastoral ministry by providing them with spiritual, theological, and professional training. Students attend classes for two years, serve as full-time vicars during their third year, and then attend classes and write a thesis in their fourth year. Throughout their time at the seminary, students receive opportunities to serve in a variety of ministries and to experience other cultures to help prepare them for their future calls.

The seminary also provides pastors with opportunities for continued growth in all their callings through its institute, Grow in Grace. Grow in Grace offers continuing education courses, a mentoring initiative for new graduates, a clearinghouse of resources for pastors, and an annual retreat for pastors who are celebrating milestones in their ministries.

For more information, visit wls.wels.net.

Vicaring in Toronto

Jeremiah Wallander spent his vicar year serving Hope, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Here he’s pictured with a student at Hope’s summer music camp. Each seminary student spends an internship year as a “vicar,” learning and serving under experienced pastors in mission-minded congregations. In 2022–23, 28 students were assigned as vicars.

Studying in San Diego

When Mark Jiang (pictured middle) first came to Reformation, San Diego, Calif., he was interested in the congregation’s school. But soon, he joined the congregation and thought about becoming a pastor himself. That’s when he met David Choi, an Evangelical Lutheran Synod seminary student who served as a vicar at Reformation. Choi, who also grew up in China, encouraged Mark to pursue the public ministry.

Mark began taking courses in 2020 through WELS’ Pastoral Studies Institute, which provides seminary training to students from a variety of countries and cultures. He and Choi studied together throughout the year.

“It was a very good chance for me to learn with Vicar Choi,” says Mark. “He helped teach me the Foundations 101 class in Mandarin, then we went through again and reviewed it in English. It was good for us to look into the English verse or Greek verse and use different languages to help us gather the meaning of the Bible.”

Mark appreciates that he is able to complete some of his seminary training in person with the pastors at Reformation, in addition to taking courses with Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary professors via Zoom.

“It is a pleasure for me to learn God’s Word,” Mark says. “I am very thankful to my teachers for giving me the right teaching from God, and I am happy I can put what I learn into practice and share the good news with other brothers and sisters. I hope to have many chances to serve and help people, and I hope God gives me the strength to do this.”

Also pictured are (left) Neil Birkholz, WELS’ North American Asian ministry consultant; and David Choi.

What is the Pastoral Studies Institute?

The Pastoral Studies Institute (PSI) guides and assists spiritual leaders around the world through preseminary and seminary training. Team members spend much of their time visiting and teaching PSI students. Harland Goetzinger accepted the call to be the director of the PSI in fall 2022.

Teaching catechism

Nathaniel Wranovsky, a second-year student at WLS, is helping teach catechism at Crown of Life, Hubertus, Wis. Students participate in a number of hands-on ministry experiences throughout their time at the seminary.

Martin Luther College

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Pictured above: Richard Gurgel, president of Martin Luther College, installs Nathan Savage as a tutor for the college. Savage graduated from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in May 2022.

Parker Brown, a senior preseminary student from Conroe, Texas, preaching at MLC’s evening chapel.

Martin Luther College (MLC), New Ulm, Minn.:

prepares men for pastoral training at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary;
prepares men and women for service as teachers and staff ministers in the synod’s churches, schools, and other institutions;
prepares men and women for other church ministries, both full- and part-time, responding to the needs of WELS;
prepares international students for ministry in partnership with WELS mission fields; and
provides programs of continuing education that meet the ministerial needs of WELS.

On July 1, 2022, Martin Luther College launched a new strategic plan to direct the college’s work for years to come. Richard Gurgel, president of MLC, explains that Pursuing Excellence Under the Cross has three foundational beliefs and four key initiatives.

Foundational beliefs:

We pursue excellence not as slaves but as loved children under Christ’s cross.
We pursue excellence by offering him our best with the unique talents given to each of us.
We pursue excellence under our cross by dying to mediocrity and rising with the courage to risk all for the gospel.

Key initiatives:

We embrace our family’s identity as a Lutheran college dedicated to preparing gospel ministers for our synod and its mission fields.
We empower our family’s formation as we help everyone grow spiritually and academically while also supporting emotional and physical health.
We expand our family’s reach as we reflect the multicultural reality of the Church before Christ in eternity.
We endow our family’s home as we make MLC more affordable while providing an excellent college experience.

For more information, visit mlc-wels.edu.

Did you know?

In 2022–23, Martin Luther College awarded a total of almost $1.25 million to its students through the Congregational Partner Grant Program. This program encourages congregations to support members who attend MLC. MLC then matches up to $1,200/student ($1,325 in 2023–24) in the form of a grant to offset tuition costs. For more information, visit mlc-wels.edu/cpgp.

Enrollment

In 2022–23, Martin Luther College is serving 629 undergraduates, representing 29 states and 5 countries as well as 897 continuing education students.

Evangelism Day

Nov. 9, 2022, was Evangelism Day at MLC. Twenty-six electives offered students the opportunity to learn more about evangelism strategies in the United States and around the world. Pictured is Jim Rademan, director of WELS Lutheran Schools, presenting on the topic “Blessings, opportunities, and challenges . . . a look at WELS schools in 2022 and beyond.”

Cultural Engagement Center

Paul Wang, a Chinese international student at MLC, reading books about the Mid-Autumn Festival to students at the MLC Early Childhood Learning Center in September 2022.

Class of 2022

One hundred seventy students graduated from Martin Luther College on May 14, 2022. Pictured is Richard Gurgel, college president, presenting a diploma to Emily Flatau, who received an assignment to serve as an early childhood education teacher at Resurrection, Aurora, Ill.

Preparatory Schools

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Pictured above are four LPS students; ELFK president, Michael Herbst (third from left); and Phetsanghane (fourth from left).

Luther Preparatory School (LPS), Watertown, Wis., and Michigan Lutheran Seminary (MLS), Saginaw, Mich., prepare high school students for future service as pastors, teachers, and staff ministers. Both schools offer “Taste of Ministry” opportunities for students, which include shadowing called workers to learn more about their work. Students also are given firsthand gospel experiences on campus and during mission trips. Here are two examples of how the preparatory schools are offering students hands-on ministry experiences.

Michigan Lutheran Seminary

“When the Board for Home Missions announced the initiative to open 100 new missions in 10 years, at Michigan Lutheran Seminary we contemplated how we could play an even larger role in providing workers for those ripe harvest fields,” says Mark Luetzow, MLS president. “We quickly recognized that those future missionaries were already on our campus. That’s why we partnered with Home Missions to place this year’s senior boys who desired a pastor Taste of Ministry into mission settings.”

A total of 10 MLS seniors traveled to mission settings across the United States for a long weekend in October. Pictured are three of those young men and the home missionaries that they shadowed at the South Central District’s annual missionaries conference. From left: Andrew Nemmers, Hope in the Heights, Houston; Jason Hanania; Daron Lindemann, CrossLife, Pflugerville; Ryan Dabe; Hans Thomford, Amazing Grace, Amarillo; and Will Eubank.

Jason commented, “This was an awesome experience. I was already thinking of being a pastor, but this experience settled it for me.”

For more information about MLS, visit mlsem.org.

Luther Preparatory School

Luther Preparatory School senior Ethan Schmidt giving chapel in fall 2022. Senior males are given this opportunity to work with a dean to prepare a message from God’s Word for the student body.

In June 2022, Souksamay Phetsanghane, a professor at LPS, took four students to visit WELS’ sister church body, the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church—Germany (ELFK). Students worked with a congregation there to present a joint English/German worship service. They also attended and sang at the synod’s convention.

“Traveling to Germany with Pastor Souk and getting to know Pastor Drechsler and the members of his congregation showed me the importance of keeping in touch with our fellow synods,” says Sandra Toyoda-Bell, now studying at Martin Luther College to be a teacher. “This trip gave me the experience to practice my German in real-life settings and a teacher who encouraged us to engage in conversations with the people there and witness how God is working through the church in Germany.”

For more information about LPS, visit lps.wels.net.

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