“Look back at all the memorial stones. Look back at that really cool memorial stone [the one that temporarily sealed Jesus’ tomb], and thank God for his goodness, his power, and his love. And then look forward and trust God to continue to display that goodness, power, and love in your life and the life of his church.”

Rev. Doug Free, president of the Dakota-Montana District, used those words to conclude his sermon for the closing service of the 68th Biennial Convention of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Free based his sermon on Joshua 4:1-9. The service took place in the Chapel of the Christ on the campus of Martin Luther College (MLC) in New Ulm, Minn.

MLC President Rev. Rich Gurgel was the presiding minister of the service, and MLC student Ben Foster served as organist.

During the service, Gurgel installed into office Rev. Joel Voss (Resurrection, Centerville, Ohio) as the newly-elected first vice president of the synod and Rev. John Bortulin (St. John, Mukwonago, Wis.) as the newly-elected second vice president. Recording Secretary Rev. Tyler Peil (Prince of Peace, Taylorsville, Utah), also elected at this convention, was unable to be present for the installation.

The service closed with an MLC tradition: the a cappella singing of “God’s Word Is Our Great Heritage,” sung to the tune Friedrich (Fritz) Reuter, a Dr. Martin Luther College music professor, composed in 1916.

Mr. Greg Bartz, a lay delegate from St. John’s, Sleepy Eye, Minn., was attending his first synod convention. What impressed him about the closing service was the singing. “With all the pastors there and teachers and laypeople, the singing just added to the beauty of the service. My ninth-grade choir teacher told me I couldn’t sing, and so I normally don’t, but when it was so loud, I felt I could sing because nobody was going to hear me.”

But it was not just the closing service that made an impression. Bartz noted, “The one thing that impressed me with the convention was the unity. We all pretty much agreed on everything.”

So with the encouragement of God’s Word, the delegates headed home.

Watch the closing worship service at welsconvention.net/news/livestream.

“The synod is not an abstract entity—it’s us.”

Rev. Jonathan Bourman began his presentation on his ministry at Saint Mark Mankato, Mankato, Minn., with these words. It was an apt reminder for synod convention delegates—and for us.

Bourman was one of four home missionaries who shared their ministries with delegates on Wednesday evening, detailing the blessings and challenges of sharing God’s Word in their particular locations throughout the United States. What came through clearly was that each location is unique even as the gospel message that each missionary shares is the same. What also was obvious is that God is blessing the seeds that these missionaries and their members are spreading. Story after story highlighted the souls that are being reached with the gospel.

Circling back to Bourman’s words, each soul that hears God’s words from those in home missions is being supported by all WELS members. This came through in the presentation given by Rev. Matthew Brown, chairman of WELS Board for Home Missions, and Rev. Mark Gabb, administrator of WELS Board for Home Missions, on Wednesday afternoon. The work of Home Missions is supported through individual mission offerings as well as through the Congregation Mission Offerings that WELS congregations send to the synod. It is also supported by volunteers of WELS Mission Journeys who travel to mission settings from established congregations.

Gabb noted that five new home missions were approved in the spring of 2025, and as resources are available, he believes that as many as six more could be approved in the fall. Yet he also emphasized that the work of Home Missions is expensive—both in dollars and in manpower. Therefore, the Board for Home Missions carefully considers each new mission and ministry enhancement.

WELS Home Missions is in year three of a ten-year initiative to open 100 new missions and enhance 75 existing ministries. Since this “100 in 10” initiative began, 21 new missions and 24 mission enhancements have been supported, leading to many new opportunities to spread the gospel throughout North America. To learn more and find out how you can be involved, visit wels100in10.net.

To watch the presentations, visit welsconvention.net/news/livestream. Home missionary presentations are available from the Wednesday evening recording and the Home Missions presentation is during the Wednesday afternoon recording.

On Wednesday, delegates continued to hear updates from WELS areas of ministry as well as began considering resolutions brought to the floor from various floor committees. Delegates also learned that WELS President Mark Schroeder is serving his final term, ending his service as synod president at the 2027 synod convention.

Schroeder made the announcement after delegates adopted a resolution about the procedure for electing synodical officers. “The next election we’ll be electing a new synod president, so I think this process will greatly help people to get to know who these candidates are,” said Schroeder. “So that is my official announcement . . . that I am serving my last term that ends in 2027.”

Delegates unanimously adopted that amendment to the WELS bylaws that will change the procedure for nominating synodical officers: president, first vice president, second vice president, and recording secretary. (The synod president and second vice president are elected in alternate conventions with the synod first vice president and recording secretary.) With this amendment, convention delegates will be able to submit one name by June 1 for each office being filled. The five nominees who receive the largest number of nominations for the office of the president and the three nominees who receive the largest number of nominations for the other three offices will comprise the ballot. Delegates will receive the ballot, along with biographical information, by June 15, with the actual election taking place at the convention. Currently nominations for these positions first occur at the synod convention, giving delegates limited time to make informed voting decisions.

After some discussion, delegates also adopted the ministry financial plan for the next biennium, covering fiscal years 2025–26 and 2026–27. The resolution encouraged “every congregation and WELS member to generously support the ministry the Lord has entrusted to our synod.”

Read more reports and resolutions at welsconvention.net/resolutions.

Congregational Services is “the ministry group that does ministry with you,” explained Rev. Jonathan Hein, director of the Commission on Congregational Counseling, as he addressed delegates Wednesday morning. “We get boots on the ground into congregations and schools to help you as you assess your path forward in serving the mission of Jesus Christ.”

Congregational Services comprises several commissions to assist local ministry, including Worship, Evangelism, Discipleship, Special Ministries, Congregational Counseling, and Lutheran Schools.

There are four main ways that Congregational Services assists congregations and schools with their local ministry efforts: 1) consulting, 2) producing confessional Lutheran resources, 3) analyzing trends and statistics, and 4) putting together events to build up members in service to the church. The next major event is the Lutheran Leadership conference, which will be held Jan. 19–21, 2026, in Chicago.

Rev. Paul Prange, director of the Commission on Worship, explained further how Congregational Services carries out these duties under the direction of the Conference of Presidents. He laid out eight different types of consultations available for congregations and schools, including ministry revitalization, long-range planning, outreach, and cultivating congregational partnerships. In 2024, Congregational Services conducted 161 consultations.

The website welscongregationalservices.net houses resources—Bible studies, online training modules, and videos—for all aspects of congregational ministry, including outreach, member retention, youth ministry, stewardship, marriage, and more.

In addition, welscongregationalservices.net features The Foundation, a collection of weekly resources for worship planners based on the historic lectionary readings. It uses the full resources of the Christian Worship hymnal and the associated suite of resources.

Following Prange’s overview of the work of Congregational Services, Mr. James Rademan, director of the Commission on Lutheran Schools, provided more details about the blessings and challenges of WELS schools.

“Over the past biennium, we’ve had more called teachers than we’ve ever had in WELS before. We’ve had more students than we’ve ever had in WELS schools before,” began Rademan. “With that growth of enrollment, the number of teachers we’ve needed has certainly grown.”

Over the last few school years, there have been about 655 open teacher positions in WELS schools, on average. “When we talk about the [teacher] shortage, it’s not that we have fewer [teachers], it’s that we need more for the opportunities that are out there,” said Rademan. In the 2024–25 school year, more than 2,500 of the students in WELS high schools were from either unchurched families or other Christian denominations. Rademan implored delegates to think of a young person they could encourage to consider entering the ministry.

The cornerstone of all WELS schools is the solid Lutheran doctrine taught in each and every classroom. A new theology curriculum is under development. The framework defining the “picture of a graduate,” along with the associated standards, has been completed, and content creation for the curriculum will begin in the coming year.

Learn more and find resources at welscongregationalservices.net. Read more about the theology curriculum at forwardinchrist.net/developing-theology-curriculum.

Several special guests and observers were present for the 2025 synod convention. Rev. Makisimu Musa, president of the Obadiah Lutheran Synod (OLS) of Uganda, Africa, was invited as a special guest. In 2023, WELS declared fellowship with the OLS (read more here), a Lutheran church body with more than 30 congregations and 6,000 baptized souls. While Musa was unable to attend the 2023 convention, he expressed his joy in being present this year.

During his address to the delegates, Musa reported on the history of the OLS and the work God is doing in and through his people in Uganda—including a seminary training program, growing schools, a thriving disability ministry, and much more. Musa emphasized that the Lord has richly blessed the OLS, which plans to plant 20 new congregations within the next five years.

“We are confident in our God and the plans he has for us to continue preaching and teaching the Word, and we are grateful for the support of WELS as we continue those efforts. My prayer is that our partnership with each other will continue to be a blessing for both of our churches for many years to come. I pray also that the Lord would bless the people of WELS and the work you are doing in his name,” said Musa. “May he use you to touch the lives of countless others, just as he has used you to touch the lives of the people in the OLS.”

Rev. Glenn Obenberger, currently serving his final year as president of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS), is also attending the convention. He addressed the delegates on Tuesday morning to extend his greetings from the ELS and expressed gratitude for the years of fellowship and friendship shared between the synods.

“We have been walking together with you for the last 153 years of your 175 years of existence,” said Obenberger. “So, we join you in your celebration of God’s gracious working among you—blessing your many synodical tasks as Christ continues to work through you, as he has promised, advancing his kingdom both near and far.”

Also present was Rev. Karl Gurgel and his wife, Barb. Gurgel was elected to the office of WELS president in 1993 and served faithfully through 2007 for a total of 14 years. In celebration of the synod’s 175th anniversary, his presence speaks to the long history of faithful leaders who have helped lead the Wisconsin Synod into the present day. During his address to the delegates, he encouraged WELS in its ongoing mission to share Christ with the world. He remarked, “Under his blessings, as he—through us—brings his Word to the world, may we go forward confidently.”

Additional special guests and observers of the 2025 synod convention include Dr. Matthew Harrison, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod president; Rev. James Krikava of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod; Rev. Joseph Naumann, Church of the Lutheran Confession vice president; Rev. Baltazar Kaaya, Africa Mission Evangelism Church of Tanzania bishop; and Rev. John Braun, WELS 175th Anniversary Planning Committee member and former executive editor of Forward in Christ magazine.

On Tuesday afternoon synod convention delegates elected Rev. John Bortulin to be WELS’ new second vice president. Bortulin, a pastor at St. John, Mukwonago, Wis., accepted this call after taking some time to consider it.

The WELS Bylaws note that the responsibilities of the second vice president include assisting the WELS president and first vice president, serving on the Conference of Presidents, and acting as WELS’ corporate secretary. WELS’ second vice presidency is a part-time position, and Bortulin will continue to serve in his current position at St. John.

Bortulin’s term of office will be two years to finish the four-year term vacated by Rev. Joel Voss’ election as first vice president. Bortulin may be nominated and reelected to serve in future years.

WELS President Mark Schroeder presented his report to synod convention delegates on Tuesday morning. He began by noting that this year marks 175 years of God’s grace on the synod. He added, though, that “while there may be a temptation on an anniversary such as this to look at our own efforts and accomplishments, our anniversary and convention theme places the focus where it belongs. On Christ. On his gospel. On his grace. On him, as he works through clay jars like us.”

Schroeder continued to expand on that anniversary and convention theme—“Christ through us”—as he walked delegates through the synod’s history and its current blessings and challenges. Setting the stage for the presentations that would follow from synod leaders, Schroeder said, “As we look at our synod today, important issues lie before us, both challenges and opportunities. At this convention, you will hear of both. We will neither hide from the challenges nor ignore the opportunities.”

Schroeder concluded his report with words that the apostle Paul spoke to Timothy: “Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:1). “Recognize the source of your strength,” Schroeder encouraged delegates. “Depend on that strength to meet the challenges you will face. And be confident and joyful in that strength as you carry out the mission you’ve been given.”

Delegates remarked following the report that both the synod history and the current statistics shared were interesting and will help inform their work at the convention. Read the full “Report of the President.”

The theme of the 68th Biennial Convention of WELS taking place July 21-24, 2025, at Martin Luther College (MLC) in New Ulm, Minn., is “Christ through us.” The theme underscores God’s blessings to WELS as it celebrates its 175th anniversary this year and points to God’s continued work through WELS in the future.

As delegates meet at the convention, they will be receiving reports from every area of ministry, making decisions regarding the synod’s work, participating in worship services and devotions, and enjoying Christian fellowship.

One of the first items of business will be elections to replace two synod officers, First Vice President Rev. James Huebner (Grace, Milwaukee, Wis.) and Secretary Rev. Robert Pasbrig (Peace, Hartford, Wis.). Both men have served WELS long and faithfully and are not seeking reelection. Delegates will also elect other men to serve on various boards and commissions.

Delegates will discuss a two-year ministry financial plan and a ten-year, long-range strategic plan for the synod. The strategic plan has the same name as the convention theme, “Christ through us,” and outlines how WELS, under God’s direction and blessings, desires to carry out its mission in the next ten years.

Rev. Joel Otto, a professor at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wis., will be delivering an essay on the history of WELS.

Delegates will also have opportunities to hear presentations from home and world missionaries.

A special speaker at this year’s convention is Rev. Makisimu Musa, president of the Obadiah Lutheran Synod of Uganda. At the 2023 convention at Michigan Lutheran Seminary, Saginaw, Mich., WELS formally declared church fellowship with the Obadiah Lutheran Synod of Uganda, but Musa was unable to be present and address the delegates in person.

Newly elected officers will be installed at the closing worship service.

Tune in daily for the livestream of the convention at welsconvention.net.