The WELS Education Conference was held June 23-25 in Green Bay, Wis. About 450 educators from WELS schools convened for three days under the theme “Now You Are.” They gathered for two keynote presentations; Doug Lemov spoke about building school culture, and Rev. Luke Thompson presented on the topic “A pedagogy of re-enchantment.”  A variety of themed sessions were offered, including early literacy, the culture of assessment, student care, and ministry cultivation. While at the conference, attendees also had the opportunity to peruse services and products from 30 different sponsors and vendors as well as enjoy worship and fellowship with their colleagues from around the country.

Learn more about the conference

Last week, WELS Historical Institute hosted two events to commemorate the 175th anniversary of WELS.

On Wed., May 28, 2025, WELS Historical Institute hosted the WELS 175th anniversary dinner at Salem, Milwaukee, Wis., in celebration of the founding of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. The original constitution for WELS was adopted on May 26, 1850. That adoption took place at the first synod convention, which was held in a small log cabin church at Salem Lutheran Church in Granville. WELS President Mark Schroeder and former President Karl Gurgel greeted the attendees. Prof. Joel Otto, chairman of WELS Historical Institute, gave the main address highlighting the blessings of God’s grace to WELS through the years.

Then, on Sat., May 31, Rev. Jeremiah Gumm led a tour of the historic Union Cemetery. Union Cemetery was originally founded as St. Johannes Lutheran Cemetery in 1851 by St. John’s Lutheran Church (8th and Vliet) in Milwaukee. In 1865, it merged with the cemeteries of Grace (WELS) and Trinity (LCMS) of downtown Milwaukee. During the tour, Gumm shared the rich history of many early WELS founders and leaders interred there, including Rev. Johannes Muehlhaeuser, who helped select and purchase the grounds, as well as Rev. Johann Bading, Dr. Adolf Hoenecke, and Prof. John Schaller.

Fri., May 16, and Sat., May 17, marked the commencement of the 2025 graduating class of WELS teachers, staff ministers, and pastoral students from Martin Luther College, New Ulm, Minn.

Friday night featured a commencement concert, and on Saturday, the synod’s college of ministry held a graduation service and a call service, where graduating teachers and staff ministers learned where they would begin their full-time ministry. Graduating pastor-track students will continue their education at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wis.

Watch the recorded livestreams of the services and view the assignment list.

Amazing Grace Virtual Academy (AGVA), a fully accredited online WELS high school, celebrated a milestone May 15 with its first graduation of fully online learners.

Three students graduated high school in a virtual ceremony, participating from their homes in South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

“This milestone to be able to issue high school diplomas to its first graduating class is yet another example of how AGVA has been extremely blessed by a gracious God over its first 14 years of existence,” says Dr. James Grunwald, AGVA’s executive director.

Amazing Grace Virtual Academy (known for a time as ALHS Online) has been offering high-quality online courses since 2011 to supplement the class offerings of WELS and Evangelical Lutheran Synod high schools and elementary schools. With more inquiries from families who didn’t have the opportunity to send their children to one of WELS’ 30 Lutheran high schools, the academy decided to expand its offerings, enrolling its first full-time students in 2022. Currently 18 students are taking classes full time and 381 are taking individual courses.

The academy serves a diverse student population, including Lutheran school students whose schools don’t offer all of the courses that meet their learning interests or specific course needs, home-schooled students, students from public schools seeking additional courses, and learners with medical or personal constraints that limit traditional schooling.

Grunwald is stepping down as the academy’s full-time executive director this year but will continue to serve part time through June 2026. “Being a part of AGVA since its beginning 14 years ago and working with extremely dedicated students, partner schools, instructors, and fellow administrators has been a true blessing,” he says. “To God be the glory!”

Learn more at amazinggraceva.org. Read more about AGVA’s first graduation at forwardinchrist.net/online-partnership.

“The WELS leadership conference offered a fantastic opportunity for our members to learn from experts across the synod and encourage them as leaders at our church,” says Rev. Kurtis Wetzel, pastor at Cross of Christ, Nampa, Idaho.

Wetzel and members from Cross of Christ attended the first two WELS National Conferences on Lutheran Leadership in 2020 and 2023. He and his congregation are planning to send another group to the leadership conference in January 2026.

Cross of Christ in Nampa is a mission congregation established as a second site to Cross of Christ in Boise. Wetzel shares, “Some of the guidance I received early on in our mission was to train up lay leaders quickly and involve members in lots of ministry.”

The keynotes and workshops at the leadership conference equipped his members for just that.

“We are striving to equip and empower the universal priesthood at our congregation and encourage leaders to work alongside the called staff to do more ministry and increase our local impact on souls for eternity,” says Wetzel. “Cross of Christ has always encouraged personal witnessing. Because of some of the workshops on outreach and evangelism, our members came back with renewed outreach energy and shared with the congregation even more about the need for personal (as well as corporate) evangelism. This has energized other members at our church for witnessing.”

Member Cindy Harris says she was honored to be invited to attend the conference. “I was humbled to be in the company of so many gifted spiritual leaders who passionately shared their knowledge about how to best proclaim the gospel in our communities,” she says. “Our pastors at Cross of Christ in Idaho do a wonderful job of training and encouraging our members for works of service, but this was an opportunity to learn from pastors and teachers in other congregations throughout our entire church body and take it home and share it!”

Cindy and her husband are founding members of Cross of Christ. She serves through leading a women’s Bible study and as the coordinator for the spiritual needs committee. She says of her time at the conference, “The whole time I was there I was thinking how wonderful it would be for every member back home to experience this conference. We ‘Western WELS’ members don’t often have the opportunity to personally experience the depth of our synod’s leadership and their passion for proclaiming the gospel throughout the world. It is a taste of heaven!”

The next WELS National Conference on Lutheran Leadership will be held Jan. 19–21, 2026, at the Hilton, Chicago.

Learn more about the conference at lutheranleadership.com.

The WELS Conference of Presidents (COP) held its spring meeting this month at the WELS Center for Mission and Ministry, Waukesha, Wis. The COP comprises the 12 WELS district presidents, the synod president, and two synod vice presidents. Here is a summary of what they discussed.

• The COP continues to develop sample governance models for congregations developing congregational constitutions and bylaws.
• The COP reviewed the procedures it will follow as it carries out teaching assignments at Martin Luther College, New Ulm, Minn., in May, including clarifying that preseminary graduates (who do not continue at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary) are not automatically certified for non-pastoral ministry. Those called to other types of service (such as teaching) will normally need to enroll in the synod’s teacher certification program.
• The COP continues to review the calling process, especially in view of the challenges of pastor and teacher shortages.
• The Assignment Committee will continue to consider emergency teaching calls after the assignments are made in May.
• The COP was asked to reconsider a proposal to change the synod convention from a biennial to a triennial schedule. The 12 districts heard this proposal last summer, and the majority of districts were not in favor of the change. In view of that, the COP declined to reconsider the proposal at this time, but it did decide that additional rationale could be placed before the district conventions in 2026.
• The COP reviewed the new long-range strategic plan that will be presented to the synod convention in July.
• As of the April meeting of the COP, there were 156 pastoral vacancies in the synod, with 149 of those being parish pastor positions. The 2025 seminary graduating class will provide candidates numbering in the mid-20s, meaning that the pastoral vacancy situation will improve only slightly in the near term. Larger classes at the seminary in the coming years, however, will provide some relief in the future. In the meantime, the COP asks every WELS congregation and member to encourage young men to consider training for the pastoral ministry.
• A similar high vacancy rate is taking place in teacher positions. WELS school enrollments have increased significantly in the last two years—a real blessing—but that has caused a need for more teachers than are currently available. It’s estimated that even after teacher candidates are assigned at Martin Luther College in May, there will still be approximately 100-120 vacancies in teaching positions. The Commission on Lutheran Schools has been working with congregations to find ways to fill the vacancies. At the same time, Martin Luther College has been redoubling its efforts to recruit both traditional and non-traditional teacher candidates. It will also be exploring other ideas to provide more teacher candidates. As in the case of pastors, those in the best position to recruit and encourage young people for the teaching ministry are congregational members, called workers, parents, and grandparents.

Serving with you in Christ,
WELS President Mark Schroeder

This summer, Rev. Dan Frey, pastor at Gethsemane, Lee’s Summit, Mo., and six of his members—four who are deaf and two who are interpreters—are planning to make the trek to Wisconsin for a conference on how to serve the deaf and hard of hearing members of God’s church. The Hands of God Conference will be held July 18–20 at St. Paul, Lake Mills, Wis.

Frey, a member of the WELS Mission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing committee planning the conference, is excited to gather with others to dig deeper into this important topic.

“This is a passion of mine—I’m in it now,” he says, referring to his own congregation’s ministry to the Deaf population. “I’m excited to help open the eyes of other people who might be interested.”

The conference will feature topics like technology devices in church for the deaf/hard of hearing, how to welcome deaf/hard of hearing guests at church, how the deaf share their faith (panel discussion), and setting up a deaf Bible study. One workshop, which will be led by deaf members, will focus on the Deaf culture, how it is different, and how congregations can bridge the gaps. “This [conference] is for the deaf [members] to get together but also for anyone interested in working with the deaf,” says Frey.

While the conference focuses on how the deaf can serve and how congregations can support them, the keynote presentation “Hands of God” is a message that can resonate with called workers and lay members in any circumstance. “We want to provide a setting where all can learn how God used his hands to save us and how we now get to be the hands of God in various ways to serve one another in love,” notes the conference website.

Learn more and register for the conference at wels.net/mdhh-conference-2025.