In April, Grow in Grace, the institute for continuing education at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary (WLS), Mequon, Wis., hosted about 200 people in San Antonio, Texas, for Celebration of Ministry retreats for pastors celebrating 3, 10, 25, and 35 years since graduating from the seminary.

These retreats build relationships with ministry peers and offer encouragement through worship, Bible studies, workshops, and presentations. Bible study topics covered Psalms, Philippians, Nehemiah, and Colossians. Separate and joint workshops were offered for pastors and wives and covered topics such as time management, caring for others and yourself, focusing on your own gifts, and financial challenges and opportunities.

Though these workshops and Bible studies are a key part of the retreats, fellowship with classmates, worship services, and a beautiful location also play a part in the experience.

When Grow in Grace initially began the Celebration of Ministry retreats in 2013, only pastors and wives celebrating 10 years from graduation attended. In more recent years, the event has extended invitations to pastors and wives celebrating 3 years, 25 years, and 35 years since graduation. This year was the first year where Grow in Grace hosted repeat attendees from the class of 2013. This WLS class was the first class to attend when they were celebrating three years from graduation and were now invited back to celebrate at year 10. As one pastor shares, “San Antonio is a great location, and my wife and I were happy to return there a second time. The hotel is great, and its location is fantastic.”

The next Celebration of Ministry retreats are scheduled for April 3–5, 2024.

Learn more about Grow in Grace.

The Synodical Council (SC) met last week for its spring meeting.

The SC reviewed financial results for the synod and its subsidiaries. The results are very positive due to increased gifts and lower-than-planned spending, which has led to increased levels of special fund reserves. We thank God for moving his people and WELS congregations to give generously in support of the work we do together as a synod.

The SC approved the support forecast (an estimate of the financial support that will be available to support the synod’s mission and ministry) for Fiscal Year 2024 and Fiscal Year 2025. On the basis of the support forecast, the SC approved the ministry financial plan that will be recommended to the synod convention this summer. Expenditure levels are anticipated to be $88.7 million for Fiscal Year 2024 and $90.9 million for Fiscal Year 2025.

The SC is recommending a 2.5 percent increase in salary for called and hired workers for each year of the coming biennium. The SC will continue to review the potential need for adjustments to the salary matrix throughout the biennium.

The SC encouraged the synod leadership to explore alternate funding models for capital projects to enable projects currently under consideration to move forward more quickly. Luther Preparatory School, Watertown, Wis., and Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wis., were encouraged to determine the scope of planned projects and to begin efforts to seek financial support for those projects once the scope is determined. The SC authorized the establishment of a Capital Projects Fund to support current and future capital projects of the synod.

The SC made the following appointments or reappointments:

• WELS Foundation board: Mr. Scott Neitzel, Mr. John Pahmeier, Mr. David Wendland, Mr. James Brenn
• WELS Church Extension Fund board: Mr. Joel Kock
• WELS Retirement Commission: Mr. James Hahm, Mr. Thomas Medema
• WELS VEBA Commission: Mr. Robert Bullens, Mr. Kyle Koltz, Mr. Daniel Markgraf, Rev. Joel Sauer
• Northwestern Publishing House board: Rev. Justin Dauck
• Accounting Oversight Committee: Mr. William Schultz
• Advisory member of the SC: Mr. Jim Rademan, associate coordinator of Congregational Services

Serving with you in Christ,
WELS President Mark Schroeder

WELS is celebrating its 175th anniversary in 2025. Prof. Joel Otto, chairman of the anniversary planning committee, details what projects are in the works and how you can be involved. Do you have an interesting or important historical photo from WELS history? Submit it at wels.net/175-photos.

WELS Special Ministries is introducing a new Bible study for congregational or small group use. “Helping the Hurting with Hope” was written to help participants appreciate the role of compassion in a Christian’s personal and congregational life, providing gospel motivation for participants to go beyond their comfort zones and act in compassionate ways through the Spirit’s power.

“We hope that the five-lesson study will give congregations an opportunity to discuss the best way to respond to broken people,” says Rev. Jim Behringer, director of WELS Special Ministries. “We hope members will rejoice when the Lord brings them into contact with people who need the Lord and work patiently and persistently to help them and connect them with Jesus.”

Behringer explains that where the Bible class succeeds in cultivating compassion, congregations will be better spiritual refuges for people with broken lives and welcome people looking for a church family where they can walk a new path after release from prison, or in recovery from addiction, or after a public fall into sin.

“WELS Prison Ministry has been successful in reaching the incarcerated with the Word of God, but when people who were in prison are released and look for a church family, some churches are very reluctant to work with returning citizens. Pregnancy counseling centers have experienced that their clients have a hard time finding a church family in a local church because they feel the stigma of disapproval of their past sins,” Behringer says, “When you recognize that someone is a sinner, rejoice to see them at church and encourage them to keep coming. Help them take the baby steps needed to start building a life in Christ.”

The Bible study is available for free online at welscongregationalservices.net/helping-the-hurting-with-hope. Learn more about WELS Special Ministries at wels.net/special-ministries.

Last month more than 1,300 men and women attended the second WELS National Conference on Lutheran Leadership in Chicago. Fifty-two percent of those who attended were laypeople. More than 100 attendees were high school and college students.

The conference featured a worship service with communion, as well as devotions. Five keynote presentations addressed a variety of timely issues facing the church today. Keynote topics were “Our Lutheran Moment: Why Now Is a Good Time for Us to Be Doing What We Do Best,” “Lutheran Leadership—What It Is and Why It’s Important,” “Shaping a God-Pleasing Congregational Culture,” “A Courageous Conversation on Modeling Gospel-Centered Unity,” and “Thinking Differently: On How the Next Generation Thinks, and On How to Help Them Think.”

Attendees could also choose to attend five breakout sessions (from 47 that were offered). The breakout sessions dealt with a wide range of issues, including congregational planning, dealing with current cultural issues, outreach and evangelism strategies, Lutheran worship, carrying out our Christian vocation in a secular workplace, and much more. A number of these were geared specifically for the young people in attendance.

It was very encouraging to see so many called workers and laypeople take time away from busy schedules to become better equipped to carry out the work that they do in their congregations. The information presented was practical, timely, encouraging, and spiritually edifying. I know that I benefited greatly from the presentations, and I can’t tell you how many people commented on how much they enjoyed the conference and were blessed to be a part of it. Called workers, laymen and women, and young people left the conference spiritually uplifted and full of ideas on how they and their congregations can better serve their Savior.

If you did not have the opportunity to attend, you can view video recordings of some of the presentations by visiting lutheranleadership.com. Select presentation videos will be released throughout the year.

We can pray that God will use this conference as a way to strengthen WELS members, called workers, and congregations as they carry out the mission God has given to us. The next National Conference on Lutheran Leadership is tentatively scheduled for January 2026.

Serving with you in Christ,
WELS President Mark Schroeder

For the first time, WELS high school students were specially invited to attend the WELS National Conference on Lutheran Leadership in Chicago this past January. Sixty-one teenagers from ten area Lutheran high schools attended keynotes and breakout sessions, participated in mixers, and went to Navy Pier for an evening of teen-only fun and fellowship. 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. So we wanted to have some presentations where we actually listened to young people,” says Rev. Jonathan Hein, convention coordinator and coordinator of WELS Congregational Services. “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?”

He continues, “It was one of the most highly attended breakouts. In my work, I hear a lot of young people who say that they don’t really have much of a voice. They certainly had one at the conference.”

Natalie Hatzung, a student at Wisconsin Lutheran High School, Milwaukee, Wis., was one of the teen panelists. “After we spoke, I heard so many compliments and so much appreciation,” she says. “People were coming up to me who had no idea who I am—they just noticed I’m a teen, and they said, ‘Thank you for being here.’ Parents and teachers came up [to me] and said, ‘This is really eye-opening. I appreciate your input.’ ”

The fact that so many adults cared deeply about their input and experience left a huge impression on this next generation of Lutheran leaders. WELS teens desire to be respected and valued by the adults in their lives. Hein adds, “They want to have a role to play. . . . They 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.

On the final day of the conference, Rev. Phil Huebner, campus pastor at Wisconsin Lutheran High School, gathered the high school attendees together for a closing discussion about the conference. Favorite moments included the trip to Navy Pier, worshiping and communing with more than one thousand other WELS members, meeting teens from other schools, and engaging in conversation with the adults in attendance.

What was abundantly clear from that discussion is that these young people are compassionate and enthusiastic, with hearts for sharing the gospel. Moreover, many were open and vulnerable enough to reveal that they’re also nervous about the impact college might have on their faith.

But as Huebner explains, by inviting teens to this conference, we are showing them that they matter. We are making an effort “not just to talk about teens but rather include them and train up the next generation of leaders,” he says.

Read more about the WELS National Conference Lutheran Leadership in the previous edition of Together.

Last week, more than 1,300 WELS members gathered in Chicago 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, and current leaders and future leaders.

The conference kicked off Mon., Jan. 16, 2023, with an opening devotion led by WELS Michigan District President Rev. Snowden Sims. The afternoon was spent absorbing the first three keynote presentations. The day concluded with a worship service, with 1,300 Christians raising their voices in glory to God and sharing in the Lord’s Supper. Music was led by varied instrumentation and members of the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Chorus. Rev. James Huebner, WELS first vice president, served as the preacher. A portion of the opening worship service is available to view online.

Kicking off the keynotes were Dr. Joan Prince and Rev. Dr. Kenneth Fisher, with a presentation titled “A Courageous Conversation on Modeling Gospel-Centered Unity.” While acknowledging the lack of diversity across WELS, they reminded attendees not to let man-made constructs be a barrier to sharing God’s love; we are all citizens of a greater kingdom. As Fisher explained, the unbelieving world will see God’s love through the actions of believers. Prince spoke about how there are many ideas for unity in the world, but none of them work without the gospel.

The second keynote had Mr. Kurt Nitz and Rev. Eric Roecker, director of the WELS Commission on Evangelism, present “Culture Is Critical: Shaping a God-Pleasing Congregational Culture.” They defined culture as the shared thought-habits that form the way people behave and work together. Good organizational culture, they explained, is the product of intentional and deliberate actions. Because of the important God-given work of Christians, a good culture is critical for congregations.

Rounding out the afternoon was Rev. Jonathan Bauer, speaking on “Our Lutheran Moment: Why Now Is a Good Time for Us to Be Doing What We Do Best.” Bauer summarizes his presentation: “The last few years have presented an unending string of challenges to all leaders, including Lutheran ones. They’ve also done us a huge favor. They’ve accelerated things that were happening slowly and brought to light things that were happening beneath the surface. They’ve made it apparent that what our world needs right now are the very things that we do best. We Lutherans are equipped to meet the challenges of our moment in a way that few others are interested in or capable of doing.”

Day two of the conference gave attendees the opportunity to attend five breakout sessions on topics more specific to their local ministry needs or personal interests. Forty-seven breakout sessions on varying topics were available to choose from, offering something for every type of leader in the church.

Topics ranged from personal evangelism, outreach, issues facing WELS schools, discipleship, congregational governance, church culture, worship, and more. Some trends emerged based on breakout requests that revealed common challenges in WELS congregations. Rev. Jonathan Hein, coordinator of WELS Congregational Services, says, “Looking at the top 20 [requested breakouts], I’d say how to develop and equip lay leadership was a massive goal. Any breakout about recruiting and equipping leaders had at least 120 people signed up. Another one seems to be the challenge of doing outreach and the challenges presented by the shifting American culture that is hardening against the church. Finally, the culture shifting breakouts did well.”

Mr. Kurt Nitz, breakout presenter of “Culture Shifting—How to Make It Happen,” led listeners through practical strategies for initializing culture changes in a congregation, such as knowing what the end goal is, the importance of leadership through the culture shift, and evaluating what already exists. Nitz, a WELS member, works with large organizations and corporations on their cultures and was asked to help develop Everyone Outreach, a program that helps congregations build a culture of outreach so that every ministry and every member is thinking about and participating in outreach. He says, “Every congregation has a culture and certain aspects of it can help or hinder your ministry. You should take a moment to look at it, and if it’s a barrier, do something about it.”

Dr. Glen Hansen, a radiologist and elder at Bethlehem, Germantown, Wis., attended the conference to bring ideas back to his congregation to help members become more comfortable with evangelism. “Our overall goal is not only to equip ourselves but to equip our members too,” says Hansen. “They can all be equipped to do the work of the Lord.” Of the conference, he says, “There are a lot of like-minded people who care about the work of the Lord, which helps me feel empowered to continue and go do that work.”

The breakout “Rethinking Congregational Partnership: Men and Women Working Together in Christ’s Mission” shared some practical considerations as congregations work toward ministry that honors God’s design for men and women and uses the gifts of every member of God’s family. “Rethinking congregational partnership means taking a look at the partnership men and women share. We are better together. We demonstrate this godly partnership to a world experiencing gender confusion and to future leaders in the church when we go through the hard work of putting God’s design for partnership into practice,” says Mrs. Dawn Schulz, a presenter at the breakout.

In the breakout “Leadership Skills Used in Industry and Ministry,” Mr. Chip Woods provided insights from his experience in the corporate world. He explains, “First, leadership skills that have been developed and learned in our vocations can also be applied in leading our ministries. Second, and inversely, servant leadership is not only effective in ministry but also in our vocations. And finally, time is important in industry as well as ministry. The time is now to spread the Word of God.”

Mr. Art Hora serves as the congregational chairman at St. Paul’s, Stevensville, Mich. When he’s not serving his church, he works in the nuclear power industry. “What I’ve learned from the things that I’ve seen here is that a lot of what I’ve done in the nuclear world can be brought back and applied, but in a different form.” Hora says, “There’s a lot to think about and pore over.”

Day three concluded the conference with two additional keynote presentations and a closing devotion, led by Rev. Michael Seifert, president of the WELS North Atlantic District.

For the first keynote on Wednesday, Prof. Luke Thompson presented “Thinking Differently: On How the Next Generation Thinks, and On How to Help Them Think,” where he addressed the types of doubt facing young Christians today. He stressed that in a world where everyone is “connected” digitally, what the younger generation truly needs is real connection and authentic relationships with their Christian family.

The final keynote was four TED-talk-style presentations from Rev. Mark Zarling, Dr. Donald Kudek, Rev. Luis Acosta, and Rev. David Scharf. Each presented his take on what Lutheran leadership is and why it’s important right now.

Attendees left the conference edified in their faith and inspired for their ministry. “I really like how not only did we have the keynote speakers but we got to choose breakout sessions that we think will line up with something we are really interested in or something that will help with our campus ministry,” says Hailey Russ, a student at Carroll University in Waukesha, Wis. “Not only am I getting personal information that will help me grow my faith and is firing me up a little bit, but also I have things that I want to take back to our campus ministry to implement.”

The ideas and inspiration could be overwhelming for WELS congregational leaders as they head home. Hein suggests, “Attendees don’t need to do everything all at once. There was a LOT there. But I’d love if those leaders would debrief about what they learned and pick a top priority or two to try and incorporate into their next annual plan.”

To find out more about the presenters or their presentations, visit lutheranleadership.com. Check back often as all the keynotes and several breakout sessions will be posted online in the coming weeks and months. Also, check out photos of the event online.