International convention meets, offering fellowship, encouragement, and support

From May 29–June 1, eighty-seven confessional Lutherans from around the world—including many from WELS—met in Lusaka, Zambia, for the 2026 Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (CELC) convention.

The CELC is a worldwide fellowship of Lutheran church bodies committed to the teachings of the Lutheran Church found in the Book of Concord of 1580. Established in 1993 with 13 churches, the CELC has grown by God’s grace to include 35 church bodies today.

Every three years, representatives from CELC member churches around the world gather for theological discussion, fellowship, encouragement, and mutual support in their shared confession of faith. Voting attendees at this year’s convention represented 22 of the 35 member churches; with guests, a total of 28 church bodies from five continents were represented.

This was the first time this triennial convention was held in Africa. “Out of the 35 member churches of the CELC, 9 of them are in Africa,” says Thomas Nass, who just completed his service as CELC president. “Having the convention in Africa gives recognition to the importance of the church in Africa as a part of worldwide Christianity.”

Attendees also were able to experience the unique African culture and landscape, from enjoying Sunday services at local churches in Lusaka to visiting a nearby game park. “Every delegate from non-African churches will go home and talk about the energetic singing of the African choirs that we experienced,” says Nass.

As part of its official business, the group elected Nathan Seiltz, director of WELS Multi-Language Productions, as the new CELC president. Three more church bodies also were welcomed into this worldwide fellowship: the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of Kenya, Iglesia Cristo WELS Internacional, and Obadiah Lutheran Synod of Uganda.

Being part of this fellowship has proven important for all CELC member churches, scattered bastions of Lutheran orthodoxy. “I am deeply grateful for the fellowship we share in the CELC,” says Kalyan Gollapalli, president of the Lutheran Mission of Salvation of India. “In a world filled with religious confusion and spiritual compromise, it is a great comfort to stand together with brothers and sisters who believe and confess the same Savior and the same gospel.”

This partnership is also important for WELS, as Lutheranism continues to grow outside the US. “It seems that God has put us in this position—that we are coming upon more and more confessional Lutheran brothers around the world,” says Nass. “This makes me think that the CELC is more and more important as an organization that can provide a worldwide gathering place for these churches and a place where the unity in faith can be strengthened and where they can help and support one another.”

God-willing, the next CELC convention will take place in 2029 at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wis., the same year as the 100th anniversary of the Mequon campus.

Learn more about the CELC at celc.info.