If WELS were to lose tens of thousands of members, that affects our ability to send out missionaries both stateside and around the world. If WELS closes hundreds of churches, that has massive implications for our worker training system,

To turn around the statistical decline, we need to open the front door and shut the back door.

Consider that currently our back-door losses are around 8,000 souls per year. Our current communicant member to adult confirmation ratio is 83 to 1.

In one generation, we could grow by 3% if back-door losses were cut by 20% and if adult confirmations are 55:1.

In one generation, we could grow by 14% if back-door losses were cut by 33% and if adult confirmations were 45:1.

Read the “For the Generations to Come” casebook.

Congregational Services featured videos

Congregational Services programs

Visit the Congregational Services resource site for free tools and training resources available for all WELS congregations.

Congregational Services news

WELS Women’s Ministry Mental Health Webinar

WELS Women's Ministry Webinar May 2, 2024 at 7 p.m. CST

Be joyful and glad

The stone the builders didn’t accept has become the most important…

Blessings on a jail visitor’s creativity

As times change, so do some of the methods we use to share the…

More changes for Prison Ministry

WELS Prison Ministry has been facing all sorts of changes, one…

Pen pal pipeline – Winter 2024

Currently the balance between our volunteer pen pals and the…

Three ways to support WELS Prison Ministry – Winter 2024

Pray – As God’s redeemed children, our prayers are powerful…

Together Video Update – February 27, 2024

WELS Women's Ministry Committee exists to nurture, encourage,…

WELS Women’s Ministry Hospitality Webinar

WELS Women's Ministry Webinar March 7, 2024 at 7 p.m. CST

Meeting the spiritual needs of WELS members in the military

In early February, WELS Military Services National Civilian Chaplain…

Reviving Relationships Through Biblical Hospitality webinar

WELS Women's Ministry hosted a webinar on Reviving Relationships…

Changes in the WELS Commission on Worship

Rev. Bryan Gerlach, director of the WELS Commission on Worship,…

Together Video Update – November 14, 2023

Enrollment in WELS high schools is rising, reports Mr.…

Looking for God’s direction

[Paul and his companions] came to the border of Mysia. From there…

An inmate’s personal evangelism

Because of societal trends and other factors, traditional mass…

Volunteering through the storms of change

The phone rings in Sylvia Barnes’s apartment one morning, and…

Congregational Services ministries

For the Generations to Come

Help support the development of congregational resources that will help WELS congregations reach new members and retain current members.