Dear Friend,

You’ve seen her before. Perhaps she grew up in your congregation and was confirmed there as a teenager. She sang the hymns, brought dessert to events, and even helped with Sunday school. She was part of it all. And then, slowly, quietly, she wasn’t. Life simply filled up. Her attendance became occasional, then rare, and eventually, she slipped quietly out of the rhythm of congregational life. It was not because she stopped believing in Christ, but because somewhere along the way she began to wonder where she belonged in the church. You’ve likely noticed this too—some women are just not as present as they once were.

At the 2026 WELS National Conference on Lutheran Leadership, more than 1,600 WELS members gathered in Chicago to discuss this sobering reality. Young women are leaving their churches at historic rates. Most still love their Lord and treasure how Jesus has saved us from sin and death, but they struggle to see where they fit into the life of their local congregation. They feel their talents are not fully utilized. They perceive that their ideas are not heard, perhaps not even welcomed.

The good news? This doesn’t have to be the end of her story. WELS Congregational Counseling and WELS Women’s Ministry are working together to equip congregations to understand what’s happening and to respond with wisdom, humility, love, and joy.

This is what is happening at Living Hope in Commerce City, Colo., where Christine used resources from WELS Women’s Ministry to launch a women’s Bible study making a real difference in many lives. Or consider Divine Savior, in Delray Beach, Fla., which used resources from WELS Congregational Counseling to restructure, so that now ministry action teams made up of men and women are serving together under the church council to plan and carry out our Savior’s mission.

Your gift makes this type of work possible. Through the consulting services of WELS Congregational Counseling, trained team members come alongside congregational leaders to honestly assess what’s happening and help them build a gospel-centered path forward, one that fully incorporates our sisters in Christ in God-pleasing ways. They use resources from WELS Women’s Ministry, including Bible studies, devotions, and worship resources, and Equip Women to Teach the Word, a nine-lesson curriculum that walks a woman from uncertainty to confidence in leading other women into Scripture. It gathers women together through conferences and webinars where they can learn, grow, and encourage one another in their Christian callings.

That young woman who used to sit in the third pew? She hasn’t given up on her faith. She’s waiting for someone to show her she belongs, that her ideas are welcomed, and that her skills are needed. Your gift to WELS Congregational Counseling helps her congregation reach out to her and to be ready when she walks back through the door. Thank you for supporting us in this vital work.

In Christ’s service,
Dawn Schulz
Chairwoman, WELS Women’s Ministry

Rev. Jonathan Hein
Director, Commission on Congregational Counseling

P.S. Young women are quietly leaving WELS congregations—not because they’ve lost their faith, but because they’re not sure where they fit. Your gift to WELS Congregational Counseling helps change that, one congregation at a time. Please give today.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for the women you have brought into your church and for the gifts, faith, and love you have given them. Open our eyes to see those sisters in Christ who feel disconnected or uncertain of their place, and move us to welcome, listen, and encourage them with humility and joy. Bless WELS Congregational Counseling and WELS Women’s Ministry as they equip congregations to serve women and men faithfully according to your Word. Use this work to strengthen your people, bring wandering hearts closer to you, and help every member find joy in serving your saving mission. Amen.