The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod is a Confessional Lutheran denomination founded in 1850, and headquartered in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
Despite its name, the denomination's reach is far beyond Wisconsin. With congregations in forty-seven US states and four Canadian provinces, WELS is the third largest Lutheran denomination in the United States. It is a member of the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference and is in fellowship with the Evangelical Lutheran Synod.
The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod was organized largely among new German Lutheran immigrants. Originally known as the First German Evangelical Lutheran Synod, the body entered into a cooperative agreement with the Michigan Synod and the Minnesota Synod in 1892, and in 1917 they merged to take its current form.
WELS is theologically conservative, adhering to the creeds and confessions in The Book of Concord, including the Lutheran teaching of Sola Scriptura - Scripture alone. The denomination holds that the Bible is without error, and the final authority by which church teachings can be judged. Scripture is the infallible authority and guide for everything Christians believe and do.
There is one God. Within the unity of this one God, there are three persons who are equal in power. They are the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Those who does not worship the triune God worship a false God.
Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, one with the Father and the Holy Ghost from eternity. In the Incarnation, Jesus took on a human nature and form, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. The perfect righteousness of Christ is accepted by the Father as our righteousness. His death for sin is viewed by the Father as our death for sin. Three days after Christ died on the cross, He rose from the dead and later ascended into heaven.
The chief ministry of the Holy Spirit is to work faith in the hearts of man through the Word of God, enabling people to have faith to recognize Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
When Adam and Eve sinned, they suffered judgment under God. Since that time, all of mankind have been conceived in sin, and are inclined toward evil. By their own self effort, they cannot reconcile themselves to God. The Holy Spirit enables people to recognize that Jesus is Savior and Lord. Conversion is a work of God's grace. Those who exercise faith in Christ, as enabled by the Holy Spirit, are justified, acquitted of guilt, and viewed by God as righteous.
Even before God created the world, He elected or chose certain individuals who would in time be converted through the gospel, and preserved in faith to eternal life. Salvation is entirely the work of God, and not of human effort.
It is possible for believers to fall away from faith. Only those who remain in faith until the end of life are saved.
The Christian church is present wherever the gospel is faithfully preached and the sacraments properly administered. Only God knows the true membership of the church.
Within the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Church, women do not serve as pastors, although they may participate in other offices and activities that do not involve authority over men.
The sacraments are baptism and the Lord's Supper. Baptism is not just for adults, but infants may also be baptized. Through the Lord's Supper, participants experience the forgiveness of their sins.
One day, Jesus will come again. At that time, the souls of the dead will be reunited with their bodies, and appear before the throne of judgment. Unbelievers will be condemned to hell, while believers will spend eternity in heaven.
The denomination does not believe in a rapture of the church, a future millennial kingdom, or an antichrist. Rather, the characteristics of the antichrist are fulfilled in the papacy of the Catholic Church.
Membership in WELS peaked in the early 1990s, but has declined only slightly since that time. Until the 1960s, the denomination was almost entirely contained in the Great Lakes and Great Plains regions but expanded to several other states and into Canada during the 1970s and 1980s. It remains strongest in Wisconsin, South Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, and Nebraska.
The official publishing house for the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod is Northwestern Publishing House in Milwaukee. The WELS school system is the fourth-largest private school system in the United States.
This category is focused on the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Church and any of its agencies, associations, or corporations. Informational sites relating chiefly to WELS are appropriate for this category, whether complimentary or in opposition to its doctrines and teachings. Sites representing local member congregations should be listed in the Local & Global category corresponding to their location, however.
Recommended Resources
Operated by the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, MLC is a private liberal arts college in New Ulm, Minnesota. Its strategic plan, master calendar, history, student handbook, and a directory of faculty, staff, and administrative contacts are set forth. Its academic programs and degrees are advanced, and its admissions criteria and procedures are framed. Demographics, announcements, and support data are included.
https://mlc-wels.edu/
WELS Center for Mission and Ministry
The history and a profile of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod are put forth, along with its beliefs, creeds, and Lutheran confessions, areas of ministry, synod administration, annual reports and other documents relating to the denomination. Its ministries, publishing house, and other agencies and corporations associated with WELS are featured, along with a guide to WELS educational programs and schools.
https://welsrc.net/
WELS Church Librarians’ Organization
WELS-CLO was established in 1991 by church librarians within the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod for the purpose of assisting the denomination in carrying out its mission of evangelization, expanding the availability of Christian literature, providing a forum for sharing ideas between church librarians, assisting church libraries, and encouraging churches without a library to start one. Memberships and schedules are posted.
http://www.welslibrarians.org/
Organized in 1982, the Institute works to preserve and present the history of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, and publishes two issues of the WELS Historical Institute Journal and two newsletters each year, as well as working on the restoration of Salem Lutheran Landmark Church, built in 1863, and located near the site of the denomination’s founding in Milwaukee. Membership data, meeting and events calendars, and photos are included.
http://www.welshistory.org/
The WELS Lutheran Network creates and hosts Internet sites for member churches of the Wisconsin Evangelical Synod, particularly those in the Nebraska District. Staff biographies are set forth, along with an overview of their services and capabilities. Current sites are highlighted, with photos of the churches and, as the sites are hosted on the WELS Lutheran Network domain, details about each are presented.
https://welslutheran.org/
The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Church has churches in the United States, Canada, and worldwide. This site was established to display the stained glass found in WELS churches. Photographs of stained glass windows may be viewed by church name or by the topic representing the images on the window. Random sample photographs are available for those who wish to view a few without browsing.
http://www.welsstainedglass.org/
Headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, WELS-Canada is a church body made up of congregations, pastors, and staff ministers affiliated with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Church, in fellowship with the WELS denomination based in Wisconsin. Its history, beliefs, leadership, and mission board are posted to the site, along with a list of member churches, by province, as well as reference material, photos, video, and various forms and documents.
http://www.wels-canada.ca/
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
WELS is a Confessional Lutheran denomination. Founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1850, it is strongest in Wisconsin, South Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, and Nebraska. Its history, beliefs, and practices are highlighted, along with leadership contacts, official reports, and an overview of its ministries and programs, member churches, and educational institutions. Its individual and organizational giving programs are set forth.
https://wels.net/
Situated on three campuses in Racine, Wisconsin, the K4-8th-grade Christian school is accredited by the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod and the National Council of Private Schools. Its academic and extracurricular programs, the Racine Parental Choice Program, and its tuition and fees are posted to the site, along with faculty and administrative contacts, locations, and sponsoring churches are posted to the site.
http://www.wisconsinlutheranschool.org/
Located in Mequon, Wisconsin, the seminary began in 1863, when it was created to provide pastors for the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Its history, objectives, and purpose are stated, and a course catalog, school calendar, assignment lists, and a photo gallery are featured. Maintained by the WLS Library, an essay file is included, along with its publications, assignment lists, preaching dates, and travel-study tours.
https://www.wls.wels.net/
