Wisconsin Ev. Lutheran Synod

WELS -- Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod is comprised of about 400,000 Lutheran Christians banded together to teach and preach God's Word as revealed in Holy Scripture.  God's written word is the infallable source and guide for everything we believe and do.  In John 10:35 we hear Jesus say "The Scriptures cannot be broken."

After the establishment of Christianity following Christ's resurrection, many doctrinal changes came about which were not in agreement with Holy Scripture. In the 14th and 15th centuries some of these misguided notions were challenged by different reformers--Wycliffe, Hus and Luther, to name a few.  In 1517 Martin Luther nailed his famous "95 Theses" to the castle door at Wittenberg, Germany which started a debate ultimately resulting in Luther and his followers being ex-communicated from the Roman (Catholic) Church.  From the word "reform" this period was called the Reformation and Luther's followers became known as Lutherans.  Unfortunately Lutherans are no longer one happy family, evidenced by many different groups calling themselves Lutheran that do not proclaim the pure Gospel message.  WELS and ELS (Evangelical Lutheran Synod) are two of the smaller groups and are conservative in their theology and practice.

 

WELS Statements of Belief
 

WELS has churches in all 50 states with the heaviest concentration in the midwest.  Christian schools are an integral part of our ministry from early childhood centers through seminary. An active mission program is in place not only in the United States, but also in many areas of the world--from Mexico to Africa to Russia and places between -- to establish active congregations and learning centers to train national pastors.  There are many para-synodical organizations which further the work of the synod; the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod Church Librarians' Organization is just one example of WELS Christians working together to spread the Gospel.