Our focus for 2025–2035

The new long-range strategic plan names four priorities for WELS to focus on for the next ten years. These sweeping areas tackle the challenges the church—and WELS—face today. With the plan’s theme, “Christ through us,” we are given a powerful reminder—God works through us to carry out his work as his ambassadors.

Culture: Cultivating a gospel-driven culture
Congregations: Strengthening WELS’ backbone
Calling: Producing workers for a growing harvest
Commission: Bringing Christ to the nations

Every organization has a culture, including WELS. The kind of culture we have will impact the work we do in God’s kingdom.

I was shocked, to be honest. I was returning a rental car. When I dropped it off, the attendant asked how my experience was. I said it was fine, except one of the tires kept losing air so I had to refill it a few times. “But,” I said, “it was no big deal.”

To my surprise, she said. “Well, it’s not your responsibility to keep air in our car’s tires, so I’m going to take $50 off of your rental fee.”

I was shocked that a company would empower someone at her level to give that kind of a discount immediately to a customer. She didn’t check with a supervisor. She didn’t tell me to e-mail customer service. She just did what seemed right.

Encountering a positive culture

This was no accident. The company had carefully thought through what kind of a company it wanted to be and how it wanted to treat its customers. Then, the leaders of the company had intentionally shaped a company culture that filtered all the way down to an attendant in a parking lot at an airport, empowering her to do what was right for the customer. The result? A very pleased customer who will almost certainly rent his next car from that company. It was a remarkable example of the power and impact of organizational culture.

Maybe you’ve experienced this as well. Perhaps when you frequent a certain gas station chain, you notice that every station is bright and clean and the food is always fresh. Or maybe it’s the always smiling and friendly employees and efficient service at that particular national fast-food chain.

These aren’t coincidences. They are the result of organizations carefully crafting what kind of culture they want and then intentionally shaping that kind of culture.

Cultivating a gospel-driven culture

So what? What does this have to do with the work of God’s kingdom? Simply this: Every organization has a culture, including WELS. The kind of culture we have will impact the work we do in God’s kingdom. It will impact the souls God has placed in our care and the souls we hope to reach with the good news God has given us to share.

While the Bible doesn’t use the word culture, it does speak in culture-like terms. Take the apostle Paul’s encouragement to the Christian church in Ephesus, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 4:31–5:2).

So, what kind of culture do we want WELS to have? Or, better put, what kind of culture does our Lord Jesus want WELS to have?

Picture this: A church body whose congregations are looking for opportunities to proclaim the gospel and eager to pursue those opportunities. Energized by the promises God has given, they are not content with what is but zealously strive for what could be.

Picture this: A church body whose members view reaching lost souls as their own personal mission. Rather than thinking that sharing the gospel is something only their congregation or their pastor does, they see it as their own personal privilege and responsibility. Imagine hundreds of thousands of WELS members released into a world that desperately needs relief from guilt, comfort in crisis, hope for the future. Imagine how many souls might be impacted for time and for eternity.

Picture this: A church body filled with saints who understand that following Christ can be costly and will sometimes require carrying a cross. They willingly and even joyfully sacrifice their own comfort for the sake of the gospel.

Picture this: A church body in which members are closely connected to their fellow believers in meaningful, rich relationships. In a world in which people are becoming frighteningly disconnected leading to crushing loneliness, imagine hundreds of WELS relational oases where people can find authentic community—congregations where people care about and for one another, where joys and burdens are shared.

Impacting souls for eternity

Can you picture it? With God’s help and the power of his Spirit, we can strive to become a church body with this kind of gospel-driven culture. And we don’t have to wait for it to happen. We can begin striving for it now. Ask yourself how closely your congregation’s culture is to what we are striving for. Discuss this with your fellow members. If there are areas that could use some attention, what could be done to move your congregation in that direction? Ask yourself how closely you, personally, align with the kind of thinking described above. What could you do to move in that direction?

Go to God in prayer and ask his help in whatever you endeavor to do. You can be sure he will provide it because you can be sure he desires a gospel-driven culture for WELS. Remember Jesus’ promise, “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13).

It’s nice to encounter a healthy organizational culture. It means encountering things like a good atmosphere, good food, good service. It makes time spent with that organization more pleasant. A gospel-driven culture for our church body means even more because it positively impacts souls not just for time but for eternity.

Read more about the approval of the “Christ through us” long-range strategic plan at this summer’s synod convention. 

Visit christthroughus.net for more information about the plan. 

Author: Eric Roecker
Volume 112, Number 09
Issue: September 2025

How can I help shape WELS’ culture?

Connect: Say “Hello” to one person in church whom you’ve never met.
Care: Think of a neighbor or coworker who is struggling. Reach out with an act of kindness and a prayer.
Consider: What is one barrier preventing visitors from feeling comfortable at your church? How might you remove this barrier?
Invite: Invite someone to a worship service or a church event.
Learn: Learn about the WELS National Conference on Lutheran Leadership at lutheranleadership.com.
Remember: The work of the church is Christ’s alone, but Christ works through YOU!