“The WELS leadership conference offered a fantastic opportunity for our members to learn from experts across the synod and encourage them as leaders at our church,” says Kurtis Wetzel, pastor at Cross of Christ, Nampa, Idaho.

Wetzel and members from Cross of Christ attended the first two WELS National Conferences on Lutheran Leadership in 2020 and 2023. He and his congregation are planning to send another group to the leadership conference in January 2026.

Cross of Christ in Nampa is a mission congregation established as a second site to Cross of Christ in Boise. Wetzel shares, “Some of the guidance I received early on in our mission was to train up lay leaders quickly and involve members in lots of ministry.”

The keynotes and workshops at the leadership conference equipped his members for just that.

“We are striving to equip and empower the universal priesthood at our congregation and encourage leaders to work alongside the called staff to do more ministry and increase our local impact on souls for eternity,” says Wetzel. “Cross of Christ has always encouraged personal witnessing. Because of some of the workshops on outreach and evangelism, our members came back with renewed outreach energy and shared with the congregation even more about the need for personal (as well as corporate) evangelism. This has energized other members at our church for witnessing.”

Member Cindy Harris says she was honored to be invited to attend the conference. “I was humbled to be in the company of so many gifted spiritual leaders who passionately shared their knowledge about how to best proclaim the gospel in our communities,” she says. “Our pastors at Cross of Christ in Idaho do a wonderful job of training and encouraging our members for works of service, but this was an opportunity to learn from pastors and teachers in other congregations throughout our entire church body and take it home and share it!”

Cindy and her husband are founding members of Cross of Christ. She serves through leading a women’s Bible study and as the coordinator for the spiritual needs committee. She says of her time at the conference, “The whole time I was there I was thinking how wonderful it would be for every member back home to experience this conference. We ‘Western WELS’ members don’t often have the opportunity to personally experience the depth of our synod’s leadership and their passion for proclaiming the gospel throughout the world. It is a taste of heaven!”

The next WELS National Conference on Lutheran Leadership will be held Jan. 19–21, 2026, at the Hilton, Chicago.

Learn more about the conference in this month’s WELS Connection and at lutheranleadership.com.

Author: FIC
Volume 112, Number 05
Issue: May 2025