“HAPPY ANNIVERSARY” are words relished by a husband and wife. These words lead to reminiscing about the first date, the proposal, the wedding, the ups and downs of years spent together. If it is a milestone anniversary—25, 40, 50 . . . even 75!—that usually warrants a special celebration.

On May 26, 1850, three pastors met at Salem in Granville, Wisconsin (now northwest Milwaukee), to establish a new Lutheran church body: the German Evangelical Lutheran Ministerium of Wisconsin. Those small beginnings have grown and developed into what we now call WELS. During this calendar year, we will be commemorating the 175th anniversary of WELS.

But what makes this such a milestone anniversary? Why celebrate this history? Why talk about history at all in our modern, fast-paced, ever-changing world?

Our historical faith

Our faith isn’t based on “cleverly devised stories” (2 Peter 1:16) but on facts corroborated by evidence. Instead of spinning myths and tall tales, the events of the Bible are real history that really happened in time and space.

Consider how Paul lines up the eyewitnesses for Jesus’ resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). These witnesses told what they saw on the stage of world history. Their fact-based testimony could hold up as testimony in a court of law.

Consider how Luke begins the account of Jesus’ birth by placing the Christmas story in its historical context: “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world” (Luke 2:1). These historical realities mean that our faith hangs on something solid and certain. Broadening our knowledge of biblical history helps to deepen our Christian faith.

The church’s history

But the importance of history did not end when Jesus ascended into heaven. The book of Acts relates the beginnings of the Christian church’s history—the first congregations, evangelists, missionaries, and martyrs. We hear about the story of the Holy Spirit’s work through the proclamation of the gospel and the gospel’s progress “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

That story didn’t end with Acts. Jesus promised that before he returns in glory “the gospel must first be preached to all nations” (Mark 13:10). The church’s history records the advance of the gospel throughout the Roman Empire and beyond, carried by courageous missionaries and ordinary Christians, all of them sinful yet redeemed believers. They labored even when governments tried to silence the gospel and heretics tried to pervert the message.

The church’s history gives evidence that Jesus continues to live and rule over all things for the good of his church.

Our Lutheran history

That history hits closer to home when we consider Lutheran history. Every year, we commemorate the Lutheran Reformation. We give thanks that God used men like Martin Luther to restore to greater clarity the truth that we are saved by God’s grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, revealed and given in the Scriptures alone. But that was five hundred years ago across the Atlantic Ocean.

That’s where the history of WELS comes in. A wave of German immigration began in the 1840s and accelerated through the 1880s. Many of those Germans were Lutherans. Many of them settled in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan, where there was available land and greater economic opportunity. Most of them were baptized, but on the American frontier they didn’t have pastors to continue meeting their spiritual needs with Word and sacrament.

Proclaiming the message of God’s grace in Christ for 175 years!

Enter those three pastors who founded the Wisconsin Synod in 1850. They desired to work together to serve those immigrants and gather more into Christ’s church. Like-minded pastors in Michigan and Minnesota started synods in those states in 1860. Slowly, a few more pastors came from Germany. More congregations were formed. Institutions were established to train more gospel ministers. We know the places of those institutions—Watertown, Saginaw, New Ulm, and Mequon. Those synods in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan decided to work more closely together and eventually merged. They started looking outside the Upper Midwest for places to share the gospel—to the Dakotas and Washington, to the Apache reservation in Arizona, to California and Florida and every state in between, to Africa and Japan and many other places around the globe. They produced resources to help congregations carry out their ministries—church periodicals, catechisms, hymnals, devotion books, and Bible studies.

For 175 years, WELS has continued to exist by God’s grace. The theme for this anniversary celebration is “Christ through us.” That’s an appropriate way to describe how the synod has strived to remain faithful to the teachings of Scripture and faithfully proclaim those teachings. Has it been smooth sailing? Of course not. We’re all flawed human beings, as were those who have gone before us. There have been ups and downs, questionable decisions and controversies, bold actions and God-given successes.

Through it all, the Lord of the church has sustained his church by his grace so that WELS can trace its identity and history for 175 years.

Your congregational and personal history

Each WELS congregation plays its part in WELS history in its own way. Each WELS congregation has its own history. Maybe it was one of those preachers who was traveling around Wisconsin on horseback during the 1850s and 1860s who gathered immigrant farming families to form your congregation. Maybe it was a home missionary sent in the 1960s to answer the request of a core group for a pastor to proclaim the pure gospel. Maybe it was a recent mission start. However your congregation was established and has developed over the years—however many those years might be—here’s a history of God working through his people to advance his church. The good news of Jesus is proclaimed there, in that place, for the strengthening and comforting of Christ’s holy church and the saving of souls.

We also all have our own personal history. Somehow, God has worked in your life, in your history, to bring the gospel to you and bring you into his family of believers. Perhaps you are fifth-generation WELS. Somewhere in the distant past, one of your family members first heard the gospel, and each generation has passed that down. Or maybe you are new to WELS. Perhaps it was a spouse who brought you along to worship and Bible class. Maybe a pastor or members of an evangelism team came knocking at your door to invite you to church. Now here you are—a member of Christ’s church, a member of a WELS congregation. That’s something to remember. That’s something worth thanking our gracious God for.

So happy 175th anniversary, WELS! Let’s take time this year—and in the future—to marvel at God’s grace to our church body. Let’s get to know some of the people he has used in WELS history. Let’s learn how our synod grew and developed. Let’s celebrate what the Lord has done for WELS and through WELS. And let’s pray that the Lord Jesus continues to use us in the future for his glory and the advancement of his kingdom.

Find out more about the photos used in the featured image above. 

Learn more about WELS history at welshistoricalinstitute.org. 

Author: Joel Otto
Volume 112, Number 01
Issue: January 2025