Moments with missionaries: Ben Bitter
Do you remember your first Bible? Mine is an old study Bible that some relatives gave me at my confirmation. The margins have accumulated helpful notes and comments, different dates…
Training future church planters
In January 2025, three different groups of students from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary (WLS) went on Winterim trips as part of a special partnership with WELS Home Missions. These trips were…
Moments with missionaries: Ross Chartrand
My wife and I were standing in an empty living room of a new house filled with dust and echoes and not much else until our moving truck arrived. Neither…
Three home missions launch weekly worship
Three home missions launched weekly worship services in September: Divine Savior—North Collin County, Celina, Texas; Anchor Church, Marquette, Mich.; and Victory, Wichita, Kan. “A grand opening is important in the…
WELS news briefs: September 2024
Christian Aid and Relief |wels.net/relief WELS Christian Aid and Relief will be distributing almost $500,000 in humanitarian aid grants for Fiscal Year 2024–25. WELS Home Missions will receive $64,258 in…
A laudable goal . . . with some questions
The 2023 synod convention adopted an ambitious plan with the stated goal of opening one hundred new home missions in the next ten years. That effort began last year when…
WELS Home Missions approves new missions
This spring, WELS Board for Home Missions approved five new mission starts for the synodwide 100 Missions in 10 Years initiative. “As we considered new ministry requests this year, we…
Moments with missionaries: Timothy Walsh
Overflowing with opportunities Forty thousand cars drive past our church’s campus every 24 hours. That statistic was among the first things I was told about our congregation’s location after I…
Where are they now? Grace, Tucson, Ariz.
In January 2019, Forward in Christ featured Grace, Tucson, Ariz., in an article discussing the blessings and challenges of mergers and multi-site ministries. Two small struggling congregations, Peace, Sahuarita, and…