Denomination of Lutheran Christianity in the United States
"WELS" redirects here. For other uses, see WELS (disambiguation).
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
Classification
Lutheran
Orientation
Confessional Lutheran
Scripture
Bible
Polity
Congregational
Associations
Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference, Formerly Synodical Conference (1869–1963) and General Council (1867–1869)
Region
United States and 24 other countries.
Headquarters
Waukesha, Wisconsin
Origin
1850 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Separated from
German mission societies (1868)
Merger of
Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and Nebraska synods
Separations
Protes'tant Conference (1927)
Church of the Lutheran Confession (1960)
Congregations
1,250[1]
Members
340,511 baptized[1] 272,555 communicant[1]
Primary schools
284[1]
Secondary schools
29[1]
Official website
www.wels.net
The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), also referred to simply as the Wisconsin Synod, is an American Confessional Lutheran denomination of Christianity. Characterized as theologically conservative, it was founded in 1850 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
As of 2022, it had a baptized membership of 340,511 in 1,250 congregations, with churches in 47 US states and 4 provinces of Canada.[1] The WELS also does gospel outreach in 40 countries around the world.[2] It is the third largest Lutheran denomination in the United States. The WELS school system is the fourth largest private school system in the United States.[3]
The WELS is in fellowship with the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) and is a member of the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (CELC), a worldwide organization of Lutheran church bodies of the same beliefs.
members) and the WisconsinEvangelicalLutheranSynod (WELS) (with approximately 340,000 members). There are also many smaller Lutheran church bodies in...
with the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod b Name is formatted this way to avoid confusion with the WisconsinEvangelicalLutheranSynod c Synod is Non-geographic...
Lutheran Worship (1982, LCMS), Christian Worship (1993, WisconsinEvangelicalLutheranSynod), and The Lutheran Hymnal (1941, EvangelicalLutheran Synodical...
now the fourth largest Lutheran group in the United States, after the ELCA, the LCMS, and the WisconsinEvangelicalLutheranSynod (WELS). LCMC is congregational...
The EvangelicalLutheranSynodical Conference of North America (German: Die Evangelisch-lutherischen Synodal-Conferenz von Nord-Amerika), often known simply...
conference's member churches: the LCMS, the WisconsinEvangelicalLutheranSynod (WELS), and the EvangelicalLutheranSynod (ELS). It contains 668 chorales, hymns...
southeastern Wisconsin (the Buffalo Synod). In Scandinavia, where High Church Lutheranism and Pietist Lutheranism has been highly influential, the Evangelical Lutheran...
Augustana EvangelicalLutheran Church (previously the Augustana LutheranSynod and also Scandinavian EvangelicalLutheran Augustana Synod in North America...
WisconsinEvangelicalLutheranSynod. p. 24. Retrieved March 6, 2018. "Lutheran Church of Central Africa—Zambia". Confessional EvangelicalLutheran Conference...
Gawrisch of the WisconsinEvangelicalLutheranSynod (WELS). On April 27–29, 1993, the CELC was formed in Oberwesel, Germany with Lutheran church bodies...
The Synod of the Norwegian EvangelicalLutheran Church in America, commonly called the Norwegian Synod, was founded in 1853. It included churches in Illinois...
congregations that broke away from the WisconsinEvangelicalLutheranSynod (WELS) and the EvangelicalLutheranSynod (ELS) because of a doctrinal difference...
pastors, professors, and teachers from the WisconsinEvangelicalLutheranSynod (WELS) and EvangelicalLutheranSynod (ELS), both based in the United States...
(4.5 million members), the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (2.3 million members), and the WisconsinEvangelicalLutheranSynod (0.4 million members). "Because...
operated by various WisconsinEvangelicalLutheranSynod (WELS) congregations in the Milwaukee area. In 1903, a group of Lutheran pastors, teachers, and...
American Lutheran Church was formed in 1930 by a merger of the EvangelicalLutheranSynod of Iowa and Other States (est. 1854), the LutheranSynod of Buffalo...
the EvangelicalLutheran Church in America. However, for some denominations such as the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod and the WisconsinEvangelical Lutheran...
Little-Known LutheranSynods by Edward C. Fredrich The Doctrinal Differences Between the WisconsinEvangelicalLutheranSynod and the Church of the Lutheran Confession...
Church of the Lutheran Confession (CLC): Immanuel Lutheran College (Eau Claire, Wisconsin) EvangelicalLutheranSynod (ELS): Bethany Lutheran Theological...
fellowship. The LCR discussed church fellowship with the WisconsinEvangelicalLutheranSynod (WELS) in the 1960s, but finally decided, in July 1970, that...
closely associated with the WisconsinEvangelicalLutheranSynod. It is also a member of the Confessional EvangelicalLutheran Conference (CELC), a worldwide...
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