Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
Living Hope is a member congregation of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). The WELS, established in 1850, is a Biblically-conservative church body with an enthusiasm<!–[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]–> <!–[endif]–> for children and outreach. With more than 1,200 congregations and 400,000 church members, the WELS is the third largest Lutheran church in the U.S. The WELS’ passion for children and outreach has given it a strong history in education and missions. The church body’s congregations support 370 elementary schools, 313 early education programs and 23 high schools, as well as more than 100 missionaries and more than 200 national workers sharing the gospel worldwide.
In addition to spreading the Good News about Jesus, here are some of the wonderful, charitable ministries carried on by WELS, its affiliates, and its congregations:
WELS dispenses millions of dollars annually for the needy. WELS Relief Fund receives and expends millions of dollars annually for the relief of disaster victims, most recently for hurricane and flooding victims. In addition, World Missions dispenses money from its Humanitarian Aid fund worldwide. In recent years a majority of this money has been used to ease the pain of the victims of tsunamis, famine, and earthquakes overseas. All of this is over and above the offerings used to fund the outreach of the gospel.
Also on the synod level are the various charitable ministries of the Special Ministries unit of our Parish Services. These special ministries include help for the blind, the deaf, and the developmentally disabled. Through these ministries we train people to sign for the hearing impaired in our worship services, maintain a braille and large-print publishing effort, and support 63 Jesus Cares schools around the country for the developmentally disabled.
WELS parasynodical agencies are also heavily involved in charitable work. Christian Life Resources maintains a home for unwed pregnant mothers in Denver and provides counseling for countless women in crisis through its local agencies. WELS Kingdom Workers swings into action to assist in rebuilding and offering help for hurricane and tornado victims around the country. They would love to have you volunteer to be a part of their work. On the local congregation level, most of our churches are involved in some way in charitable work.
The teachings of WELS Lutheran Churches are those of the original, ancient church of the apostles and early Christians. They are the teachings of the Bible, based on the words written by the prophets of the Old Testament and the apostles of the New Testament. The Holy Bible tells us about Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice for all sinners, and his loving command to spread the good news of salvation to the world.
Links:
Our Precious Lambs Preschool and Daycare at Living Hope
