Our History

"As we celebrate [our] past history, we note how the Lord has gathered us together and guided us. We may be a small gathering of believers by the world's standards. Even in comparison with other church bodies, we are small—only a little over 410,000 souls. Yet we share a commitment to be faithful to the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions. God gathered us to work together and blessed the faithful efforts of all those who have gone before us. We remain together to work as brothers and sisters in Christ and to proclaim the wonders of God's grace to all the world" (Together in Christ: A History of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, p. 54).

TIMELINE

1828
United Rhine Mission Society formed in Germany

1837
German mission society sends John Muehlhaeuser to serve in North America

1848
Muehlhaeuser moves from New York to Wisconsin

1850
First meeting of the new Wisconsin Synod at Granville church with Muehlhaeuser as president

1858
Synod numbers: 17 pastors
16 parish schools
7 Sunday schools
3 teachers

1860
John Bading becomes new synod president

1865
Seminary building dedicated in Watertown
Synod periodical Gemeinde-Blatt appears

1868
Synod severs ties with Germany to become more Lutheran

1871
Minnesota Synod withdraws from General Council and moves to closer ties with Wisconsin Synod

1872
Ohio, Missouri, Norwegian, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota Synods hold first convention of Synodical Conference

1866
J. M. Hoeckendorf's congregation of 125 Lutherans moves to Nebraska

1878
Relocated seminary begins at 13th and Vine in Milwaukee with six students

1892
Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin Synods form federation called Evangelical Lutheran Joint Synod of Wisconsin and Other States

1893
Federation adopts Apache mission effort as its world mission project

1914
English Northwestern Lutheran begins publication

1917
Merger of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and Nebraska all becoming districts of Wisconsin Synod

1919
Merged synod numbers: 127,000 communicants spread throughout 698 congregations

1926
Winnebago Lutheran Academy established

1929
New home for Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary dedicated

1930
Synod enters debt and financial hardship—mission work suffers

1933
Synod elects John Brenner as president

1935
Synod resolves to retire debt

1939
Subscribers to English Northwestern Lutheran outnumber those to German Gemeinde-Blatt
Synod protests LCMS ties with ALC

1949
Synod sends exploratory team to Africa

1950
First synod services in California

1952
Missionary sent to Japan

1953
Missionary team arrives in Zambia

1954
Arizona-California District added to synod

1955
First synod services in Florida

1959
Synod officially becomes Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod

1961
Synod resolves to break with LCMS

1973
South Atlantic District added to synod

1983
North Atlantic District added to synod
South Central District added to synod

1995
Martin Luther College begins in New Ulm and Luther Preparatory Schools begins in Watertown

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

The word Lutheran in our synod's name, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, is not merely a word. We call ourselves Lutheran because it clearly identifies what we believe and describes how we carry out the work that God has entrusted to his church on earth.

WHAT THE BIBLE AND LUTHERANS TEACH

Nearly 500 years ago, the Christian church was corrupted by many false teachings. A man named Martin Luther led people back to the teachings of the Bible. His work, and that of his friends, is called the Reformation.