WELS History to be Published

September 20, 2024 By Deb Witte

Photos from the forthcoming WELS anniversary book, Christ Through Us

In 2025, WELS will celebrate 175 years of God’s undeserved grace and blessings—175 years of God at work through Word and sacraments, faithfully preached and handed from one generation to the next. As part of the WELS anniversary celebration in thanksgiving to God, Northwestern Publishing House has been commissioned to produce Christ Through Us: A Pictorial History of the Wisconsin Synod, 1850–2025.

Christ Through Us is more than a history book. It tells the stories of 175 years’ worth of faithful Christians and their efforts in the United States and throughout the world to spread the life-changing gospel message, which we treasure and preach to this day. The central, unifying thread woven throughout all these stories is Christ. To him be the glory in all things!

Click here to learn more and preorder Christ Through Us. Please note: Preorders must be submitted by October 15, 2024, for guaranteed availability.

Submitted by Mark Buske, Marketing Director for Northwestern Publishing House

The Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference is a worldwide fellowship of Lutheran church bodies, committed to the teachings of the Lutheran Church found in the Book of Concord of 1580. Established in 1993 with thirteen churches, the CELC has grown by God’s grace to include thirty-four church bodies today.

Every three years, representatives from CELC churches gather for fellowship and theological study at an international convention. Regional meetings are held in alternate years. These gatherings provide spiritual encouragement for confessional Lutherans who often find themselves quite isolated. Visitors are always welcome at these gatherings

Joint work of the CELC includes the writing of The Eternal Word: A Lutheran Confession for the Twenty-First Century, which testifies to the unity of doctrine enjoyed by CELC churches. The CELC also has a commission to help coordinate and improve theological training in CELC churches.

Speaking about the heart and core of the CELC, former President Gaylin Schmeling wrote: “The CELC stands ready to give answer to the confident hope of salvation in Christ that is within us. It is a refuge for those seeking confessional homes and a beacon shining the light of the Gospel in a sin-darkened world. Here the central truth of the Reformation, justification by faith alone, continues to be proclaimed. We are declared righteous by nothing we do or accomplish, but alone on the basis of Christ’s redemptive work which is counted as ours through faith in the Savior. He accomplished salvation for all on the cross and announced it to all by His resurrection, declaring the whole world righteous in Christ. This treasure is brought to us personally through the means of grace and is received by faith alone in the Savior which is worked through those very means of grace.”