Joel Willitz’s essay, Secrets to Survival, chronicles the 100-year history of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hatchville (Spring Valley), Wisconsin. Founded by German Lutheran settlers in 1885, the congregation’s ...

J. Christina’s church history thesis recounts the brief but faithful existence of Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church in Libertyville and Mundelein, Illinois. Formed in 1964 by members of St. John’s Libertyville who opposed ...

Donald Windsperger’s essay documents the development of Family Ministry at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, from its roots in the 1970s to its flourishing in the late 1980s. Prompted by ...

Tim Wilkens’ essay traces the rich and complex history of St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Columbus, Ohio—the oldest congregation in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), founded in 1821. The essay ...

This congregational history traces the development of Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, from its founding in 1942 to the early 2000s. Initiated by the WELS District Mission Board, Bethany ...

This historical study recounts the unique merger of Gloria Dei and Bethesda Lutheran Churches in Milwaukee, the first such union within the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). Gloria Dei began as a suburban mission ...

This historical overview traces the development of Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) congregations in West-Central Wisconsin between 1859 and 1900. The paper begins with a demographic survey of early settlers—German ...

This comprehensive history traces the development of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Muskegon, Michigan, from its founding in 1923 through 2008. Initially established in Muskegon Heights, the congregation faced early ...