This anniversary is an opportunity to remember God’s grace to WELS. He has permitted the message of Christ to be proclaimed to us and through us, so that from those small beginnings WELS is today a nationwide and worldwide church body. Numerous resources will be produced and made available to help congregations and individuals celebrate this anniversary and learn more about the history of WELS.

• Christ through Us: A Pictorial History of the Wisconsin Synod, 1850-2025, will be published by the summer of 2025. Watch for more information later this summer about how to preorder your copy.
• A series of short videos about WELS history coordinated with the pictorial history book will be produced.
• A revision and expansion of The Wisconsin Synod Lutherans, a more scholarly treatment of WELS history, will be available in the summer of 2025.
• An interactive timeline of WELS history will be put together for the website.
• A series of articles on key individuals in our synod’s history will appear in the Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly. Additional articles will be written for the WELS Historical Institute Journal. Forward in Christ will also focus on the anniversary in various ways throughout 2025.
• Ready-made newsletter articles and bulletin inserts on WELS history will also be distributed for use by congregations during 2025.
• Other short articles and videos will appear on this website.

It is the prayer of the committee that this anniversary will increase awareness of both the importance of knowing and studying our synod’s history and a growing appreciation for God’s grace to WELS for 175 years. There are very few Lutheran church bodies which have retained their identity and can trace their history as far back as WELS can. That is a gift of God’s grace working through his Word. Our synod has had the privilege of proclaiming that message of God’s grace in Christ for 175 years. This is a story worth remembering and telling.