Serving Those Who Serve: A History of WELS Ministry to the Armed Forces 1945-2020

Abstract

Ministry is all about the people that God has called a pastor to serve. Often, a pastor will be called to serve those who serve in the armed forces and their family members. For as long as the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) has existed, it has served its members who serve in the United States military. The goal of this paper is to trace the WELS involvement in military ministry, post-World War II up to the present. After tracing a portion of history of military ministry within WELS, one can see the vast efforts and care WELS has for all its members, especially those serving in the military. When the synod began to grow, WELS organized committees that oversaw this work of military ministry extensively, from the work of the Spiritual Welfare Commission to the current Military Services Committee. WELS sought the spiritual well-being of their military members by providing devotional materials with the mailing program, which is still in effect today, although it has greatly improved by communicating through online services like emailing devotional resources and streaming worship services. Lastly, WELS has a long history of equipping and sending pastors who dedicated their ministry to serving WELS military personnel. All this is done to serve God’s people who find themselves serving in the military.