A City Great to God: Ten Years of WELS Planting to Inform the Next One Hundred Missions

Abstract

From the isolated beginnings of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), internal tensions have favored planting churches in non-urban settings. Numerous voices within the synod have seen this tendency as an area for growth. After reaffirming our theological commitment to the city, this thesis will define urban mission planting to provide a statistical analysis of WELS Home Missions’ relationship with cities from 2012 to 2021. On the dawn of a new mission planting initiative, 100 Missions in 10 Years, this thesis provides parameters for planting and an analogous ten-year analysis to inform how the WELS might further its mission work to all people through a commitment to the city.