The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) is a North American Confessional Lutheran denomination of Christianity. Characterized as theologically conservative, it was founded in 1850 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As of 2011, it had a baptized membership of over 383,506 in 1,287 congregations, with members in all 50 US states and 4 provinces of Canada. It is the third largest Lutheran denomination in the United States, following the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS).
WELS is in fellowship with the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS), a smaller denomination based in south-central Minnesota, and is a member of the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (CELC), a worldwide organization of Lutheran church bodies.
WELS and ELS are independent Lutheran denominations and are not part of the ELCA, which is structured to have "synods" within the denomination. Thus, the term "synod" as used by the ELCA refers to middle level administrative districts in different regions of the United States (example: Illinois Synod of the ELCA), whereas in the case of LCMS, WELS, and ELS, "synod" refers to the entire church body.
Read more about Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod: Membership Trends, Church Fellowship
Famous quotes containing the word evangelical:
“Chastity is a monkish and evangelical superstition, a greater foe to natural temperance even than unintellectual sensuality.”
—Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822)