This website has been developed to provide the very latest information about the potential of the four WELS Kenosha congregations reunifying their gospel ministries into one congregation with multiple sites. Please check back regularly for updates.

A presentation was made at Shoreland Lutheran High School on Saturday, October 19, 2019 to share details about this concept. The background and rationale for this concept is explained in detail in the document below.

In January 2020, all four Kenosha congregations approved the formation of five committees made up of members from each of the congregations to research and discuss different component of a possible reunification. These committees have been tasked with making recommendations to the four congregations on July 1, 2020, concerning the steps necessary to realize such a reunification. The specific goals of each committee are listed below.

Six communication sessions have been scheduled as well to discuss different areas of congregational and school ministry. These communication sessions will give Kenosha congregational members an opportunity to react to initial ideas, to ask questions, and to provide input toward desired outcomes in each area. The schedule for these six communication sessions is listed below.

JOINT MINISTRY COMMUNICATION SESSIONS

In January the four Kenosha congregations approved a recommendation to study a possible reunification of the WELS churches and schools into one congregation, multiple sites. Five committees are being formed to study the issues involved and prepare proposals for the congregations’ reaction in the fall.

To help these committees with their work and to give the members of our congregations a chance to hear what is being considered, to ask questions, and to offer their much-needed input, a number of communication sessions will be held on various areas of ministry. Each will be offered twice: on a Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. and once on a Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. The topics and dates are as follows:

• Word & Sacrament Ministry in action (what worship, bible study, ministry actions are envisioned at each site, at what time, and why) – 2/11 & 2/15 at Mt. Zion

• Ministry Culture and Community Connection (spiritual care of members, member to member care, connecting people, small group ministry for study, service & fellowship, etc.) 2/25 & 2/29 at Friedens

• Reaching out with the Gospel (neighborhood evangelism, Friendship evangelism, marketing/PR, Block Parties & events, camps, Jesus Cares ministry, mercy ministry, intentional inner city outreach) 3/10 & 3/14, at Friedens

• Early Childhood and School Ministry and Staffing (preschool and parochial school, and a preliminary report of the CCCW/HR committee, identifying needs and discussing job descriptions for these ministries) 6/23 (6:30 p.m.) at Friedens (Zoom Q &A on 6/27 at 9:30 a.m.)

• Church Ministry, Governance, and Staffing (Sunday school, confirmation, tweens, teens, college age, millennials, etc., plus preliminary report of the CCCW/HR committee identifying needs and discussing job descriptions for ministries) 7/7 (6:30 p.m.) at Friedens (Zoom Q &A on 7/11 at 9:30 a.m.)

• Gift Management (how would the whole area of finances work) 7/21 (6:30 p.m.) at Friedens (Zoom Q &A on 7/25 at 9:30 a.m.)

Please make note of these dates, and plan to attend each. Updates will also be given to the congregations in April, and proposals are scheduled to be available on September 1. A Sunday, October 25 all-congregational meeting is scheduled at Shoreland to discuss the proposal and vote on it.

Please keep this important discussion in your prayers, remembering that this is Christ’s Church, and we want to be faithful in planning for his soul-serving work to continue forward for generations to come!

A summary of the Shoreland presentation on October 19 is found in the tri-fold brochure below.

Pastor Jon Hein's PowerPoint presentation on October 19 is available below, along with the video of a very similar presentation he made to the 2019 WELS Convention.