Dear Friend,
One hundred fifty years is a long time to remain faithful to the truth that compelled you into existence—and to the relationships that helped sustain you.
We give special thanks to God this year for our Christian brothers and sisters of the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church (ELFK) in Germany. For 150 years, God’s grace and power helped them weather many trials, remain faithful to his Word, and preserve our blessed fellowship.
When Lutheran laypeople in Saxony saw that their state church practiced open Communion and replaced the pledge to teach the “pure doctrine of Scripture” with the subjective opinion of the pastor, they protested. Creation was taught as a legend, and the Trinity was flatly denied. When the state church ignored them, faithful laypeople felt compelled to form a free church—as opposed to a state church—built on the Word of God and the Lutheran Confessions.
God blessed that painful, necessary step. The ELFK grew to more than 100 pastors and congregations. Then the Wall went up. Congregations in the East were cut off. Decades later, when the Wall came down, everything had changed; most congregations no longer believed and taught what they once had.
Through it all, God’s grace preserved them. Today, the ELFK is relatively small—16 congregations, 16 pastors, and 1,200 members. Yet it is amazing to see all that God does through them—a bookstore, a seminary, a school, publications, and media outreach, to name just a few.
Still, our 1,200 brothers and sisters in Christ face challenges. During this anniversary year, the ELFK wants to expand its gospel work, and WELS Commission on Inter-Church Relations (CICR) would like to help.
ELFK’s school is bursting at the seams. They need to add on at a cost of $1 million dollars. While they raised two-thirds themselves, one-third is still needed for construction to begin this summer. Their Leipzig congregation has also outgrown its space. On Sundays, members worship in three rooms across two floors. They need help purchasing property for a suitable church. In addition, the ELFK provides $1,800 a month in stipends to support their seminary students—and this fund, too, needs support.
One hundred seventy-five years ago, a tiny, fledgling Wisconsin Synod needed help. We needed pastors. And we needed money to build a school to train our own workers. God graciously provided both—through brothers and sisters in Germany.
Today, we have an opportunity to repay their kindness—and to thank God for the blessing our brothers and sisters in the ELFK have been to us for generations. For 150 years, we have enjoyed their fellowship and been blessed by it. They are gifted, well-trained, and very dedicated coworkers in the kingdom of God as we share the saving gospel of Jesus. This year, especially, we thank God for them. With gratitude in our hearts to God, we have an opportunity to do for them what their spiritual forefathers once did for us.
In Christ,
James Danell
CICR Member
P.S. Your above-and-beyond gift to CICR’s Germany Support Fund can help our German brothers and sisters expand their school, build a church in Leipzig, and train future pastors. Thank you for standing with them in the truth!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank you for 150 years of fellowship between WELS and the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church in Germany and for the shared commitment to stand firmly on your Word. Continue to bless this partnership as brothers and sisters across the world encourage each other, train future pastors, and proclaim the saving gospel of Jesus. Strengthen this church body in Germany and all our sister synods as they serve in places where faithfulness can feel lonely and difficult. Use this global network of believers to bring your Spirit’s life-giving power through the means of grace to many more people. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
