About the WELS
Emmanuel is a member of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), the third largest Lutheran church body in the United States.

Formed in the State of Wisconsin in the 1850's by German Lutheran immigrants, the WELS could be characterized as theologically conservative. However, we prefer to describe ourselves as faithful to the Scriptures (the Bible), at a time when sadly many Christian church bodies have lost their spiritual bearings.  

We believe that Jesus Christ is the one Savior for all people of every era. Peace with God now and life without end with God in heaven come only through faith in Jesus.  He said of himself, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father [the true God] except through me" (John 14:6). The disciple Peter bore witness to this fact, testifying, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).   

The 'Lutheran' in our name comes from Martin Luther, the reformer who lived in Germany of the 1500s. Luther championed the gospel of Christ in a period of history when man-made teachings had muddied and so obscured the Bible's central truth of the one Savior. As Lutheran Christians we acknowledge and remember the reformer's work of restoring to its rightful place the message of salvation by God's grace alone through faith alone.