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Did you know WELS has one of the biggest prison ministry programs in the country? Watch for the April WELS Connection to find out more.

This story actually starts in the Vietnam war . . . When the Hmong people of southeast Asia joined the Americans to fight communism. When the U.S. military withdrew, many Hmong people were left in a vulnerable situation . . . they were persecuted . . . tortured . . . killed. And so over the past few decades the United States has been bringing these refugees to America . . .

Watch for the March WELS Connection at your congregation to learn about cross-cultural outreach to America’s growing Hmong population.

Translating doctrine into other languages is more difficult than you might think. For example, did you know that most of Martin Luther’s writings have still not been translated into English? Even though translation is complex, it’s extremely important. Because when the basic truths of scripture are put into the language of the people, amazing things happen.

Our synod reached a significant milestone this past school year. For the first time, more than 10-thousand children were enrolled in our congregations’ preschools and day cares. The challenge now is to connect their families to the Word through the nearly 400 congregations operating these ministries. Individual churches, and the synod as a whole, are taking steps to do just that.

Going door-to-door is a vital part of the outreach strategy of many congregations—especially when you’re a new mission looking to establish yourself in the community. For years, our ministerial education schools have partnered with our home missions and the volunteer organization WELS Kingdom Workers to get the work done. It’s work that pays eternal dividends.

Building bridges to the gospel is a phrase often used to describe our synod’s mission work around the world. Much like Jesus used a woman’s need for water to start a discussion about spiritual matters—so we often use medical care and other humanitarian aid to open the door for outreach.

A look at how Home Missions partners with Church Extension Fund to build worship facilities for mission congregations.