WELS will be holding an International Youth Rally this summer. See how one church’s youth group is preparing and why this fellowship opportunity with their peers from around the country is so important.

February 2012 - Rallying our Youth for Service from WELS Streams on Vimeo.

2011 WELS Convention: Special presentation from the Ukrainian Lutheran Church.

This July, more than a thousand will gather in Minnesota for the National Conference on Worship, Music, and the Arts. One of this year’s themes is passing the baton of sacred music from one generation to the next. Two attendees are examples of what that theme is all about. I believe Barb VanHaaften has signed up to attend the conference and Erik Lund has auditioned for the 6th - 8th grade choir.

The National Conference on Worship, Music, and the Arts will be held July 19-22, 2011, at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn.

2011 marks the fifteenth anniversary of WELS national worship conferences. In 1996 the Commission on Worship held its first worship conference. Organizers didn't know what to expect. They would have been happy if 400 people showed up. What a surprise—and blessing—when more than 800 attendees gathered for four days of worship, instruction, and camaraderie.

Since 1996, conferences have been held every three years and interest has grown with more than 1,000 people benefitting from each event. Interest in good worship innovation continues in WELS as does the need for both solid theological and creative perspectives.

If you've never been to a worship conference, we especially invite you to join the crowd of WELS worship leaders this year. We're confident that you will be thrilled with the experience.

Who is the conference for?
This conference is not only for musicians! Every presentation time slot includes options for pastors and for interested lay people. Worship—the highpoint of the conference for most—is for everyone.

Who should come?
Anyone whose church is:

• small, with fewer than 75 people in attendance on Sunday mornings;
• large, with many members and many musical resources;
• traditional, with a deep desire to retain familiar worship patterns;
• diverse, with members and visitors of many ages and cultures;
• evangelistic, with a congregational mindset for reaching the lost;
• evaluating, with a desire to enhance worship that edifies members and guests;
• experimenting, with a growing interest in new forms and music for worship;
• actually a chapel, where daily worship serves high school or college students; or
• really a classroom, where children gather each day to worship the Lord.

What can I expect?

• Uplifting and faith-building worship.
• Two massive choirs—one for adults and the other for teens—joining with orchestra and organ to open and close the conference.
• A first-time children's choir.
• Sixteen newly-commissioned compositions.
• Two recitals.
• Seven repertoire sessions for choirs, organ, and piano.
• Seven presentations focusing on art in worship.
• Fellowship and friendship.