Kudzu Tendrils of Church and Change

"Kudzu was introduced from Japan into the United States in 1876 at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, where it was promoted as a forage crop and an ornamental plant. From 1935 to the early 1950s the Soil Conservation Service encouraged farmers in the South to plant kudzu to reduce soil erosion, and Franklin D. Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps planted it widely for many years. Kudzu was recognized as a pest weed by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1953, and was removed from its list of permissible cover plants."

The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) is a Confessional Lutheran Church body begun in 1850 in Milwaukee , Wisconsin . The WELS has approximately 1,259 congregations with a total membership of 400,622 souls. See www.wels.net for details on the Synod and its various ministries. The WELS PRAYER INSTITUTE (WPI) is not an official organization of the WELS . WPI was introduced in November 2004 as another ministry “spun off” from Church and Change, an informal gathering of WELS pastors, teachers, staff ministers and lay leaders. “Church” refers to the one gospel ministry of Jesus Christ which he has entrusted to all of his people. The word “Change” refers to how we might proclaim the changeless gospel of Christ within the changing culture in which we live.

The WPI promotes prayer throughout the Synod in a variety of ways:

1) Promotes prayer for the advancement of the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world.
2) Connects WELS prayer leaders to one another.
3) Provides "working models" of prayer ministries for those getting started with prayer ministries.
4) Shares ideas on how to expand prayer ministry in your personal life and local church.
5) Sponsors Prayer Conferences which focus on praying, education, and encouragement.

Contact Information:
Pastor Steve Witte: Phone# 920-499-7405, email pastorwitte0906@sbcglobal.net
Reg Draheim: Phone# 920-497-1000, email regdraheim@hotmail.com
Lesli Frank: Phone #920-661-4070, email leslifrank@sbcglobal.net

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From Church and Change:

Prayer - WELS Prayer Institute
Steve Witte, Shelley Mattes and Reg Draheim


The WELS Prayer Institute exists to promote and encourage prayer throughout the WELS for WELS leaders, pastors, churches, and ministries. God has clearly given us this command to pray in Ephesians 6:18-20, and many other places throughout the Old and New Testament Scriptures.

Visit their website, join in on a prayer and be encouraged!
Contact Shelley Mattes for more information.

Email: shelleymattes@yahoo.com
Website: www.welsprayerinstitute.com


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GJ - Witte earned a DMin in Church Shrinkage from Gordon Conwell, where prayer is a Means of Grace--in fact--the only Means of Grace.

A common theme from the Shrinkers is change. Everything must change - Jeske, Lawrenz, et al.