How did you begin?

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. " John 1:1-5

In the beginning there was a desire to study God's Word with a group closer to home—home being Green County, Wisconsin. So a Bible Study group began out of the home of a member of St. John's Lutheran Church, Lena, IL. Her home in Monroe, Wisconsin would begin to have regular meetings and the group began to grow. In 2022, the group had grown to fifteen people gathering around God's Word, more connections were made between communities and resources at the South Wisconsin District office.  

See, the drive down to Illinois for worship was getting rather long, and the need for a local LCMS church was becoming more apparent to the members who made the travel. One phone call to the department of Mission and Mercy at the South Wisconsin District is all it would take to prompt further conversation for a new church to begin. 

Thus began a list of things to do to start a church, and the Mission Executive had a man to find to serve this new group of twelve people searching for a church home. The members continued their Bible Study and began to have catechesis lessons as well as meetings to fill out paperwork: the Mission Executive began searching lists of potential candidates for their first pastor. 

Things were going by so very quickly when one interview made the Mission Exec. smile. A man about to graduate from the seminary (pastor school) was looking for a way to go home to the South Wisconsin District. His own home congregation was a mission start: he was intrigued and excited by the idea of another new church beginning in a place he had never been. Would the Mission Exec. please consider him for this call? 

On April 25, 2023 Kramer Chapel in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was packed full of family, friends, and thirty-one men who waited with bated breath for the news of their first call. Yet one would instead hear: "Joshua A. Benish: Church Planter— Lutheran Church Missouri Synod: South Wisconsin District, Milwaukee, WI." (The family would react with fear—"Is he going to plant a new church in Milwaukee?!" "No dear family, the district office is located there, but he is going to Green County, WI." "...Where is that?!")

Soon another summer began, Pastor Benish was ordained and installed as a church planter for the SWD (South Wisconsin District), the members of the core beginning group were counted as members of other churches until the new one can charter (become a full-fledge member of the LCMS), and we began to have church services in the living room of one family's home. 

We have since then moved into the library of Zwingli UCC in Monticello, WI and have been looking for a more permanent temporary location ever since. We have gained new members, new friends, and have reached out every chance we are given. We've been in the Monticello Homecoming Parade, been a sponsor for the Monroe Pregnancy Center, and we're looking forward for more opportunities to connect with those who are searching. 

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