E.H. Wendland Bio

Missionary/Professor/Pastor Ernst H. Wendland
Ernst Henry Wendland was born on June 16, 1916 in Watertown, Wisconsin. He entered the joy of his Lord on May 28, 2009 at the age of 92. For him to live was Christ, and to die was gain. He attended Northwestern Preparatory School and Northwestern College, graduating in 1938. He received his seminary training at the Theolgische Hochschule, Berlin-Zehlendorf, Germany and at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wisconsin, graduating in 1941.

In the closing words of the last mission sermon he ever preached, he summed up his sense of grace at having been counted worthy to serve in the public ministry of the Word. “I thank God,” he said, “for the privilege of over sixty years being involved in the greatest work in the world!” During his life he served in the following parishes in the United States: Immanuel, Washington, Iowa, 1942-1945; St. Matthew, Janesville, Wisconsin, 1945-1948; St. Matthew, Benton Harbor, Michigan, 1948-1962. Probably best known for his long service as a missionary, Ernst was commissioned to go to the Lutheran Church of Central Africa (LCCA) in September, 1962, where he was asked to begin the work of training national evangelists and pastors. During his first period of service there, his primary role was as the Principal of the Lutheran Bible Institute and Seminary. He also served as Superintendent of the Central African Mission from 1964 to 1971. Since that time the LCCA has grown in size and strength to become a national church body in its own right and a second generation of national pastors has graduated from its seminary.

He brought to the classroom in both Lusaka, Zambia and from 1978-1986 at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wisconsin careful scholarship and a mission spirit, continually encouraging his students to grasp “how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:18). Every text in the Bible, he used to tell his students, was a mission text. During his time at the seminary, he was also instrumental in the development of many courses and studies in the Scriptures’ teachings regarding the Church’s worldwide mission and the practical application of those teachings in the life and ministry of the Church. These he was able to share not only with seminary students, but also with pastors as part of their continuing education. He was deeply convinced that the unconditional gospel of God’s love to us in Christ was an extraordinary treasure that had been graciously given to the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). He firmly believed that the WELS’ most basic reason for existence was to share this love in all its purity and beauty in every place.

Following his retirement from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 1986, Ernst was given a second opportunity to serve in Central Africa in 1989, where he continued to work as a pastor, teacher, mentor, and friend until 1993. His influence on generations of national pastors is profound and enduring. As one national pastor put it, “He did not try to make us into Americans, but taught us how to evaluate the bad and good of both cultures in the light of God’s Word.”
Besides being a missionary, seminary professor, and parish pastor, Ernst was also a voluminous writer, penning numerous scholarly essays, Bible studies, and magazine articles.

We thank God for his life not because of his many accomplishments, but because of God’s grace that can work so mightily in us poor sinners. Because of Christ’s death and resurrection, Ernst could greet every morning with the words of his favorite psalm, “I shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord” (Psalm 118). He wanted others to know that same joy.

The scholarship fund was established in honor of his 50th anniversary in the pastoral ministry. He saw education of the children of national pastors as an essential part of establishing a strong, doctrinally sound and respected church body to better proclaim the Gospel message clearly.