Lord of Love Lutheran Church sits on Paradise Circle in the Village of DeForest, just north of Madison in Dane County, Wisconsin. The congregation gathers at 105 Paradise Circle each Sunday for a liturgical Divine Service that places the preaching of the Word and the administration of the sacraments at the center of its life together. Affiliated with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, the church identifies itself as a confessional Lutheran body, committed to the Bible as the inspired, inerrant Word of God and to the historic Lutheran Confessions as a faithful exposition of biblical teaching.
A Liturgical Service Where God Serves His People
Sunday worship at Lord of Love is structured around an historic liturgy that has been used by the Christian Church for centuries. Pastor Joel Jenswold describes the service as a "joyful dialogue with God." God speaks to his people through readings from the Bible, the sermon, Baptism and Holy Communion. The people respond in confession, praise, prayer and song. The order of service is printed in a bulletin each week so that first-time visitors can follow along easily.
The fall, winter and spring schedule calls for two Sunday services, at 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. From June through August the congregation follows a single-service summer schedule, gathering at 9:00 a.m. Holy Communion is celebrated on every Sunday of the month except the last. The congregation practices closed Communion, inviting communicant members of Lord of Love and of other WELS and ELS congregations to receive the Sacrament and asking guests to speak with the pastor before partaking.
Music is drawn primarily from Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal, with the Psalms of the Bible sung regularly and additional songs drawn from other Lutheran sources. Much of the music falls within the traditional range. The Lord of Love Choir rehearses on Tuesday evenings from 6:00 to 6:50 p.m., September through May, and sings in worship about fifteen times a year. New choir members are welcome; the choir is led by director Elaine Wilson.
What a First-Time Visitor Finds
Worship services last about an hour and include music, Bible readings, a sermon, prayer and Communion on most Sundays. There is social time before and after each service with coffee available. The atmosphere is casual and welcoming across all ages. Children are encouraged to attend with their parents; a parent room at the back of the sanctuary features a glass wall so caregivers can still see and hear the service, with rocking chairs and books on hand.
The church is fully accessible. Handicap parking stalls are located in both the upper and lower level parking lots, curbs are ramped, and a covered drive-up at the main level doors makes drop-off easy in bad weather. The main entrance has a powered door. The main level, including the sanctuary, offices and restrooms, is wheelchair accessible. The lower level, which houses classrooms, a gathering area and a kitchen, is also wheelchair accessible from its own entrance. There is no elevator between the upper and lower levels.
The congregation has no formal dress code. Many people choose to dress a little nicer out of respect for God, but the church simply asks that common-sense guidelines be followed.
Pastor Joel Jenswold
Lord of Love is served by Pastor Joel Jenswold, who accepted the call to the congregation in 2018. A native of Milwaukee, Pastor Jenswold met his wife Sue while both were students at Northwestern Preparatory School in Watertown, Wisconsin. They married in 1989 and have four children and seven grandchildren. Sue works as a medical receptionist.
Before coming to DeForest, Pastor Jenswold served two other WELS congregations. From 1993 to 2010 he was the pastor of Shepherd of Peace Lutheran Church outside Columbus, Ohio. He then served Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Hortonville, Wisconsin, from 2011 until the fall of 2018. He and Sue make their home in DeForest. He can be reached through the church office or at pr.jenswold@gmail.com.
A Building Erected by a Charter Congregation
The current church building was constructed in 2000. Several current members and council members describe themselves as "charter members" who were part of the original group that organized the congregation and, in some cases, were members when it was a mission church meeting in the DeForest community center. The building project that began with a 2021 voters' meeting added an elevator between the two levels of the church to address long-standing accessibility needs.
Mike Wilson, the current Church Council Chairman, and his wife Elaine are among those charter members. Their daughter Stephanie was the first child baptized in the new church building. Wilson continues to serve in the congregation along with Vice Chairman Phil Boll, Treasurer Shane Strong, Financial Secretary Steve Kalscheuer, Secretary Henry Nitz and Trustees Paul Crary and David Vomhof.
A team of six elders - Rob Jordan, Steve Kalscheuer, Dave Olson, John Schwark, Kevin Zech and Greg Zeman - supports the pastoral staff, and two deaconesses, Julie Doyle and Bonnie Punzel, assist in the ministry. Office Assistant Kristin Vomhof and Bookkeeper Vicki Hornbeck keep the day-to-day operations running. The office is open Tuesday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
What Lord of Love Believes
Lord of Love teaches that the one true God is the Triune God, three persons in one divine essence: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The church holds that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, given by the Holy Spirit to human writers, and therefore without error. Lord of Love also confesses the historic Christian doctrine of creation: that God brought the universe into being in six twenty-four-hour days roughly six thousand years ago.
The congregation teaches that Adam and Eve fell into sin through the devil's temptation and that all people are born into that same sinful condition, estranged from God. It confesses that God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to live a perfect life, to die on the cross as the substitute for sinners and to rise bodily from the grave. Salvation is received by faith in Christ, and faith itself is the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Lord of Love observes the two sacraments instituted by Christ. Holy Baptism is a means of grace in which God offers, gives and seals the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation; the church baptizes people of all ages, including infants. Holy Communion is also a means of grace in which, by Jesus' clear words of institution, his true body and blood are really present in, with and under the bread and wine for the forgiveness of sins. The Means of Grace is administered in the gospel Word - written, read, spoken, heard and proclaimed - and in the sacraments.
The church believes that the souls of believers who die go immediately to be with the Lord, while the souls of unbelievers go to hell. Jesus Christ will one day return visibly and in glory, raise all the dead, and assign resurrected believers to eternal life and resurrected unbelievers to eternal judgment. God will then burn up the present world and make a new heaven and new earth where believers will live with him forever.
Christian Education for Every Age
Christian education is a central priority at Lord of Love. The congregation teaches that God desires children to be instructed in his Word, and it gives parents and the church shared responsibility for that instruction.
Sunday School meets between services from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. during the school year for children ages four through eighth grade. Music is part of the lesson time. Registration is open throughout the year. The Teen Class runs at the same time for high school students in grades nine through twelve. Teens meet downstairs in a room with comfortable couches and lively discussion; outside of Sunday morning the group plans outings that have included campfires, bowling, frisbee golf, corn mazes and an escape room.
Confirmation is a three-year course of instruction that typically begins in sixth grade. The first year is devoted to major events in Bible history, and the next two years to Martin Luther's Small Catechism. After completing the course, students have the opportunity to confess the faith into which they were baptized. They are confirmed in the faith and welcomed to Holy Communion as communicant members.
The Adult Bible Study hour meets at 9:15 a.m. on Sunday morning in the sanctuary. It begins with a group devotion for all ages, after which the youth are dismissed to Sunday School and Teen Class and the adults turn to the day's study topic.
Beyond Sunday morning, the congregation offers three additional weekly Bible study opportunities. The Tuesday morning study meets at 9:00 a.m. in the lower level, with coffee served; the Wednesday Bible study convenes at 6:30 p.m. in the sanctuary with discussion; and the Friday Breakfast and Bible Study meets at the DeForest Family Restaurant, with breakfast at 6:00 a.m. and study beginning at 6:45 a.m. The Bible Information Class, offered several times a year, covers the basics of the Christian faith for newcomers or those curious to learn more. The class is required for adults who wish to become communicant members of Lord of Love, since the pastors and elders want members to join by confession of what the church teaches rather than by convenience.
Supporting Christian Schools
Lord of Love actively supports Christian education beyond its own walls. Members who enroll their children in area WELS or ELS schools pay the same tuition rate as members of the host congregation. Lord of Love pays the difference between the member and non-member tuition directly to the school. Area schools include Eastside Lutheran, Peace Lutheran, Westside Christian, Holy Cross Lutheran, Lakeside Lutheran High School and Luther Preparatory School.
Students who continue their Christian education after high school also receive support. Full-time students enrolled at Martin Luther College, Wisconsin Lutheran College, Bethany Lutheran College or Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary receive five hundred dollars per semester. Students submit a request form to the church office each semester, and the check is paid directly to the student.
Ways to Get Involved
The church is governed by committees that meet regularly and welcome new volunteers. The Education Committee coordinates Christian education activities including Vacation Bible School and Bible studies. The Worship Committee works with the pastors to maintain good order in worship and partners with greeters, ushers, organists and the altar guild. The Altar Guild Committee cares for the altar area, prepares and sets up for Communion, fills altar candles and changes hymn boards, with individuals and teams rotating on a monthly basis. The Stewardship Committee prepares the annual budget alongside the Treasurer and Financial Secretary and shapes sound Christian stewardship practices.
Other standing committees include the Outreach Committee, which oversees regular call nights, Christmas and Easter outreach and new-member mentoring; the Fellowship Committee, which plans social activities such as fish fries, card nights and outings with other congregations; the Refreshments team, which coordinates coffee and treats between Sunday services; the Technology Committee, which maintains computers, projectors and microphones used in worship; the Charity/Community Committee, which plans food drives, the Thanksgiving meal drive, the Christmas gift program and the Helping Hands boxes; and the Building and Grounds Committee, which handles repair, upkeep and mowing.
Quilts, Food and Thanksgiving Baskets: Outreach in DeForest
Lord of Love extends its ministry outward into the DeForest community in several concrete ways. The Patchwork Quilts group meets on weekday afternoons and evenings to sew quilts that are sent to Lutheran World Missions and distributed more locally to homeless shelters, women's shelters, the fire department and other groups. Sewing experience is not required; the group includes tasks for all skill levels.
Several times a year the congregation holds a month-long food drive collecting canned and shelf-stable food as well as personal care items such as shampoo and diapers for the DeForest Area Food Pantry, located at 4434 Second Street in Windsor. Each fall the Drumstick Drive collects the fixings for twenty or more complete Thanksgiving meals - turkey, stuffing, gravy and cranberries - with families identified by the DeForest Area Needs Network. Larger families receive larger quantities to ensure everyone has enough.
At Christmas, the Annual Giving Tree decorates the sanctuary with ornaments that list specific gift wishes from children in need in the community. The DeForest Area Needs Network selects the children and submits the requests; church members pick a tag, purchase the gifts and return them to the area distribution site so that each child on the list receives at least three requested gifts at Christmas.
When disasters strike closer to home or further away, Lord of Love collects designated offerings - recent examples have included relief efforts after the Sun Prairie gas explosion and assistance for coastal areas hit by hurricanes and flooding. The congregation has also joined the area Helping Hands Drive, assembling Emergency Care Boxes containing food, beverages, personal care items, gift cards, hand warmers, laundry pods and quarters. The boxes are distributed through the DeForest Police Department and school social workers to individuals and families who have suddenly become homeless.
Marking the Christian Year Together
The church calendar at Lord of Love follows the rhythms of the Christian year. Lent is marked by special midweek services. On Good Friday, a Service of Darkness takes place in which lessons, psalms and liturgical texts reflect on the crucifixion and repentance; candles on a sevenfold candelabrum are extinguished one by one until only one remains, that candle is removed from the chancel and the church sits in darkness until a loud noise - the strepitus - foreshadows the rending of the tomb on Easter, after which the last candle is returned.
The Saturday before Easter brings the annual Easter Egg Hunt from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m., with thousands of candy-filled eggs hidden across the church property for children of all ages. The morning includes a devotion, the outdoor egg hunt, games and crafts, and there is no cost and no registration. Easter Sunday itself begins with an Easter Breakfast served at 9:15 a.m. in the lower level, a hearty meal prepared for more than a hundred people each year.
Each July the congregation holds an Outdoor Worship & Picnic, moving the Sunday service outside under a big tent on the church grounds. Worship begins at 10:30 a.m.; dress is casual and folding chairs are provided. A grilled meal, games and time to socialize follow around noon. The church also enters a float in the DeForest Fourth of July parade each year, sharing candy, pens and other items with the community along the parade route.
Advent by Candlelight is an early-December evening for the women of Lord of Love and Zion Lutheran in Leeds, hosted on alternating years by the two congregations. It includes food, music and fellowship as a way of preparing for the birth of the Savior.
Daily Devotions for the Household
The church points members toward daily devotions as a steady rhythm of spiritual life. Time of Grace and WELS Devotions provide daily devotions, and printable family devotion packets are available to use at home. Vacation Bible School materials follow a similar model; recent summers have used a "Build on the Rock" program with five lessons for children from preschool through sixth grade, each including a video devotion with a pastor.
Giving and Records
Giving at Lord of Love is described as a grateful response to God's grace. The church uses Vanco for online giving, a tool adopted in late 2020 that allows members to give directly from a bank account or with a credit or debit card. Members may choose to cover the 2.75 percent processing fee so the full gift reaches the church. Questions about giving can be directed to Bookkeeper Vicki Hornbeck.
Worshipers who would like the pastor and congregation to know they attended can sign the online Friendship Register.
A Congregation on Mission in DeForest
Lord of Love Lutheran Church gathers each week at 105 Paradise Circle to proclaim the Law and the Gospel, to lead sinners to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, to strengthen believers through Word and Sacrament, and to equip disciples to share the Good News with their neighbors. Rooted in the Lutheran Confessions and at home in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, the congregation combines a liturgical Divine Service with a robust Christian education program for children and adults, a choir, a council-led fellowship, and steady outreach to the families of Dane County through food drives, Thanksgiving baskets, a Giving Tree, Helping Hands boxes and patchwork quilts.