The Church of the Lutheran Brethren as a new spiritual movement within American Lutheranism formally came into existence 125 years ago in an obscure church basement on West Madison Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

After more than a century of uninterrupted LB mission work in Chad and Cameroon, and more than 70 years of mission work in mainland China, Japan, and Taiwan, there are now nearly twenty-five times as many Lutheran Brethren congregations and church members outside of North America as there are in the US and Canada. 

25 years ago, on December 17, 1900, five congregations gathered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and made the decision to form the Church of the Lutheran Brethren.