History of WELS in Apacheland
 

1892 - Two WELS pastors explored the great southwest looking for an "unreached tribe" of Indians.

1893 - First two missionaries Adascheck and Plocher began work at Peridot, San Carlos reservation, east of Globe, Arizona Territory.

1894 - Adascheck and Plocher reached East Fork on the Fort Apache reservation. Congregations were later established at East Fork, Canyon Day, Fort Apache, McNary and Maverick.

1911 - A mission station was set up at Lower Cibecue in the western sector of the Fort Apache reservation. It's first missionary is O. P. Schoenberg.

1918 - Open Bible Lutheran Church of Whiteriver, the tribal "capital," was established, by missionary Edgar Guenther. A church also began at Cedar Creek, west of Canyon Day.

1920 - Other denominations began to appear on the reservations and did some "proselytizing."

1921 - Gethsemane at Upper Cibecue opened its doors, although work had begun much earlier in the valley of the Cibecue.

1922 - The East Fork orphanage came into being to care for orphaned children.

1951 - East Fork Lutheran Academy, a boarding school for Apache children from both reservations was founded.

1957 - With support from many ladies' groups and individuals, East Fork Lutheran Nursery was created.

1986 - East Fork Lutheran School is destroyed by a propane explosion.  In the following year WELS members from across the synod came to build a new school at East Fork.

1997 - To train Apaches to serve in various kinds of ministry, a Second Career Worker Training program was begun, working closely with the WELS Cross-Cultural Pre-seminary program.  This school is later named ACTS - The Apache Christian Training School.

1998 - The Apache Lutheran Council, consisting of representatives of our eight reservation congregations, was formed as a first step toward the organization of a "national church."

2002 - East Fork Lutheran School closes its dormitories. Dorms are used for East Fork Lutheran Church’s fellowship hall and for the Youth and Family Center. East Fork Lutheran Nursery is closed.  Building is converted into guest apartments and the Apache Christian Training School building.

2007 - East Fork Lutheran School is reduced down to a K-8 program.  Some high school students continue on at Michigan Lutheran Seminary and at local high schools.

2008 - Shepherd in the Pines Lutheran Church in McNary, Arizona reopens its doors as a preaching station on the Northern Reservation.

2009 - Our Savior’s Lutheran School in Bylas is closed due to budget constraints.  The school in Peridot continues to offer K-8 under the care of three teachers.

2008-2009 - Congregations in Bylas, East Fork, Canyon Day, and Whiteriver all receive missionaries from assignment committee of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary.  The three missionaries all come from the same class.

2009 - Pastor Dan Rautenberg takes over as administrator and head professor of the Apache Christian Training School.

 

In 1892 our synod sent Pastors Theodore Hartwig and O.H. Koch to find "a Native American tribe where no missionary of any denomination" had been. The two "missionary scouts" explored Apacheland.  In October of 1893 two recent graduates of our synod's seminary, John Plocher and George Adascheck, arrived in Arizona to begin work among the Apaches. They began work at Old San Carlos and Peridot, where Plocher started a school on the ten-acre tract assigned to the missionaries. By the following year the missionaries had expanded the work as far north as East Fork, pitching their tent in the shade of "Old Cedar," a venerable tree that still stands. Pastor Paul Meyerhoff came to East Fork in 1896, and soon mastered the difficult Apache language.

It is difficult from our perspective at the beginning of the twenty-first century to understand how difficult and demanding life was for those early missionaries. Not only were they in a foreign culture, thousands of miles away from their homes, but there was an almost insurmountable language barrier. In addition, the missionaries had to travel by wagon or horseback over rutted roads that were frequently impassable because of snow or flash floods. And the homes in which they lived had none of the conveniences or comforts that our homes have today.  But the Lord gave His church very special gifts to meet the challenges of the demanding work. The list of men and women who have served in Apacheland reads like a missionaries hall of fame. Gustav Harders, Alfred Uplegger and his father, Dr. Francis Uplegger, and brother-in-law Henry Rosin served the Lord long and faithfully on the southern reservation. Alfred Uplegger and Henry Rosin served San Carlos and Peridot over fifty years each.  Nor was the northern reservation without its heroic missionaries. In 1910 the Guenther era began when Edgar and his new bride, Minnie, arrived in the Arizona territory and began work at East Fork, later moving to Whiteriver. When Edgar died in 1961 he too had served among the Apaches over fifty years. His ministry was supported and continued by his son, Arthur, who joined Edgar in 1947 and continued serving until 1997.

There are many other missionaries whose names are part of the history of our synod's work among the Apaches. One that deserves special mention is Arthur Meier, who served as principal at East Fork Lutheran High School for over thirty years. The high school had begun as an academy in 1933, but it was closed due to lack of funding. In 1948 the school was reopened as East Fork Academy and has since played a vital role in equipping Apache young people for leadership roles in their congregations.  The Apache people truly appreciate the work our synod has done among them for over 100 years. This appreciation has shown itself in a variety of ways, from testimonial letters from Apache leaders in business and government to formal resolutions passed by the tribal councils. The Apache people have also recognized the contribution our missionaries have made to their lives. Three of our missionaries, Edgar Guenther, Arthur Meier and Arthur Guenther, have been made honorary members of the White Mountain Apache Tribe.

The future of our work in Apacheland, under God's blessing and guidance, will see the Native Americans assuming an ever greater share of the responsibility for supporting and supervising their church. In fact, we look forward to the day when we will see an independent national church among the Apaches that is a sister church in fellowship with the WELS.