The White Rose Ministries was originally established as an outreach ministry of Joliet Christian Communication in December of 1999. The original purpose of the ministry was to provide distribution of Holy Bibles via the Internet. Soon it became clear that there was a greater opportunity for this ministry to impact lives. At one of the colleges in our area, which was Methodist, students were invited to attend Pentecostal, Bible, and non-denominational churches with abrupt regularity. Students who inquired of the campus chaplain for Lutheran congregations were referred to a liberal ELCA parish in the community, even if they indicated they were not ELCA but Missouri Synod or Wisconsin Synod. Non-denominational student groups were present on campus and provided no guidance to those looking to connect to a confessional Lutheran parish. Adding to the difficulty, the LCMS Campus Ministry website still listed a parish pastor who left the LCMS over five years earlier to start his own non-denominational church. It was clear that a mission resource was needed...

In the summer of 2000, the White Rose Ministries was spun off from Joliet Christian Communications to become it's own resource. Working upon our relationship with the local college, White Rose Ministries was able to begin connecting Lutheran Students with Lutheran Churches. Churches were identified that were in a close proximity to the campus and these churches were contacted. The pamphlets and information provided by these parishes was invaluable to preparing a mailing to each and every student who identified themselves as Lutheran. In the spring of 2001, a website was developed and by that fall was online with resources to connect the students to these same churches.

During the Fall of 2001, a Lutheran from Spokane, Washington extended the ministry to their local college campuses and a Washington State division was established -- The White Rose Ministries of Spokane.

During the fall of 2002, the ministry was reorganized into The White Rose Ministries of Spokane and a network office was opened. During the spring of 2003, the White Rose Ministries of Spokane began to extend their resources online with the introduction of a Disscusion Forum. In the fall of 2004, we began to research the Lutheran Churches in Chicago and their practices through a survey.

By the spring of 2005, it was clear that our ministry partner in Spokane was no longer supporting Confessional Lutheranism. In light of this, we closed the Spokane field office and began reassessing our ministry and it's effectiveness. Looking at the state of our ministry, it was clear that we needed to reorganize. We discontinued our outdated website and began the process of completely revising our website and brochures to better meet the needs of our ministry. On July 1, 2005, we officially became The White Rose Ministries of Chicago. Our ministry area was defined as the Chicagoland Area and the Lutheran Churches within. By placing our emphasis on this area, we feel we can better serve the needs of our ministry users. However, while we do not actively research churches outside of the Chicagoland area, we are committed to utilize our relationships with confessional Pastors and Lutheran Groups to help connect those outside the area with a church near them.

On September 14, 2005, we reintroduced our new website complete with a new directory. In the coming months, The White Rose Ministries of Chicago will introduce a new search feature and will continue to finalize the fit and finish of our website.

+ Soli Deo Gloria +

The White Rose Ministries of Chicago
Holy Cross Day 2005