Elmbrook Church
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elmbrook Church (or simply Elmbrook) is a non-denominational, evangelical megachurch located in the Milwaukee suburb of Brookfield, Wisconsin. Since its founding in 1958, it has become one of the largest and most influential churches in the United States[citation needed]. The church is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2008.
Weekly church attendance currently exceeds 6,000, making it the largest church in Wisconsin. The church is a member of the Willow Creek Association.
Former pastor Dr. Stuart Briscoe was called as Senior Pastor of Elmbrook in 1970 after a banking career in England and an international ministry under the auspices of Torchbearers. During his pastorate Elmbrook grew tremendously and planted a number of churches in the local area while Briscoe continued his international teaching ministry. He has written more than 40 books and the media ministry Telling the Truth which he founded in 1971 continues to reach out daily around the world. In 2000, after serving for 30 years as Elmbrook's Senior Pastor, Stuart and his wife Jill, embarked on new ministries as Elmbrook's Ministers at Large, concentrating on reaching out to pastors, missionaries and church leaders on every continent while maintaining close ties with Elmbrook, their home church.
Briscoe's protege, Dr. Mel Lawrenz, is the current Senior Pastor of Elmbrook. He and his wife, Ingrid, began serving at the church in 1980. Having grown up in Door County and Green Bay, Wisconsin, Mel became senior pastor of Elmbrook in 2000 after serving under Stuart Briscoe's leadership for twenty years. He received his B.A. in English from Carroll College, his M.Div. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and his Ph.D. in historical theology from Marquette University. He is the author of eight books.
