National Lutheran Council. Division of Welfare.

The National Lutheran Council (NLC) was founded on September 6, 1918 as a common agency of participating Lutheran church bodies to administer domestic programs, publicize Lutheran activities and beliefs, and provide overseas emergency relief to areas devastated by World War I. By the 1940s, the NLC expanded and reorganized its program through the creation of divisions, departments, commissions, and bureaus. Its Division of Welfare was first established as a Department in 1940 to serve as a clearing house and coordinating agency for Lutheran inner missions. In 1946, this department became a division.

Resettlement of refugees, chaplaincy appointments and education, and welfare trend studies were major activities. Executive secretaries of the Department and Division included: Clarence E. Krumbholz (1940-1954); Henry J. Whiting (1955-1962); and G.S. Thompson (1963-1966). In 1966, the NLC became the Lutheran Council in the U.S.A.