Will Sohns

Immersion initiator and general author and editor of The Great Sending: God’s Heart Beating Through You.

The Rev. Dr. Wilbert J. Sohns, a servant of Christ and the Church, was born on October 4, 1933, to Helen Richter and Emil Sohns in Terra Bella, California, He was baptized on October 29, 1933, and confirmed on May 25, 1947, at Zion Lutheran in Terra Bella. After graduation from Zion Lutheran Day School, he attended California Concordia High School and College in Oakland, California, and went on to attend Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. He was ordained on July 19, 1959, in Cambridge, Nebraska.

He married Lenabell (Lyn) Drosche June 9, 1957, in St. Paul, The Grove, Texas. Their marriage has been blessed with two sons, Stephen (Ursula) and Michael (Julia); six grandchildren, Aaron, David, Ben (Jess), Kristen, Nicole (Jeff), and Connor; and three great-grandchildren, Lincoln, Lenabell, and Adam. Will and his life-long partner served churches in Cambridge, Nebraska; Casper, Wyoming; Broomfield, Colorado; Springfield, Illinois; Cheyenne, Wyoming; and, in retirement, Aleman, Texas.

Sohns served the Lord three terms as President of the Wyoming District, LCMS (1982–1991). During all his years, he served in many other offices, including Circuit Counselor (1962–1968), Pastoral Advisor of the International Lutheran Laymen's League (1968–1972), member and chairman of the LCMS Board for Missions (1973–1982), staff member of the LCMS’s Texas District (1992–1995), member and chairman of the LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters (2002–2013), as well as memberships on many synod committees and task forces. In 1992, he served as the Synodical Convention Chaplain and was a co-founder of Jesus Is Lord Mission (Mission Society) in 2002.

During his years of retirement in The Grove, Texas, he has provided numerous articles, essays, and Bible studies to encourage God’s mission of being sent by Jesus into the world to reach the lost and disciple the saved.