Bading, Johannes, Pastor

Person

Staff Only

Dates

Existence: 1824-11-24 - 1913-05-24

Johannes Bading was born Nov. 24, 1824 to Friedrich and Katerina Bading in Rixdorf, Germany near Berlin. In 1846 he was accepted to the Berlin Mission to gain training as a missionary, but was forced to transfer to Hermannsburg because of revolution. He parted ways with the Hermannsburg society and in 1852 applied to the Langenberger Society. Upon his graduation in 1853 He was sent to Wisconsin as one of the Langenberger Society Missionaries. In 1853 he contacted President Muehlhaeuser of the Wisconsin Synod and was sent to Newton Wisconsin where he worked as a traveling preacher under Pastor Goldammer. In 1854 he received a call to the congregation in Calumet, WI and was ordained and installed there by pastors Muehlhaeuser and Conrad. He was accepted into the Wisconsin Synod at the 1855 convention held in Granville, WI. IN 1855 he took a call to serve the congregation of St. John in Theresa, WI and served there until 1860 when he took a call to St. Mark’s in Watertown, WI. From 1856 to 1859 Bading served as the Secretary for the Wisconsin Synod. In 1860 when Muehlhaeuser stepped down from the presidency, Badin was elected to his first tenure as president. During his first presidency, Bading brought the synod to a more confessional stance and strongly encouraged starting our own seminary in Watertown, Wisconsin. When the synod voted to open the seminary in 1864 they selected Bading as the man to travel to Europe to raise funds for the school. While in Europe Bading traveled throughout Germany and into Russia and Switzerland raising money and speaking about the work being done in Wisconsin. Bading was able to raise roughly $13,000 in 1864 dollars before returning to Wisconsin. Bading returned to Watertown on November 10, 1865 and resumed his pastorate at St. Marks. He was appointed as co-editor of the new publication, the Gemeinde Blatt. In 1866 he was elected vice president of the synod and resumed the role of president in 1867 when Pastor Streissguth resigned. He served as president of the Wisconsin Synod until 1889. Many changes took place during Bading’s second presidency. In 1869 the synod left the General Council on grounds of fellowship. This same year Bading took a call to St. John’s in Milwaukee (8th and Vliet), where he would remain until his retirement in 1908. In 1872 Bading helped form and hosted the constituting convention of the Synodical Conference. Bading served as the president of the Synodical Conference from 1882 to 1912 when he had to resign for health reasons. During his career Bading also served on the board of Northwestern College from 1863-1912, serving as chairman of the board for a number of those years. The Lord blessed Bading’s personal life. He was united in marriage to Maria Dorothea Hornbostel on January 22, 1854 in Brooklyn. They were blessed with nine children, three of whom died at a young age. Bading passed away on May 24, 1913. He was survived by his wife, 2 sons, 3 daughters, 2 daughters-in-law, 9 grandchildren, and 2 great grandchildren. Bading is burred at Union Cemetery in Milwaukee, WI.

Found in 256 Collections and/or Records:

Letter from the Church Council to Bading, 1861-05-21

Item

Identifier: S013.02.003.0074

Abstract Handwritten letter in German from the Church Council at St. John's congregation in Greenfield, WI to Bading.

Dates: 1861-05-21