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Faith

Host your faith-based event in Milwaukee

It’s one of the first things you notice as you fly over beautiful Lake Michigan and land in Milwaukee – we’re a City of Steeples! Immigrant populations from Germany, Poland, Italy, Ireland and England originally settled Milwaukee and built churches with soaring church towers all over the city. Today Milwaukee has more than 1,000 churches of all denominations, and deeply rooted religious traditions remain a part of who we are as a city.

To learn more about hosting your faith event in Milwaukee, please contact Megan Husband, CFMP at mhusband@milwaukee.org or 414-287-6239.

Contact Megan

Milwaukee Highlights

  • Mitchell International Airport (MKE) is only 10 minutes/8 miles from downtown hotels; more than 35 non-stop destinations with easy, one-stop connections to 150+ cities
  • Baird Center: A compact, vertical convention center building with 1.3 million sq. ft. of total space, conveniently connected by short skywalks to three convention hotels with a total of 6,200+ downtown hotel rooms; Baird Center is also building more, to feature a 300,000 sq. ft. contiguous exhibit hall, as well as a rooftop ballroom with an outdoor terrace overlooking the city
  • In addition to Baird Center, the Wisconsin Center District three-facility complex also includes the 4,000+ seat  Miller High Life Theatre and 12,000+ seat UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena; nearby is also the 17,000+ seat Fiserv Forum and the 41,000+ seat American Family Field
  • Hotel accommodations ranging from major convention hotels to university residence halls, offering your group affordable options
  • More than 200 restaurants in downtown area, primarily locally-owned and featuring a wide variety of cuisines and price points
  • Over 15 churches in the downtown area and over 1,000 churches throughout the city and surrounding areas
  • 501(c)(3) religious groups can apply for tax exemption
  • Historic Third Ward, featuring lively Milwaukee Public Market, al fresco dining, galleries and shopping
  • Magnificent, green, Lake Michigan shoreline and 3-mile RiverWalk connecting walkable neighborhoods
  • Lively arts and professional sports scene
  • Unique and exciting offsite venues
  • Attraction and dining discounts available
  • A variety of complimentary services, including information-packed microsites

"We were pleasantly surprised with the city of Milwaukee and our attendees had a memorable week! The Wisconsin Center was comfortable and the food was good. We enjoyed what the city had to offer with baseball and a trip to the Harley Davidson Museum. The staff at Visit Milwaukee were exceptional and present to help us from start to finish. Best experience to date with a CVB!”

-Lisa Miller, Association of Gospel Rescue Missions

Eastbrook Church Interior Service

Churches With Event Space

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

A landmark in Milwaukee’s German heritage, Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church was built in German gothic revival style with gorgeous stained glass and ornate woodwork. Available to groups, the Great Hall in Grace Center is a magnificent room accommodating up to 350 people for a standing reception, 300 for a theatre style seated event or 250 for a seated meal.

Churches & Chocolates Food Tour

Milwaukee Food Tours features a bus tour which visits three iconic Milwaukee churches to learn about their history and architecture, and combines it with stops at two local chocolatiers.

Sample itinerary of places visited:

  • St. Joan of Arc Chapel – perhaps the only medieval structure (1400s) in the entire Western Hemisphere dedicated to its original purpose
  • St. Paul's Episcopal Church – view their stunning and extensive stained glass window collection, including the largest window ever created by Tiffany
  • Grace Lutheran – celebrate 160 years of their history in downtown Milwaukee

Historic Churches In Milwaukee

Holy Hill Above

Basilica Of St. Jospahat

Every year thousands flock to magnificent Basilica of St. Josaphat located on the Historic South Side of Milwaukee. In 1896 the parish priest purchased 200,000 tons of stone, doors, hardware and fittings from the demolished Chicago Post Office and Customs House for the construction of the Basilica, which became the spiritual center for the city’s growing Polish Catholic population. Some of the ornamental brass hardware still bears the U.S. Treasury seal and carved capitals atop the portico’s columns contain American eagles. The Basilica is more splendid than ever after refurbishments and cleaning were completed in recent years. The copper dome is one of the largest in the country.

St. Mark African Methodist Episcopal Church

Known as A.M.E. for short, the St. Mark African Methodist Episcopal was the first African American church established in Milwaukee by Ezekiel Gillespie. Also referred to as the “Church of the Anvil,” the first A.M.E. church service was held in a blacksmith shop. The anvil serves as a symbol and expression of the history and faith of the congregation. This is the oldest African-American congregation in Wisconsin.

Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church

One of Frank Lloyd Wright’s last commissions and completed in 1961 after his death, Annunciation Green Orthodox Church’s unique “saucer-shaped” design is a Milwaukee landmark.

St. Joan Of Arc Chapel

For more than five centuries, the special little Gothic chapel known as the Chapelle de St. Martin de Sayssuel was important to the noble families of the little French village of Chasse near Lyon. The only medieval structure in the entire Western Hemisphere, the St. Joan of Arc Chapel was moved stone by stone from Chasse, France, to New York in 1927, and later moved to the Marquette University campus in downtown Milwaukee in 1966. It’s rumored that Joan of Arc once kissed a stone after praying here, and that to this day it remains colder to the touch than the surrounding stones. The chapel is believed to be the oldest building in the United States still used for its original purpose.

The Basilica Of The National Shrine Of Mary, Help Of Christians, At Holy Hill

This venerated Wisconsin landmark just northwest of Milwaukee is often known simply as “Holy Hill” to locals and some 500,000 annual visitors. The red brick, neo-Romanesque church with its twin spires was built on a hill rising 1,350 feet above sea level, one of the highest elevations in southeastern Wisconsin, and features a panoramic view of the rolling countryside. Discalced Carmelite Friars operate the shrine and welcome busloads of the faithful on pilgrimages from around the world. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Holy Hill celebrated its proudest moment on November 19, 2006, when Pope Benedict XVI elevated the shrine’s status to that of “Minor Basilica.”

Faith-based Meetings Held In Milwaukee – Past And Future

  • Lutheran Women’s Missionary League

2023 Biennial Convention 

  • Cru

2022 National Staff Training 

  • Hmong District of The Christian and Missionary Alliance

2021 Annual Conference 

  • United Church of Christ

2019 National General Synod Convention

  • Church of God in Christ

2018 Women's International Convention & Crusade

  • The Lutheran-Church Missouri Synod

2016 66th Regular Convention

  • Bible Study Fellowship International

2016 Central Region Leaders' Retreat

  • Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses

2014 District Convention

Booking Incentive Available

FOR HOT DATES:
2023 – March, April, May, June, August
2024 – August, September, October
2025 – April, May, June, August, September

Contact Megan Husband for more information

 

Megan Husband, Cfmp

Convention Sales Manager

To learn more about hosting your event in Milwaukee, please contact Megan Husband, CFMP 

at mhusband@milwaukee.org or 414-287-6239.

Contact Megan

Megan Husband