WELS affirms the pastoral office as a divinely instituted office within the church. Pastors are ordained men called to preach the gospel, administer the sacraments, exercise pastoral care, and teach the Word of God. The pastoral office is a functional office of Word and sacraments ministry, not a sacramental priesthood in the sense of offering sacrifices or mediating grace through their person.

WELS is strict on the requirement that pastoral office be restricted to men. This position is grounded in the WELS interpretation of certain New Testament texts (1 Timothy 2:11-15; 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 5:23-24) and in the historical practice of the church. Women are not ordained to the pastoral office in WELS, and this is taught as a matter of biblical principle, not merely tradition or preference.

The priesthood of all believers is affirmed as fundamental to Lutheran theology. All baptized Christians are priests in the sense that they have direct access to God through Christ, can intercede for one another, and are called to witness and serve. However, not all are called to the pastoral office. The distinction between universal priesthood and the ordained pastoral office is maintained.