Our Mission:
Helping people
grow a faith in Jesus Christ that works in real life!
Messiah Lutheran Church
was established in 1958 to provide a foundation for ministries that strive
to meet the needs of our congregation, community and the world. We are a
people called to declare, worship, and serve God who reveals himself in
Jesus Christ. Saved by His grace, led by His Spirit, growing with Faith in
Him, we are committed to acknowledge and respond to His calling.
The church proper is
located at 7211 Stellhorn Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46815. Our phone number
is (260) 485-8716. The building is prominently located on the corner
of Lahmeyer and Stellhorn across from the Anchor Room Bookstore. The
following is an outline of what we believe, our mission, vision and the
values that order our ministry:
Mission, Vision and
Values
Messiah Lutheran Church Foundation of Beliefs:
1) We believe in one God of all people--Father, Son and Holy
Spirit;
2) We believe God has created and is sustaining all that
exists and his truth is revealed to us through the Holy Spirit;
3) We believe God works through the Holy Spirit in our lives
and the world;
4) We believe God is love;
5) We believe we are saved by God’s grace through faith in
Jesus Christ;
6) We believe our sin is forgiven through the life, death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ for our eternal life freeing us to love God and
others;
7) We believe we are blessed to be a blessing to others;
8) We believe we are called to spread the good news of Jesus
Christ;
9) We believe God comes to us primarily through Baptism, Holy
Communion and the Word;
10) We believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God from
which Christians learn best God’s truths and through which Christians best
know God’s love in Jesus Christ;
11) God calls us to grow as disciples through worship, study,
prayer, fellowship, service and witness;
12) We are a community that offers fun, fellowship, support,
peace and hope;
13) We welcome and embrace all people; for an eternal good
time call 485-8716.
The
following Mission, Vision and Values statement is the driving force behind
our ministry. It helps us
decide what we are going to do and how to best utilize our resources.
Mission of Messiah Lutheran Church:
To help people grow a faith in Jesus Christ that works in real life.
Vision of Messiah Lutheran Church:
“As God’s people called, gathered and
sent by Jesus Christ, Messiah Evangelical Lutheran Church of Fort Wayne…
Seeks genuine connection with people of
all backgrounds, beliefs and values…
Accepts them as they are…
Encourages and Equips them to be
transformed into devoted followers of Christ…
And Sends them out…
To Change the world through changed
lives.”
Values of Messiah Lutheran Church:
1)
To lift high in prayer the name of Jesus Christ in
all we say and do;
2)
To enable all persons to experience a worshipful
relationship with Jesus Christ;
3)
To nurture and empower all persons to be disciples
through a small group centered ministry that includes learning, service,
fellowship and spiritual growth;
4)
To help every Christian discover her/his spiritual
gifts for ministry;
5)
To assist in the care of a hurting world.
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Messiah is very much a product of the post-war baby boom of the 50s.
After the returning GI’s settled down and married, their families began to
grow and prosper along with the economy. Northeastern Fort Wayne was a
rapidly growing area the fastest in all of Fort Wayne and some say of the
entire state. That rapid growth came to the attention of our parent
denomination, the United Lutheran Church in America. They sent Pastor
John G. Frank, who was at the time developing a mission in Greenwood,
Indiana. He arrived to begin his work August, 1957. Some say
that his infectious smile was the key to winning people for the new mission.
So successful was the new church that by 1960 plans were underway for the
construction of the church's first unit. The cornerstone was laid July
9, 1961. In 1963 the church became self-sufficient.
Rev. Franks was followed by the Rev. Carl Satre who arrived August, 1965.
During his 34 year tenure the church continued its significant growth
beginning its third service in 1965. Messiah's first associate
pastor--Rev. Roger Landgrebe--came a year latter with financial assistance
from the Board of American Missions. A year latter, May 7, 1967,
ground was broken for our second unit--the worship center. With the
new building came the opportunity for new ministry most significantly
a preschool. In 1969, the Bethel Bible Series was begun and was very
popular running for about three years.
Following the three year tenure of Rev. Landgrebe, the Rev. Peper started
what came to be a 16 year associate pastorate with Rev. Satre. His
very charismatic personality generated many enthusiastic supporters.
His focus was Christian Education and Evangelism although he became very
popular among the youth as well. During these years, Messiah continue
to grow and flourish.
Following Rev. Peper, the congregation called its first female pastor,
the Rev. Alice Smith. Hers was another long tenure--14 years leaving
the congregation shortly after the retirement of Rev. Satre in April, 2000.
Rev. Dr. Stan Sneeringer came in August, 2001 from
Fairlawn, Ohio. He
brought much experience in discipleship ministry with a focus on reaching the unchurched.
March 2003 we welcomed the Rev. Paul Offhaus as Associate Pastor.
He came to us from Michigan where he served as a mission developer and
pastor of Community of Hope Lutheran, Mt. Clemens, MI.
In 2007, Messiah called with Grace Lutheran the Rev. Timothy Graham to
serve both congregations. Pastor Tim helping to reclaim Grace for the
neighborhood it serves even as he assists in a variety of pastoral duties at
Messiah.
Messiah has three services each
Sunday.
Our 8:00 AM Service is a formal liturgical service using traditional
Christian language, and beautiful classic music from centuries past with a
message based on the ecumenical lectionary (pre-appointed Bible lessons used
in the Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, Roman Catholic,
Methodist, etc. churches).
Our second service is at 9:30 AM. This is also a liturgical service but
one using more contemporary harmonies and music. It is just as likely
to be lead by a piano as the organ. The Sunday Church School also
meets during this service.
The third service of the morning is our 11 AM Contemporary service, a
spirited praise service with our praise band, Joyful Noise, leading the
worship. This service uses contemporary Christian music and features
messages that are very practical about today's issues.
Holy communion is celebrated the first and third Sundays at every service
but also every Sunday at the contemporary praise service. The services
are held in the Worship Center.
We use wine and bread as part of our Communion worship.
Guests and members either come forward at the liturgical services and kneel
at the altar to receive a bread wafer and wine in individual cups. At the
contemporary praise service everyone comes forward and receives communion by
"intinction" this is dipping the bread into a small cup of wine. We
welcome all to receive Communion at any of our services.
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Each Sunday morning we have a graded Sunday Church School from three
years to eighth grade plus Adult. It has its own superintendent and
curriculum meeting at 9:30 AM. Messiah also owns and operates a five-day a
week Christian Preschool for ages 3-5 years. Currently, we have about 90
children. A separate Board, Director and staff of teachers run it. On
Wednesday evenings we have a two-year Confirmation ministry for middle
school young people. The pastors teach this class. This prepares them for
the Rite of Confirmation--the time each year when our young people make
their own commitment of faith and thus become adult members of the
congregation--each September. During the summer we hold a Vacation Church
School for one week. Kid's Camp meets during the summer. In the spring
there is also instruction in preparation for a young person’s First
Communion. Alternating with our midweek Lenten and Advent service is EPIC
which stands for "Every Person in Christ." ALPHA is held as part of
EPIC as is the Beth Moore Bible Studies. Other midweek learning events
also occur during this time as Men's Bible Studies or leadership development
courses.
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Messiah is a covenant church with Light of the Cross--an inner-city
church in Fort Wayne. We partner with several other churches in the Fort
Wayne area to minister to the great needs of those living in downtown Fort
Wayne. These programs include literacy, meals, a food pantry, a free clinic,
summer Bible school, etc.
We also work with the Salvation Army, the Boy Scouts (we sponsor a Cub
Pack and Scout Troop), as well as a variety of other needs.
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Simply through the freewill offerings of the members. We do not have fish
dinners, play bingo or sell stuff to make our budget. Now don’t get us
wrong. We like to eat, play and buy stuff but not in competition with others
who do not enjoy a tax-exempt status. We ask people to give to the church in
proportion to their income. It is a request, a hope. We do not charge dues
or levy fines on those who are not able to complete their commitment. We
ask, once a year, for people to make pledge to the church, to help us
accomplish what our Lord has asked us to do.
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