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This is our Mission
Statement:
"Through
Word and Sacrament ministry we share the love, joy, and peace of Jesus
Christ
among ourselves and with those around us."
More than 60 million Christians in the
world today call themselves "Lutheran." Despite their common name,
there are many different kinds of Lutheran churches across the globe. Even
though all Lutheran church bodies trace their origins to the Reformation led
by Dr. Martin Luther in the 16th century, beliefs and practices among
Lutherans today vary considerably.
In America, most Lutherans are divided among the three largest
Lutheran organizations (which are known as "synods". Immanuel Lutheran Church
is a member congregation of the
Lutheran Church-Missouri
Synod (LCMS). The LCMS, with more than 2.5 million
members, is the second largest synod in America. Our participation in the LCMS is based upon the core values and beliefs that we
have in common with over 6,000
other LCMS congregations in America.
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You can read our Key Beliefs
here.
However, these are only excerpts and paraphrases
from A Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
For the full and unabridged text of A Brief Statement, follow these links
to the website of the Lutheran
Church-Missouri Synod:
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A Brief History of Immanuel |
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Immanuel Lutheran Church was founded in
Brandon in 1970.
The first worship service was held on April
5, 1970, with 91 people in attendance. Since that time Immanuel has seen
steady and impressive growth. Today almost 1,000 people call Immanuel
their church home.
Immanuel opened the doors to its elementary
school in September 1980 with 72 students in grades 1 through 7. Today, we
have over 150 students enrolled in an education program that provides
Christ-centered instruction in the Lutheran tradition for children from
Kindergarten through 8th grade.
Construction of our facilities on John
Moore Road started in 1972 with the initial worship center, classrooms, and
offices. In 1982 we built our current worship facility which has a seating
capacity of 535. In 1989 we added the Pastor Roger Robinson Family Life
Center which houses five classrooms, two locker rooms, a music room, a
commercial kitchen, and a 140’ x 80’ gymnasium.
In November 2005, our new daughter -- Lamb
of God Lutheran Church -- started worship services in Lithia, Florida, just
a short eight miles away. The result of planning for more than two years,
Lamb of God is our first mission church, planted to the glory of God and
with His help and blessings. Pastor Wood (previously the Evangelism &
Missions Pastor for Immanuel) helped to establish the Lamb of God mission
and subsequently accepted a Call from the Lamb of God congregation in March,
2008. Lamb of God is the first of five missions we want to plant in the
Brandon-Riverview-Wimauma-Lithia area.
In September, 2007, on an
afternoon filled with worship, fellowship, and celebration, Immanuel
dedicated to the glory of God its new Youth Room, Nursery, a Resource
Library, many sanctuary renovations, and an expanded breezeway with
drive-thru/drop-off capability.
The Youth Room is equipped with ping-pong, foosball, board games, an LCD
projector, a pool table, and casual seating. It is also used as a temporary
meeting room for the membership.
The Resource Library/Meeting Room provides books, video tapes, pamphlets,
DVDs, and periodicals for lending and check-out. Our choir also uses this
room for pre-service assembly and choir robes.
The spacious new Nursery is
bright, well-lit, and has plenty of room for growth. Security is enhanced
through the use of a check-in counter that is separate from the main room.
A pager system will be available to parents who leave their children in our
care. Closed circuit TV will be installed to provide a feed from the
sanctuary during worship.
The Immanuel youth group chose to dedicate the Youth Room to former member
Cody Dykes as a lasting memorial to him. Cody died in an automobile
accident in 2005 while a student at Riverview High School. During the
Dedication Service, Mr Lee Dykes, Cody's father, spoke movingly to the
congregation about his son's relationship with God and his deep
understanding and knowledge of his salvation through Jesus Christ.
Henceforth, the room will be known as the Cody L. Dykes Memorial Youth
Room. (Coincidentally, Cody's grandfather, Bob Dykes, was the architect
for the original buildings at Immanuel.)
The new facilities and renovations are the culmination of Phase 1 of the
three-phase Plowing New Ground Together Plan, started by the Immanuel
Voters' Assembly in August 2003.
Phase 2 of Plowing New Ground Together is now underway with the theme
"Forward in Ministry - Sowing The Seed" as part of Immanuel's Capital
Campaign. This phase will result in a new school, a new and expanded
preschool facility (our preschool will be opening in August, 2008), and a
new school administration building.
Today, the people of Immanuel look forward to further growth and the
challenges, opportunities and blessings that come with it. As we look to the
future and how we may best serve the Brandon community, among our planned
ministry goals is to plant four more mission churches in surrounding area,
establish a pre-school program on our current campus, and with our sister
and daughter churches, support the establishment of a Lutheran High School
in the Brandon area.
Join Us!
We invite you to become an active member of the family of Immanuel … to be a
part of the next chapter of the history of how Almighty God has blessed us
with His grace to His glory.
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In our understanding, evangelism
in the broad sense is
nearly everything the Church does.
To evangelize is to spread the Gospel — both within the
Church
as well as to those in the outside community.
Essentially, the evangelism emphasis should be found in the duties of all
the Boards and Committees of Immanuel.
Read more about evangelism at Immanuel
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In a world full of confusion about
the nature and meaning of truth and misleading statements about what is believed and taught, we stand with
those who are not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.
With other Lutherans who hold to the
truths rediscovered in the Reformation, we firmly confess the Christian faith handed down
to us from the ancient
Church in the words of the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed
and the Athanasian Creed.
In addition to these creeds, we
believe,
teach and
confess the
Confessions of the Lutheran Church — understanding them to be the true and correct
exposition of God’s Word.
In 1932 the
Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod (LCMS) adopted a document that summarizes the basic teachings of the church.
This document, titled:
"A Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod,"
addresses many of the issues that are of interest to people considering
membership in an LCMS congregation.
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An Overview of Our
Statements of Faith |
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"I am
not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone
who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile."
Romans 1:16
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What Is The Gospel?
The word gospel means "good news." It refers
to the good news that God has sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world to bridge the gap
between us and God. This gap was caused by our sins. Because of our sins God
was angry with us and we were separated from Him. That separation meant that we were
going to be condemned to eternal punishment. God's anger would bring us His
judgment. Because of God's love for us, He gave His only Son to die in our place.
Through His death God's anger with us has been appeased. But Jesus did not
stay in the grave. Just as He had promised, God raised Jesus from the dead.
The good news is that God gives us the forgiveness of sins won by Jesus through His
death and the eternal life demonstrated in Jesus' resurrection--and He gives it to us as a
gift!
With the universal Christian Church, we believe, teach
and confess the Triune God: the Father, creator of all that exists; Jesus Christ, the Son,
who became a human being in order to suffer and die for the sins of all human beings and
who rose to life again in victory over sin, death and the devil; and the Holy Spirit,
who creates faith through God's Word and Sacraments. The three persons of the Trinity are
coequal and are the one eternal God.
As Lutheran Christians, we embrace and
teach the Bible-based teachings of Martin Luther that were the basis of the reformation of
the Christian Church in the 16th century. The teachings of Luther and the reformers
are summarized in the three solas (sola is Latin for "alone"):
Grace
alone, Scripture alone, Faith alone
—
symbolized by the Luther Rose, shown here:
- Grace alone (sola gratia)
- God loves the people of the world, even though we are sinful, rebel against Him and
do not deserve His love. Because of His undeserved love and mercy, God sent His only Son
Jesus Christ to love the unlovable and save the ungodly.
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- Scripture alone (sola scriptura)
- The Bible is God's inerrant and infallible Word, in which He
reveals both His Law and the Good News (gospel) of salvation in Jesus
Christ. It is the sole source and authority for what we believe, teach and
confess.
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- Faith alone (sola fide)
- Jesus purchased and won forgiveness of sins for all people by His suffering and
death on the Cross. God creates faith in Christ in those who hear this Good News.
It is this gift of faith that brings us the forgiveness won by Christ and the
eternal life He gives through the forgiveness of sins. Nothing other than faith in
Christ is necessary for forgiveness and eternal life.
For a more detailed examination of the teachings of the Lutheran Church, follow the
links below to the documents on the website of the Lutheran Church-Missouri
Synod that make up the body of doctrine believed, taught and
confessed by the Lutheran Church called The Book of Concord:
These texts are in the public domain and may be copied and distributed
freely. The source of these translations is
Triglot Concordia: The Symbolical Books of
the Evangelical Lutheran Church (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921).
You can view the
entire Book of Concord here
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What We Believe About Worship |
| The following excerpt is extracted from
the wealth of articles and readings on worship published by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
and freely available on their website
here.
"For Lutherans, worship is the context
in which God comes in His holy Word and Sacraments to grant
forgiveness, life and salvation. These blessings, which are gifts
from God, are received by faith-faith which most certainly expresses
itself in thanksgiving and praise."
Here is a very small sampling of the readings available:
- Taking a Tour of Heaven: Parts
1, 2 & 3
- Lutheran Witness Bible Study on
Worship
- Liturgical Glossary
- Liturgy & Spiritual Awakening
- Worship in a Collegiate Setting
- Liturgy and Evangelism: Friends
or Foes?
- Liturgy and Culture
- Lutheran Worship and Emotions
- God Builds Bethel: An Interview
- Liturgical Catechism: The
Lectionary
- Liturgical Catechism: The Holy
Gospel
- A Theological & Musical
Appraisal
- Taking God at His Word: Kyrie
Eleison
- Amen: What More Can We Say?
We encourage your exploration and
study.
Link to the Missouri Synod content on Worship.
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