Immanuel Lutheran Church & School sits on a quiet block of South Sixth Street in historic St. Charles, Missouri, between Madison and First Capitol, a few blocks from the Missouri River and the brick storefronts of the city's well-known historic district. Founded in 1847 as a Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod congregation and joined a year later by what would become one of the oldest continuously operating parochial schools in Missouri, Immanuel is known for a 158-foot steeple that has watched over the same corner since the Civil War, a Comfort Dog named Zillah, a substantial ministry to the deaf and hard of hearing, and a National Blue Ribbon elementary school that has educated the community's children since 1848.
A Sanctuary Built in Ten Months and Still in Use
The story that members like to tell begins not with stained glass but with sawdust. Before the present Sanctuary existed, the pews of the original 1847 church building carried small square boxes on the men's side, filled with sawdust for the convenience of worshippers who chewed tobacco. Those boxes were removed in 1901, but they capture something of the rough-and-ready frontier character of early Immanuel. By the time the United States was staggering through the aftermath of the Civil War, the congregation had grown large enough to need something bigger.
Even in the disorientation of 1865, when President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on Good Friday, April 14, and the country was reeling from war, Immanuel's members voted to build a new Sanctuary. Work moved with remarkable speed: the Sanctuary was raised in roughly ten months and dedicated on October 27, 1867, the 350th anniversary of the Reformation. Four separate services were held with four different sermons preached for the dedication. The building still anchors the campus, 110 feet long, 50 feet wide, and 37 feet high, and its 176-foot steeple is one of the most recognizable silhouettes on the St. Charles skyline.
The Sanctuary's history is studded with small and vivid details. Three bells hang in the tower, cast by the H. W. Rincker foundry in Chicago and installed in May 1868, with the largest inscribed "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." A 1912 storm sent lightning into the original 158-foot steeple; the present one was raised for $1,100 over the charred remains, and the gold-leafed cross and base that now top the tower stand more than nine feet high. The horse hitching posts that once ringed the building along the streets lasted until 1924. Coal oil lamps gave way to electric fixtures in 1894, and the Sanctuary's first central air conditioning arrived in 1971.
On Memorial Day weekend in May 2018, half the interior ceiling of the Sanctuary collapsed in the early morning hours, severely damaging the pews, lights, attic, building, and pipe organ. By God's grace, the Sanctuary was empty at the time. Neighbors reported being woken around 1:30 a.m. by the boom of the implosion. The restoration took roughly ten months, and the rededication was held over three days in early March 2019, with more than 1,200 people gathering across the weekend despite a heavy ten-inch snowstorm.
Immanuel's history has been, from the first, a story of mission as much as building. In 1894 the first LCMS international missionaries, the Reverend Theodore Naether and Franz Mohn, were commissioned from Immanuel's Sanctuary at the convention of the Western District of Synod and sent to serve in India. A plaque in the narthex still commemorates that moment.
Five Services, Three Days, Two Rooms
Immanuel offers five weekly worship services across Saturday, Sunday, and Monday in two locations on the same campus: the Sanctuary and the Fellowship Hall. The Sanctuary services use the LCMS Lutheran Service Book series of liturgies and hymns with organ accompaniment. The Fellowship Hall services use variations of Lutheran Worship liturgy paired with a praise and worship band. Periodically both services are enhanced by the school and adult choirs, handbells, brass, and orchestra.
Saturday evening begins the week with a 5:00 p.m. service in the Fellowship Hall, following the traditional liturgy and hymns but with screens instead of hymnals so worshippers can follow along. Holy Communion is observed at the Saturday service on the second and fourth weekends of the month.
Sunday morning offers two identical traditional services in the Sanctuary at 8:00 and 9:30 a.m. Hymnals and Bibles sit in each pew, and bulletins are handed out at the door. Holy Communion is celebrated on the first and third Sundays of the month. Between those two services, the Atrium next to the Sanctuary hosts the Connections Café, where coffee and donuts are available for a quick fellowship break.
At 10:45 a.m. the action moves to the Fellowship Hall for a contemporary service led by the Praise Band, with modern worship music, lyrics and spoken parts projected on screens, and bulletins available at the entrance. Holy Communion is shared here on the second and fourth Sundays.
Monday evening adds a 6:30 p.m. service in the Sanctuary. This service is designed to be more casual while still using traditional hymns and liturgy; hymnals are in the pews and the music is led by an accompanist rather than the full organ. Holy Communion follows the first and third Sundays, meaning the bread and wine are carried forward from the preceding Sunday and distributed at the close of the Monday service.
Visitors are encouraged to arrive ten to fifteen minutes early to find parking and a seat. Guests are asked to sign in: an attendance card sits in each Sanctuary pew, and a maroon attendance pad is in each row of the Fellowship Hall. The Sunday 8:00 a.m. service is livestreamed on the church's Facebook page and YouTube channel, and past services remain available on YouTube.
What to Wear and What to Bring
Dress at Immanuel spans a wide range. Many worshippers wear Sunday best, others come in casual attire, especially at the 10:45 a.m. Fellowship Hall service and the Monday evening service. Children of all ages are welcome in any worship service. A nursery and children's programming are not formally listed, but Little Blessings, a parent-and-child program for newborns through preschoolers, meets at 9:30 a.m. on Sundays in Room 106.
For the hard of hearing, a Listen Everywhere system streams the service audio to a smartphone through the church's Wi-Fi; posters in the Sanctuary and Fellowship Hall display QR codes to connect. Members and visitors who need help setting up can ask for assistance on Sunday mornings.
Zillah, the Comfort Dog of Immanuel
One of the most recognizable faces at Immanuel is not a face at all. Zillah is a Lutheran Church Charities K-9 Comfort Dog, an AKC-certified purebred Golden Retriever with more than 2,000 hours of training. She was placed in service at Immanuel on June 9, 2019, and her birthday is July 10, 2017. Her Bible verse is Psalm 57:1, "Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge." In Hebrew, Zillah means "the shadowed one," a name chosen to fit her ministry of bringing hurting people under the shadow of God's wings.
Zillah and her team of handlers and ministry partners visit churches, schools, hospitals, nursing care centers, community events, and disaster response situations. The simple act of petting or hugging a Comfort Dog opens hearts, and the dog becomes a bridge for conversations about faith and for sharing the mercy, compassion, presence, and proclamation of Jesus Christ.
As Zillah approached her ninth birthday, the congregation began planning for the future of the ministry. Immanuel has been placed on the Lutheran Church Charities list to receive a second Comfort Dog, with the hope that a younger dog will learn and serve alongside Zillah over the next several years before she eventually retires. A second team is being formed now, and the church invites anyone with a heart for this work to prayerfully consider joining.
Zillah is available to visit schools, churches, organizations, and events. The Comfort Dog Ministry is self-funded, and donations can be made online, by check to Immanuel Lutheran Church with "Comfort Dog" in the memo line, or through the Comfort Dog fundraising page.
A Long-Standing Ministry to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Immanuel's outreach to the deaf and hard of hearing is one of the defining ministries of the congregation. On Monday evenings from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., the Fellowship Hall opens for a drop-in Sign Class and Deaf Bible Study. Everything is signed and voiced so that deaf and hearing participants of all ages can take part together. Deaf and hearing teachers share the time, and the goal is both to encourage families with deaf children and to give others a chance to practice and grow their signing.
Leading this ministry is the Reverend Dr. John Reinke and his wife Dacia, who have worked together in Lutheran Deaf Outreach for more than thirty-five years. Today most of the training is done online, and many of the broadcasts originate right from Immanuel Lutheran Church. Pastor Reinke serves as Immanuel's LCMS Mission Partner in Residence and is one of the sign language interpreters at the Saturday 5:00 p.m. Fellowship Hall service. The ministry points to a sobering statistic the Reinkes often cite: 98 percent of Deaf people do not believe in Jesus. To address that, Pastor Reinke has developed training materials called ABCD, A Bible Curriculum Deaf, designed for Deaf people to learn God's Word and share it with their families and friends.
Children, Sunday School, and Faith Milestones
Children are woven into the life of Immanuel from the youngest age. The Director of Children's Ministry is Maggie Tritten, who oversees the Sunday school hour at 9:30 a.m. for kindergarten through fifth grade, plus Little Blessings for newborns through preschoolers and their parents. Sunday school follows a large-group/small-group format. After a twenty-to-thirty-minute opening in the gym, children split into mixed-age small groups that vary from week to week, each led by an adult leader. Parents pick up their children in the preschool hallway at 10:25 a.m.
The mixed-age approach lets older children serve as leaders and guides for younger ones, while giving adult leaders the flexibility to know each child well. Children's ministry leaders commit to studying materials before meeting, praying for the children of Immanuel, and modeling Bible study and devotion.
Immanuel also walks families through a series of Faith Milestones across the years. In the winter, three-year-olds receive a Beginner's Bible. Kindergarteners receive a packet of prayer cards. Second graders receive The Story Bible for Kids in the fall. Fourth graders receive Luther's Small Catechism for Kids and a workbook. Sixth graders receive Luther's Small Catechism in the spring, which they use as they begin the two-year Confirmation program. On Maundy Thursday, students in fifth through eighth grade have the opportunity to take Holy Communion for the first time, with instruction from the pastoral staff on two Wednesdays during Lent. The Rite of Confirmation takes place in October for middle schoolers who have completed the program. As a final milestone, graduates receive blankets from their families at worship as they are sent out to college, military service, or the workforce.
Baptism is offered to young and old without exception, by sprinkling, pouring, or immersion. Members of Immanuel register for a preparatory class called "Not Just Plain Water," held once a month on the first Sunday during the 9:30 Bible study hour in the school library.
Youth Ministry and Confirmation
The Director of Youth Ministry is Naomi Vang. Immanuel's youth program, called Momentum, gathers for fellowship, service, and study through the year and connects with the larger LCMS community through events such as the National Youth Gathering. Volunteers with youth are required to read the Volunteer Handbook, pass a background check, and complete an online training video on recognizing and preventing child abuse before serving.
Immanuel Lutheran School: Where Tradition Meets Innovation
Members voted to open Immanuel Lutheran School in 1848, just one year after the congregation formed, and it has been in continuous operation ever since. The first classes were held in a portion of a mill on South Main Street in St. Charles. Today the school serves more than 600 students across two-year-old preschool through eighth grade, with about 200 in the Early Childhood program and over 400 in K-8, and waitlists on more than two-thirds of its classes.
The school's motto is "Where Tradition Meets Innovation." Maximum class sizes are 20 in kindergarten, 22 in first and second grade, 23 in third through fifth grade, and 25 in sixth through eighth grade. The curriculum meets or exceeds Missouri State Standards in every area. Religion classes teach the Lutheran faith and integrate it into every subject, and the school maintains a Christian focus in every aspect of its operation. In 1992 the U.S. Department of Education named Immanuel a National Exemplary Elementary School, one of only 220 schools nationwide selected from more than 85,000. In 2016 the school was again honored as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, one of just fifty private schools nationwide to receive the award that year.
School leadership includes Scott Huster as Head of School, Jill Oetting as Principal, and Elissa Beaver as Early Childhood Director. The Early Childhood program offers flexible scheduling for children ages two through five, with parents choosing anywhere from two to five days per week. The teacher-to-student ratios are 1:6 in the Preschool 2's, 1:8 in the Preschool 3's, and 1:10 in the Preschool 4's. Tuition assistance is available through FACTS, the Lutheran Elementary School Association Building Blocks program, MO Scholars state-funded scholarships, an Immanuel Lutheran Church Congregational Aid program, and a short-term Angel Fund for families experiencing medical or financial hardship.
All students in kindergarten through eighth grade wear uniforms, ordered through Lands' End. School office hours run Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and the school phone number is 636-946-0051.
Music, Handbells, and the Eagles' Athletic Program
Music is a centerpiece of life at Immanuel. The school offers a band program for fifth through eighth graders, a strings program for second through eighth graders divided into four sections from Level 1 to the Gloria Dei Strings, a handbell program with the Agape Ringers for sixth through eighth graders and Praise Ringers for fourth and fifth graders, and a choir program whose central purpose is the glorification of God and the beautification of worship. The choirs sing at Sunday morning services as well as special services such as Christmas Eve, the Boar's Head Festival, and Easter. Dr. Rachel Hahn, who joined the staff in 2019 as Associate Director of Music Education and Worship, teaches general music, handbells, band, and choir to K-8 students and accompanies the adult choir. Adam Schempf serves as Director of Music and Worship.
The Immanuel Eagles compete in volleyball, soccer, cross country, basketball, cheerleading, track, boys' volleyball, and golf, with a junior cross country program for first through fourth graders. The Immanuel Athletic Association is a volunteer organization that supports the school's athletic goals and promotes school spirit and sportsmanship. The athletic director is Bob Dubberke.
Boar's Head and the Church Year
Each year the Gloria Dei Strings and choirs help lead Immanuel's Boar's Head Festival, a long-standing celebration of the incarnation that brings together school musicians and the wider congregation during the Christmas season. The festival is one of the highlights of the church year at Immanuel and is supported by the music, children's, and youth ministries.
Men's Club and Women's Ministries
The Men's Club provides fellowship and service opportunities for the men of the congregation. The club hosts four barbecues a year and prepares the food for the Church and School Picnic, Trunk or Treat, and the Annual Turkey and Sausage Supper.
Women's Ministries connect women of all ages for Bible study, fellowship, and mission. The Evening Guild meets the fourth Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the lower level of the Fellowship Hall. The Mother's Club Alumni and Friends meets the third Tuesday at noon in the same space, gathering women whose children have graduated from Immanuel Lutheran School. The congregation's women are members of the Lutheran Women in Mission (LWML), the official women's organization of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, which has a membership of more than 250,000 and focuses on affirming each woman in her relationship with Christ, proclaiming Christ, supporting missions, and equipping women to honor God by serving others.
Once a year the Women's Retreat is held in the Fellowship Hall on the Saturday after February 14, giving women a day to slow down, soak up the Word, and bask in the love of Jesus. The Prayer Chain carries ongoing prayer concerns for members and community. Christ's Casserole Crew prepares and delivers meals to those experiencing hospitalization, bereavement, family crisis, or a new baby. The Naomi Circle of Friends gathers widows and mature women for fellowship, food, and engaging events. The Dorcas Sewing Ministry sews dresses and shorts that are sent around the world.
Stephen Ministry and Cancer Companions
Immanuel's Stephen Ministry is a lay caregiving program based on Ephesians 4:12-13, "to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ." Stephen Ministers are lay people who receive fifty hours of training in Christian caregiving. Each Stephen Minister is assigned to one care receiver, meeting for about an hour per week for as long as the need lasts. All assignments and conversations are strictly confidential.
Cancer Companions takes a scripture-based look at how Christian faith can impact a cancer journey. The program is open to anyone in treatment, beyond treatment, and their families. Lessons include prayer, an in-depth look at key verses concerning suffering, healing, and prayer, stories of other cancer survivors who have grown closer to Christ, ceremonies for participants to find the quiet presence of God, and questions that encourage participants to share where they are with Christ.
Hospitality, Hospitality Café, and Welcome
Between the two Sanctuary services, the Atrium next door hosts the Connections Café with donuts and coffee. The Hospitality Team is the group of volunteers who make the welcome happen each week, offering a smile, serving light refreshments, and greeting guests as they arrive. Anyone interested in joining can sign up online or call the church office.
Immanuel's mission statement sums up the heart of the welcome: "We live to connect people with Jesus, grow in relationship with Christ, and serve one another in love." For those who want to take a next step toward membership, the Starting Point class meets over eight weeks for a Bible-based overview of the chief teachings of the Christian faith as they are taught in the Lutheran Church. After completing the series, participants have the option of becoming members of Immanuel Lutheran Church.
What We Believe
Immanuel teaches that the Bible is the Word of God, that all of its content is absolutely true, and that in its original manuscript it is without error. The Bible is to be read and studied so that scripture interprets itself through other related passages. The church confesses one Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the creator of all, the redeemer, and the sanctifier.
The church teaches that mankind was created by God to be holy and to have eternal life, but that by his free will he chose to break communion with God and fall into sin, bringing death as a punishment into the world. The Law of God teaches what God desires, namely perfection of heart, thought, word, and deed, and exposes the impossibility of meeting that standard. Every thought, word, and deed contrary to God's law is sin, and every human being is a sinner at conception.
The Gospel announces that, despite sin, God has loved the world and sent His Son Jesus Christ to pay the price for sin and set humanity free from death and Satan. Jesus is the Son of God, equal to God the Father, conceived by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, made man in order to redeem the world by keeping God's commandments in our place and bearing the punishment of sin through suffering, death, and resurrection. He will come again at the world's end to judge the righteous and the damned.
Immanuel teaches that repentance is acknowledgment of sin and sincere regret for it, with the assurance that every truly repentant sinner is assured of God's free and full forgiveness. Conversion is not a mere changing of habits but a change of heart, a spiritual rebirth brought about by the power of God working through the Word. Faith is a penitent sinner's personal trust in Jesus Christ as his real and only Savior, fully depending on Christ's merits for forgiveness and salvation. Justification is the robe of righteousness provided by Jesus' death and resurrection. Sanctification is the holiness of life and conduct that follows conversion.
The church teaches that Baptism is a divinely instituted washing of regeneration, intended for young and old without exception, and that The Lord's Supper is the body and blood of Jesus Christ, truly present in and with the bread and wine. Both sacraments are received by the penitent believing Christian. The church also teaches the sanctity of human life from conception, the importance of Christian day schools, and that the marriage bond must be kept inviolate.
Immanuel is a member congregation of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and holds to the historic Lutheran creeds.
Planting Seeds of Faith: A Growing Campus
Immanuel is in the early stages of Planting Seeds of Faith, a major expansion of its ministry. The plan would bring the Early Childhood program together under one roof in a new twelve-classroom Early Childhood Center, add a multi-purpose building designed in part as a storm shelter, create a shared green space, and connect the campus by closing a portion of Seventh Street so that students no longer have to cross it between buildings. The expansion also frees up off-campus buildings currently housing the two-year-old program for other church ministries.
The congregation has no current debt after recent upgrades to the primary school building. Generous donors have already purchased adjacent properties on Seventh and First Capitol and funded the necessary demolition. The 2026-27 school year opened with more than 600 students enrolled and waitlists on most classes. Honorary chairs of the campaign include Lee Wagner, the church's first Early Childhood Director; Kate Mossman, its first Preschool Teacher; and current Early Childhood Director Elissa Beaver.
Getting Involved
There are many ways to serve at Immanuel. Volunteers can sign up to teach Sunday school, chaperone youth events, help with Vacation Bible School, assist on field trips, tutor students, support Parent-Teacher League activities, or share technology, music, art, or physical-education skills with the school. Anyone who wants to volunteer with children and youth reads the Volunteer Handbook, submits to a background check, and completes an online child-abuse prevention training.
Worship services are open to all. Those ready to explore membership are invited to attend Starting Point. The Membership Coordinator, Emily Nagy, is available to follow up with anyone who fills out a guest form.
Giving can be done online, by mail to the church office, through the Vanco Mobile app, on PayPal, on Venmo, or through automatic recurring giving via Simply Giving forms. Worship bulletins are posted each week. The Connections newsletter, the weekly email update, and the church calendar are the regular ways to keep up with what is happening on the campus between Sundays.
For more than 175 years, Immanuel has set itself to the same mission that its earliest members embraced: to share God's Good News that Jesus is the Savior from sin, Satan, and death, and to bring up the next generation in that same faith. The Sanctuary still stands. The school still teaches. The bells still ring in the steeple. And the work of telling the next generation the unchanging story of Jesus goes on, in the same Spirit, with the same confidence, and for the same reasons it always has.