A Small LCMS Congregation on Itasca Avenue
Forest Lake, Minnesota, sits among the chain of lakes north of the Twin Cities, and Lord of the Lakes Lutheran Church has anchored a quiet corner of it since Pastor Craig Bertram arrived in 1999. The congregation worships as a member of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod at 25402 Itasca Avenue, drawing families from Forest Lake and the surrounding area. Its tagline, "Building community in Christ, Connecting people to the Word, Serving Christ together," frames everything from Sunday morning worship to the annual Booya fundraiser.
Sunday worship is held at 8:00 and 10:30 a.m., with Holy Communion celebrated on the first and third Sundays of the month. Between services, coffee fellowship fills the Fellowship Hall, and Sunday School for all ages meets at 9:15 a.m. (after a recent shift to a 9:30 a.m. start on Rally Day, opening with music in the Multipurpose Room before students move to their classrooms). Missions and Memory - the church's month-by-month mission emphasis paired with a Bible memory verse - is featured on the first Sunday of the month. Visitors are warmly received. On the What to Expect page, Pastor Bertram explains that Lord of the Lakes is "a small, welcoming, family style church" that is "traditional and conservative church, but in a comfortable, caring, and compassionate way." Everything in the service is printed in the bulletin or found in the hymnal, so newcomers do not have to worry about unfamiliar liturgy. Children are welcomed in worship, and a little noise is considered part of welcoming young families.
The Vision: Build, Connect, Serve
The congregation organizes its life around three words.
Building community in Christ. Worship is centered on God's Word and the Sacraments. "As our Lord comes to us in His Word and in the Lord's Supper, we celebrate his victory over sin and death," the vision statement reads. Fellowship flows out of that worship: coffee hour after services, Bible studies, LWML gatherings, youth activities, prayer chains, social outings, meals, and fellowship dinners. People of every age are encouraged to form "meaningful relationships among people who care about and for each other."
Connecting people to the Word. Christian education is a stated priority. Opportunities include Sunday School for all ages, adult Bible studies, small group studies, the Wednesday evening children's program (KOOL Kids), and confirmation. Most activities open with devotion or study.
Serving Christ together. Members serve on boards and committees, teach children, and reach into the community through caring ministries. Locally the church supports Family Pathways (a food bank), Lakes Life Care Center of Forest Lake (which helps women in crisis pregnancies), Union Gospel Mission, Sharing and Caring Hands, and Mary's Place (which provides support for the homeless). Internationally it sponsors a Compassion International child, participates in Operation Christmas Child, and supports Feed My Starving Children.
KOOL Kids, Confirmation, and a Wednesday Night That Never Stops
Wednesday evenings during the school year are busy. At 5:00 p.m. the Multipurpose Room and Fellowship Hall fill with KOOL Kids - King Of Our Lives - a program for first through sixth graders that includes supper (a suggested $2 donation), devotions, interactive lessons, crafts, and games. Pastor Bertram notes the evenings can be "loud and noisy and chaotic," by design. At the same time, seventh and eighth graders meet for Confirmation in the library, working through the Bible and Luther's Small Catechism over a two-year curriculum. Supper is also provided for confirmation students.
The choir rehearses in the sanctuary at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesdays, and high schoolers gather for Youth Night and "Ice Cream with PB and Shelly" - devotions, conversation, and ice cream - sometimes walking over to the Village Inn in nearby Wyoming. Every three years the teens travel to the LCMS National Youth Gathering; in off years they host or join Servant Events, traveling work projects that serve low-income, elderly, and disabled neighbors. The LOTL Servant Event weekend includes home repairs, painting, deck and fence work, demolition, an overnight camping trip on the St. Croix River, and canoeing on the river. A Winter Youth Retreat, open to seventh graders through seniors in high school, adds snow tubing, broom ball, movies, and Bible study to the calendar.
Sunday School runs from Rally Day in mid-September through May. Each year the school-age program chooses a unifying theme; recent years have focused on "Trust in God's Truth." There is also a Church Play Date Registry that helps parents connect their children with other church families for fellowship and outings.
Adult Bible Study Across the Week
The congregation's appetite for Bible study is substantial. Each Sunday morning from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m., Pastor Bertram leads an adult class in the Fellowship Hall, working through books of the Bible - the current study moves through 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude. On Tuesday mornings at 9:00 a.m. the same group studies a longer book; the current study walks through Matthew. Both classes are described as lively and open to questions.
Men meet twice a month for breakfast and prayer. The Men's Bible Breakfast gathers at 6:00 a.m. on the second and fourth Mondays at Perkins Restaurant on Broadway Avenue in Forest Lake, working through "The Bible in One Year." Ladies gather with the Lutheran Women's Missionary League on the third Saturday of each month at 9:00 a.m. for prayer, Bible study, and service work.
The Connect Ministry serves young adults ages 19 to 32, meeting on the second and fourth Mondays at 8:00 p.m. at the church for Bible study, service projects, and fellowship. A monthly Bible class also meets in the Fellowship Hall on the last Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m. The Quilters and Crafts Group stitches together on Tuesdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and again on the third Thursday evening of the month from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. The book group meets on the third Sunday evening at 7:00 p.m., and the recipe group gathers on the first Thursday at 7:00 p.m.
For those who cannot be in the building, E-Dibs (Electronic Daily Bible Study) arrives by email each day, taking only a few minutes to read or watch. Members of the prayer chain receive email requests for prayer as needs arise; the sanctuary itself is open most days for quiet prayer.
Bethlehem Inn and the Annual Booya
Lord of the Lakes is known for two December traditions that bring the wider community through its doors. The first weekend of December, the Fellowship Hall becomes "Bethlehem Inn," a dinner theater that retells the Nativity story in a relaxed and humorous style. The event has been held for more than nineteen consecutive years and routinely sells out. Just before Christmas, the children of the church present the Christmas story during a single combined 9:00 a.m. worship service, followed by a Christmas brunch. Christmas Eve candlelight worship is offered at 5:00 and 7:00 p.m., and a Christmas Day service is held at 9:00 a.m.
In the fall, the church hosts its annual Booya. For more than nineteen years, volunteers have simmered enormous kettles of the thick Midwestern stew and served it by the gallon and quart, with chili at the same prices and a baked goods sale running alongside. People line up early with buckets to take some home, and the event typically sells out before its 2:00 p.m. close. Proceeds support Family Pathways Food Bank, Forest Lake Community Helping Hand, E-Dibs, and the church youth group.
Other recurring traditions include a National Night Out picnic in early August, a summer fishing outing, fellowship events like Top Golf, Euchre Night, and Puzzle Night, a Men's Breakfast on the Farm, and a Red Cross Blood Drive. Each summer the church also fields a volunteer team for the Chisago Lake Triathlon.
Lent, Easter, and the Church Year
The congregation walks the church year carefully. Ash Wednesday worship at 7:00 p.m. begins Lent, followed by Wednesday evening Lenten services at 7:00 p.m. with soup suppers beforehand. Holy Week brings Palm Sunday worship at both Sunday services, Maundy Thursday worship at 7:00 p.m. with Holy Communion, Good Friday worship at 7:00 p.m., and Easter Sunday with a 7:00 a.m. sunrise service, Easter breakfast, and the regular 10:30 a.m. service. Confirmation students present their essays to the congregation and complete a public exam before being confirmed on Confirmation Day each spring.
Missions and Memory
Missions and Memory is the church's monthly framework for service. Each month highlights a new Bible verse for memorization and a new mission project. Recent emphases have included collecting macaroni and cheese, soup, and peanut butter for Family Pathways' Summer Lunches; gathering gift cards for Lutheran Social Services' Metro Homeless Youth program; assembling Health Kits with socks, soap, toothbrushes, and razors for people facing homelessness; funding the LOTL Servant Event; and supporting Feed My Starving Children. "Coins for Compassion" runs year-round in a jar at the back of the sanctuary, with proceeds going to the sponsored Compassion International child.
What They Believe
Lord of the Lakes teaches in line with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, summarizing its faith in three Reformation watchwords.
Grace alone. God loves the world though all are sinful. He sent His Son to love the unlovable and save the ungodly.
Scripture alone. The Bible is God's inerrant and infallible Word, revealing His Law and His Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ. It is the sole rule and norm for Christian doctrine.
Faith alone. Jesus' suffering and death as the substitute for all won forgiveness and eternal life. Those who hear this Good News and believe it receive the life it offers.
The congregation confesses belief in the Triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and teaches that humans are born sinful and in need of forgiveness. Forgiveness and grace come through the Word, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper. Eternal life is a free gift of God through faith in Jesus Christ, and Jesus will return as Victorious Lord to judge the world.
The Staff
Two people carry much of the day-to-day ministry of Lord of the Lakes. Rev. Craig Bertram has served as pastor since 1999. Shelly Carlson has directed youth and education since 1991 and remains deeply involved in youth ministry, the National Youth Gathering, and Servant Event planning.
The Building and Staying Connected
Lord of the Lakes sits in a residential stretch of Forest Lake, with the sanctuary, Fellowship Hall, Multipurpose Room, classrooms, library, and Fireside Room all part of one campus. Generations of Bible studies, youth programs, the quilters, choir rehearsals, and the Bethlehem Inn dinner theater have all taken place inside these walls. Members can give online through Vanco, and recorded worship services are posted each week along with the bulletin for those unable to attend in person. (The recordings are abbreviated and unedited, without livestreaming, due to WiFi limitations.) Followers can also keep up through Facebook, Instagram, and X.
At the close of any Sunday morning, the Fellowship Hall still hums with conversation over coffee and treats. For a congregation that has made "Lord of the Lakes" a byword in Forest Lake for traditional Lutheran worship, an active youth program, and a small-town willingness to feed the hungry and welcome the stranger, that hum is its own kind of creed.