About Immanuel

Immanuel Lutheran is both a church and a school serving the Wisconsin Rapids and surrounding communities for over 140 years! We are a member congregation of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and a part of the North Wisconsin District. 


Our Story

In 1881, God Inspired a group of His people, under the guidance of Pastor F. Leyhe, to start Immanuel Lutheran in Grand Rapids, Wisconsin. The first constitution dated December 1881, along with subsequent constitutions in 1897 & 1913, were written in German. In 1883 the first church building was erected on the corner 8th Street and Prospect. In March of 1884 Immanuel Lutheran School was started, with classes taught in the balcony of the church by the pastor. In 1886 a school building was constructed at the back of the church.



By 1889 there were 65 children enrolled in the school and a "lady" teacher was hired to assist the pastor. The next year, Mr. F. Schaefer became the first called teacher to serve Immanuel Lutheran School, as enrollment continued to rise.



As Immanuel continued to grow both in church membership and school enrollment, they found themselves outgrowing their current building and in 1909 they built the present building we still worship in today. Classes for the day school continued to be held in the church basement until church purchased property at the corner of 11th Street and Oak where school continues to operate to this day.


Our Mission and Vision

Immanuel Lutheran Church and School exists to:

"Share the Love of Jesus, Grow in Faith, and Serve Community!"


These three phrases are our action words of how we believe God is leading us to move. God commands all believers us to share the Love that He gave us.1 John 4:19 says "We love because He first loved us." Any love we have is a gift we have received and we can joyfully give it away. The amazing thing about love is that we give it away, yet we never run out of it when Jesus is our source. Sharing the Good News of what Jesus Christ has done for us, forgiving us and securing our home in heaven, is the greatest expression of love there is!


We are also encouraged to be continually growing in our faith! Just as a professional sports player must attend practices and keep his or her body in shape or just as a teacher or professional must keep their education and training current to be of the best use, so the Christian must keep up-to-date in their faith too. God's Word never changes. He is the same, today, tomorrow and forever, but how He touches our hearts and our lives changes from day to day - sometimes even hour to hour. Our challenge and joy is to be faithful in worship, Bible Study and service! Our salvation is secure through Jesus Christ, but our relationship with God does not end there. James 4:8 tells us to "draw near to God and He will draw near to us." God also tells us in 2 Peter 3:18 to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" so that we won't fall into habits and teachings that aren't God-pleasing


Before ascending into heaven, Jesus gave us the Great Commission as recorded in Matthew 28:19-20 and at Immanuel we believe that commission is for all believers. We seek to serve community - in our town, in our county, in our state, in our nation and throughout the world. We seek to find ways to help people where they have needs and then share the Good News of Jesus with them.


Our Vision


"Reimagining Immanuel Lutheran Church and School, we focus on the spiritual growth of God's people in order to bring the gospel to as many people."