IMMANUEL LUTHERAN CHURCH

Lutherans and other Evangelical Christian European immigrants were met in the port of New York and recruited to the Kansas Territory so that Kansas would enter the Union as a free state.  

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Homesteaders and farmer realized that "one thing needful" in this vast territory was the Word of God and Christian Fellowship.  This was missing in their struggle to scratch an existence from the land that they worked.

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In answer to the need, a new graduate of the Lutheran Seminary from Ft. Wayne, Indiana was sent.  His name was F.W. Lange.  He traveled by train from Chicago to Iowa City where he would meet an Iowan Lutheran pastor.  Lange and the other pastor spent three weeks in an open wagon and wrote, "We were under God's open sky by day and night.  We bought the bread we needed from the settlers and cooked dour coffee where we happened to stop." 

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Pastor Lange arrived at a log cabin home of Kansas pioneer Christian F. Wetzel on Aug. 13, 1861, and conducted the first Lutheran service in the Wetzel cabin on August 17th.

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From the Clark's Creek base in the cramped loft of the cabin, in one year he organized multiple preaching and teaching stations in seen locations within horse travel range.  Each preaching station was visited every 3 weeks as he taught Bible history and catechism to young family members.  By 1871, ten Lutheran Church Missouri Synod congregations were establish.

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St. Paul's Clark Creek near Junction City, Kansas is the mother congregation of Immanuel Lutheran  Immanuel was organized on May 3rd, 1926.  The Reverend  Frederic J. Raasch was installed as Pastor in January 1940.  On May 10th, 1942 dedication service was held for the building at 7th and Madison, now the Flint Hills Church.  The guest speaker for the dedication of the new building at that time was Dr. Walter A. Maier of the Lutheran Hour.

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The Reverend Arnold Oldehoeft was installed as Pastor in September 1946.  A Christian Day School was constructed and dedicated to the Glory of God on July 18, 1954 with an enlargement of the same being accomplished in 1957.

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The Reverend Arlen Bruns was installed in February 10th, 1964 and served until the position of President of the Kansas District.

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The Reverend Kenneth Studtmann was installed as Pastor in August 1970.  As a part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Immanuel, a new pipe organ was installed and dedicated.

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The Reverend Donovan J. Sprick was installed as Pastor in November 1976.  In 1986, the congregation voted to trade the church at 7th and Madison for the uncompleted First Assembly of God church at the present location, 630 South Eisenhower.  

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The Immanuel Lutheran School was also sold as the new building was being constructed to include classrooms for the day school.  The church and school were dedicated to the Glory of God on November 29, 1987.

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Since that time, Immanuel has been served by God's undershepherds: Reverends: David C Mueller, Robert Schermbeck, Matthew Christensen, Alan Estby, and currently: George Timothy "Tim" McCall.