Friends of Immanuel,
Outdoor worship starts THIS Sunday, July 5^th! Those of you who are new to Immanuel may be wondering, why outdoor worship? We started outdoor worship at our previous location on Hilltop Drive in the late 90s, taking our contemporary worship service outdoors during the summer months. The idea behind it was outreach – providing a less threatening atmosphere for people not familiar with worship or church where they might feel more comfortable checking us out. That’s still the main reason we have outdoor worship from the first Sunday in July through Labor Day weekend – it’s always about the mission our Lord has given us to reach out to others!

One cool story about this is from Jeff and Jacky Deaner. Jeff shared this: “The outdoor worship Sunday morning is what brought Jacky and me to Immanuel many years ago. She was out walking the dogs one Sunday and heard the music and checked it out. I was working in Dillon and she called all excited and said, ‘I think I’ve found us a church!!’ The rest is history.” If you have a story like this to share, send it my way – I love hearing the amazing (and unexpected!) ways that God works in our lives!

Of course, there are plenty of other “bonuses” to outdoor worship as well. We are blessed to live in one of the most beautiful areas of the country and, generally, we have pretty dry and arid conditions with morning rains being relatively rare. So we take advantage of those blessings and worship our Creator out in the beauty of His creation.

So THIS Sunday, if you enjoy worshiping in the outdoor setting, plan to come at 9:30am to the west lawn in and around the pergola. Please plan to bring a camping/lawn chair along with you to worship, as well as anything else that would make it more comfortable for you (a hat, sunglasses, water bottle, sunscreen, a blanket for kids to sit on, etc.). In addition to the pergola, we do have an expanded shade structure coming off the pergola, as well as some shade from the building. Sadly, to provide you a heads-up, this winter we lost two large trees on the north side of our outdoor worship space that provided some significant shade. With that in mind, I’m going to ask our “regular attenders” in advance to be sure and move toward the front of our worship space under the pergola (where there’s lots of shade up by me!), particularly if you arrive early. In addition, not having an over-abundance of space between “rows” will also help maximize the available shade. Thanks for helping practice Radical Hospitality in this way!

Please spread the word about this awesome opportunity to worship in our outdoor setting! Extend an invitation to someone who may not be connected to a church right now and have them join you for worship – whether that’s to the outdoor service or our 8:00 indoor Classic Grace service.

I’ll add that with the celebration of Independence Day Saturday, take time to remember how truly blessed we are as people of God with the freedoms we enjoy not only here in the United States, but with the ultimate freedom we know and experience every single day in Jesus! Have a very happy, safe, and blessed Independence Day celebration and I hope to see you in worship on Sunday!

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,

We celebrated the gift of baptism yesterday in worship in several ways. The most prominent was the joy of having two baptisms from two different families, one in each worship service. We celebrated little 8-month-old Hayes Christofferson being baptized at the 8:00am service and Aayla Deter, a college-age student who received God’s gift of baptism at the 9:30am service (look for some pictures of both baptisms in Thursday’s update!). We heard from God in His Word a few of the many prominent references about baptism and the hope it offers, including Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 2:38-39, John 3:1-8, and Romans 6:1-11. We sang of baptism and the hope we know because of this gift and we spoke of it throughout yesterday’s liturgy. And we also had our baptism bowls out to give everyone the opportunity to feel the water, make the sign of the cross, and remember God’s hope-filled gift to us.

I mentioned that there was so much more that God tells us about baptism throughout His Word that we didn’t have time to look at in one sermon. I’d like to address one additional important aspect of this gift of baptism and that is why we baptize babies. There are two parts to this answer. The first is the reality of sin. God’s Word is clear that we are all sinful, separated from God, and in need of a Savior (Romans 3:23). In fact, He tells us that we are conceived and born in sin (Psalm 51:5). There are no exemptions from the need for Jesus – from conception through infancy and early childhood, through our teen years and into adulthood, we are sinful and need our Lord’s forgiveness.

The second is faith. Faith is not simply head-knowledge and being able to verbalize our belief in Jesus. It’s important that we come to that place in our lives where we confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9-10). But faith is also a gift from God and not something that we come up with or manufacture for ourselves (Ephesians 2:8-9 and 1 Corinthians 12:3) – creating faith in our hearts and pointing us to Jesus is the primary work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus expressed the fact that even a baby can have faith – looking at a passage of Scripture not directly related to baptism. In the opening verses of Matthew 18, Jesus is talking about children and becoming like little children, welcoming them and receiving them. Then in verse 6, He says, “If anyone causes one of these little ones – those who believe in me – to stumble…” Little ones is a reference to a baby, a tiny child, and Jesus speaks of them being able to believe, or have faith, in Him. Faith is not only a gift, it’s a relationship that we are invited into by God Himself.

So we baptize babies because they need Jesus just as much as anyone! They are part of the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20 and were likely part of Lydia’s and the jailer’s households in the accounts in Acts 16 of everyone in these two households being baptized. This gift of baptism is for everyone!

Below is the What Now? for this week that I hope you can put to practice as we remember and celebrate this hope-filled gift of God’s grace. And I want to make sure the door is open wide for anyone who is wondering about baptism or has questions about baptism or who would like to be baptized but isn’t sure, to please talk with me. At the end of this week’s What Now? is my contact information. Reach out to me and let’s talk! In the meantime, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)

What Now?

This week, let every shower, every bath, every washing of your hands, washing dishes, and washing clothes, remind you of the promises of being a baptized child of God, washed clean by the blood of Jesus. As you remember, give thanks to God for this life-giving gift! If you have not been baptized and you would like to or if you have questions about it, reach out to Pastor Glen (gschlecht@ImmanuelLoveland.org, 970-203-4810).

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,
Recently, many members have asked about the marketing and enrollment efforts taking place at Immanuel. Behind every website update, social media post, advertisement, and school visit is a larger goal: helping more families discover the Christ-centeredness of Immanuel, both in our church and in the education available at Immanuel Lutheran School. While some of that work is easy to see, much of it happens behind the scenes as we seek to share Immanuel’s story and connect families to our mission.

One of the people helping lead these efforts is Ashley Jones, Immanuel’s Director of Communications and Marketing. Ashley joined Immanuel in 2022 as a Ministry Support Specialist. Through God’s amazing timing, the opportunity came as her family was moving to Berthoud and preparing for their oldest daughter to begin preschool at Immanuel. She and her husband, Nic, are parents to four children—Evy (7), Leo (6), Carsten (4), and Madi (15 months).

While much of Ashley’s current work focuses on school marketing and enrollment, she also serves the church through communications and marketing. She manages Immanuel’s website, social media, livestreams, YouTube channel, Monday Immanuel Weekly Newsletters, podcasts, branding, and digital outreach efforts. In addition, she designs graphics and promotional materials for worship services, sermon series, ministry events, and special programs, helping connect members and visitors with the ministries of Immanuel.

One project Ashley led was improving the digital experience for members by ensuring all church events in CCB include detailed descriptions and clear information. She also redesigned the Monday Immanuel Weekly email from a text-based newsletter into a visually organized weekly snapshot featuring upcoming events, the latest sermon, and quick links to church and school news. The result is a communication tool that is easier to read at a glance, more visually engaging, and helps members quickly connect with the information most relevant to them.

Ashley also creates weekly Sermon Snapshot videos—brief 1–2-minute highlights from Sunday’s sermon shared across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X, and TikTok. These videos help members revisit key takeaways from the message while also extending Immanuel’s ministry beyond Sunday morning. Social media algorithms often show these videos to people far beyond Immanuel’s current audience—including many in our local community—creating opportunities to share God’s Word, introduce people to Immanuel, and prayerfully connect them to a church home where they may one day join us in worship.

As her skills and passion for Christian education and ministry became evident, her role quickly expanded. In 2024, Ashley transitioned into her current role as Immanuel’s Director of Communications and Marketing and began helping develop a long-term marketing and enrollment strategy for the school. That work accelerated after Ashley and Cheryl attended a free marketing and enrollment training through the Herzog Foundation in January 2025, with travel covered by a generous donor. They returned with valuable strategies to strengthen enrollment, communication, and family engagement.

Shortly afterward, Ashley and Nic welcomed their fourth child and made the difficult decision to relocate to Arizona for a new opportunity for Nic. Thankfully, Ashley has been able to continue serving Immanuel remotely and remains actively involved in the school’s communications and marketing efforts.

Marketing is about more than advertisements. The goal is simple: help more families discover Immanuel, understand our mission, and experience a Christ-centered educational community.

Over the past two years, Immanuel has moved from having no formal marketing strategy to implementing a comprehensive plan focused on enrollment growth, consistent messaging, family engagement, and retention. In addition, the school’s marketing efforts were reviewed alongside recommendations from the recent LCEF school study. The review affirmed many of the initiatives already underway while also helping identify a few additional opportunities for growth and improvement.

Key initiatives have included:

• Developing a unified school message and brand story
• Creating enrollment lead tracking and reporting systems
• Launching automated email follow-up campaigns
• Improving search engine visibility (SEO)
• Expanding social media and digital advertising
• Strengthening community outreach efforts
• Continuing major website improvements
• Enhancing communication with current and prospective families

As Immanuel continues to grow, current priorities include website improvements, strengthening enrollment systems, increasing community awareness, and helping more families discover the opportunities available through Immanuel Lutheran School.

Most importantly, every website update, social media post, email campaign, school visit, and advertisement serves a greater purpose: sharing Immanuel’s mission and connecting families to a Christ-centered community where students are Rooted in Christ to SOAR.

Wondering how YOU can help grow our school’s enrollment?
The most powerful marketing tool isn’t an advertisement—it’s a personal recommendation.

If you hear a friend, neighbor, coworker, or family member sharing that their child is struggling at school or that they are exploring educational options, consider sharing your positive experience at Immanuel. Personal stories and recommendations continue to be one of the primary ways new families discover our school.

You can also help through social media. If you’re part of local community Facebook groups and see someone asking for childcare or school recommendations, take a moment to share your experience, tag Immanuel Lutheran School, and encourage them to schedule a visit.

Thank you for being part of the Immanuel story. We are excited to see how God continues to bless and grow this ministry in the years ahead!

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

June 22, 2026 

Friends of Immanuel, 

Here at Immanuel, we are part of a much larger church body, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). I thought it would be helpful to take some time in today’s article to share a bit more about what that means and also to ask for your prayers with some significant events happening right now in the LCMS. 

Although the LCMS is a voluntary association, we are bound together through our common confession and beliefs, which can be found in the Book of Concord and writings from the 1500s, the time of the Reformation in Germany, led by Martin Luther. We have a national headquarters in St. Louis, MO. As a synod, we are 179 years old. Through this voluntary, yet strong association of almost 6000 congregations, we support two seminaries to train pastors (St. Louis and Fort Wayne, IN), we support missionary efforts across the globe (our current missionaries, Jordan and Justin Logston, serve through the missions of the LCMS), we currently operate six colleges and universities (in Chicago, St. Paul, Milwaukee, Seward Nebraska, Irvine California, and Ann Arbor Michigan), and coordinate ministry together in a variety of ways through various other organizations such as Lutheran Hour Ministries, Lutheran Women in Mission/LWML, Lutherans for Life, and many others. 

There are about 6000 LCMS congregations across the United States, organized into 33 regional districts and two non-geographic districts. Immanuel is part of the one of the largest geographic districts by area—the Rocky Mountain District—which includes Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and small parts of Texas and Nebraska.  

While we are all connected and have a unity of our doctrine and teachings with a strong emphasis on the centrality of Jesus and God’s Word, there is a great deal of congregational autonomy and freedom with how each congregation chooses to carry out ministry in its unique locale. 

I share all this because this summer our national convention is being held in Phoenix from July 18-23. We have a national convention every three years. On the “off” years, there is a district convention, also every three years. At these conventions, various resolutions are discussed regarding doctrine and practice, there are times of worship and Bible study, and there are elections of many positions within the synod to help support and encourage congregations in carrying out Christ’s mission to us.  

We have a president of the LCMS who serves to give direction for our church body and who engages with other church bodies across the world, being involved in talks, conversations, our country’s political issues, and more. This is a significant position. At each national convention, the first order of business is the election of the LCMS president. 

With recent technological advances, the election of the president of the LCMS now takes place electronically ahead of the convention, allowing every congregation in the LCMS to cast two votes, one from a pastor and one from a lay delegate. Immanuel’s lay delegate is Carl Hinderer. Our current president is Rev. Dr. Matthew Harrison and he has served in that position for 16 years since his election in 2010. This year there were five candidates who received enough nominations for president of the LCMS to be included on the ballot. The first vote for president took place earlier in June. No candidate received more than 50% of the votes, which is what is required for an election. It was publicized on Wednesday that the second ballot was completed and we still do not have an election. 

The results of the second vote was as follows: 

• Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison (current LCMS president), 2,243 votes (46.3%); 

• Rev. Dr. Joel D. Biermann (current professor at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis), 2,229 votes (46.0%); 

• Rev. Dr. Benjamin T. Ball (current parish pastor in Illinois), 212 votes (4.4%); and 

• Rev. Brady L. Finnern (current Minnesota North District President), 158 votes (3.3%). 

This means there will be a third ballot with voting taking place from June 20-23 with Rev. Brady Finnern being removed from the ballot. 

I share all this for several reasons. First, it’s good to realize that here at Immanuel we are not on an island all by ourselves. We are part of something much bigger – the LCMS and the entire Church on earth who follow and believe in Jesus. Sometimes we can get caught up with all our activities and ministries that we lose sight of the big picture. God is working in amazing ways, not only here at Immanuel, but across our community, our state, our country, and our world. Praise God! 

Second, I share this to ask you to be praying for our church body and specifically, right now, for the presidential election process. In some ways our LCMS is at a crossroads with some significant issues before us. Pray that God will put into this important position the man that He knows we need to help navigate these challenging waters of our current culture. Pray that every congregation in the LCMS, including us here at Immanuel, will remain strong and committed to reaching out and sharing the Good News of Jesus in every way possible.  

It’s a privilege to be part of the LCMS and I hope what I’ve shared helps provide a better understanding of the larger picture in which our congregation participates. If you have questions about anything that I’ve written regarding our church body, our beliefs, our relationship at Immanuel to the LCMS, or anything at all, please don’t hesitate to reach out and ask. 

Serving together in Christ alone! 

Pastor Glen 

Friends of Immanuel, 

Vacation Bible School has been going full force this week at Immanuel! Praise God for Miss Emma and her great leadership again this year; praise God for the blessing of good weather so the kiddos can spend some time outdoors; praise God for ALL of you who are here this week, doing so many of the needed hands-on guidance of the children, sharing the message of Jesus and His love every day, making and facilitating the snacks, crafts, and experiments, teaching the Bible stories, and helping provide an awesome experience for these children and their families; praise God for all of you who donated supplies, snacks, materials, and more, as well as for all who continue to pray for VBS. A ministry like this takes many, many hands and thank you all for your willingness to have VBS here at Immanuel and your enthusiastic support of it!

There is still one more day – so pray for the strength and endurance needed for all of our adult leaders! And pray for a strong, positive wrap-up to this year’s Rainforest Falls VBS.

Immanuel’s Mission is to:
“Transform lives by loving, learning, and living in Jesus.”

Our Vision is similar and it is that:
“We reveal the love and grace of Jesus to our community by our Radical Hospitality, Transformational Learning, and Fearless Living.”

As A Family Place, it is truly a joy to support families and children every summer with Vacation Bible School at Immanuel, fulfilling both our Mission and Vision, touching the lives of several hundred children, many middle school and high school youth helpers, and adults who assist in so many different facets. The times we are living in are, generally speaking, very turbulent for families. So we strive to do whatever we can to strengthen families and help families stay grounded in Jesus, His love, and the myriad of promises He pours into us to stand strong against the many anti-family and anti-Christian messages that are all around us.

Serving together in Christ alone! 

Pastor Glen 

Friends of Immanuel, 

With our current summer worship series, A Summer of Hope, that truly is my prayer – that what we hear from God in His Word, from my sermons, from the music, and from our gathering together week-in and week-out, is that we are filled with the hope that we know in Jesus. As St. Paul closed his letter to the Romans (Romans 15:13), “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” 

With yesterday’s message, “He’ll Take Anyone!,” there was so much more that I could have shared regarding why that is such a hope-filled truth. We don’t have to achieve some sort of standard before our Lord will love us or welcome us into His family. We don’t have to clean up our act before He’ll accept us as His children – that’s HIS job! He’s here to clean us up, forgive us, and help us over and over again. While we strive in every way to be Christlike in our thoughts, words, and deeds, perfection is not something we can attain on this side of eternity. We are perfect only through faith in Jesus as He clothes us with His perfect righteousness. It’s not three-strikes-and-you’re-out – our Lord’s forgiveness is a gift that is always there for us and, no matter how many times we fall or fail, He’s here to pick us up, forgive us, and put us back on His path. 

Take in these passages that I hope will affirm and encourage you in who you are as a precious, beloved, child of God: 

Ephesians 2:8-10 – 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. 

Isaiah 43:1-3 – 1 But now, this is what the Lord says—he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. 3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” 

John 3:16-17 – 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 

1 John 3:1 – 1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!  

And there are so many more places in Scripture that speak this truth loud and clear! Here is the What Now? from yesterday for your encouragement as well: 

What Now? 

God chooses YOU! Take to heart the hope this brings to you as you bask in that reality and promise. Look for an opportunity to speak the hope-filled truth into someone else’s life that God chooses them! 

Serving together in Christ alone! 

Pastor Glen 

Friends of Immanuel,

The time has come! Over the next week and a half we will have two of our major summer ministry events happening – the Sweetheart City Car Show and Family Festival and Vacation Bible School! You can see more of the details of these two significant outreach efforts in the articles below.

With this Saturday’s car show (June 13^th, 9:00am-2:00pm) I want to thank Randi Rost and Ed Bublitz for their leadership of this amazing team of people (more like an army of people!) to make this event happen. And my thanks to everyone who will be hands-on with help given on Saturday as well as many of you who have been donating items, praying over this event, and supporting it in so many pre-event ways! The partnerships and support given by local businesses, particularly to make the Car Care portion of the car show possible, is amazing. What I have heard over and over again from people in the community as well as those I’ve talked with at previous car shows, is that the Car Care we offer (helping single moms and widows with a basic inspection of their cars and reduced cost in making repairs) is what makes Immanuel’s car show one of the best in northern Colorado!

Over these next couple days, pray that God will use this event, the conversations that will take place, and the open doors of Immanuel, to draw people to Him. Be praying also for sunshine and good weather on Saturday.

Vacation Bible School will have a training and decorating day THIS Monday, June 15^th, with VBS itself happening Tuesday, June 16^th through Friday, June 19^th from 9:00am-12:00pm. I want to thank Emma who has once again done an amazing job in organizing this multi-faceted, multi-day outreach ministry event that involves hundreds of children, youth, and adults. As with the car show, there are still opportunities to help and support this ministry – just contact Emma. Thanks to all of you who have purchased some of the many items on the VBS tree to support this ministry, to all of you who will be hands-on and feet-on-the-ground to make VBS a reality, and for all who have been and are continuing to pray for this ministry.

Be praying for many hearts – of children, youth, volunteers, workers, and families of the children attending – to be opened and touched by the amazing, life-giving message of Jesus and His love for us.

Be watching for some follow-up, additional thank yous, and pictures and videos of the car show and VBS over the next couple of weeks. I look forward to seeing many of you Saturday, then on Sunday (of course!), and next week!

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,

Today I’m speaking as part of that “great cloud of witnesses” that the writer to the Hebrews speaks of in Hebrews 12:1-3, and I want to cheer you on and encourage you “so that you will not grow weary and lose heart!” We are running this race of faith and life together, specifically as brothers and sisters in Christ here at Immanuel.

Commitment Sunday was just a week ago, which is hard to believe, and I’m thankful for that powerful time of worship together as well as the fun and delicious fellowship we enjoyed afterward. I’m also thankful for all of you who offered your commitments to the Lord that morning. There have been a number of you who have brought in your commitments through the week as well as yesterday in worship, which is awesome! Thank you for your prayerful, faith-filled, and sacrificial financial commitments, your commitments to the spiritual disciplines of prayer, worship, and being in God’s Word, and your commitments to continue learning and growing together.

So far, we have 91 commitments in hand for our Run with Perseverance ministry campaign. By comparison, with our last campaign that launched in December 2019, we had a total of 173 commitments made over the course of the entire campaign. I share this because these commitments are not just numbers – they are YOU! These commitments represent households of people who call Immanuel “home” – households that include singles, couples, or entire families. I’m here to cheer you on and say, “Way to go!” and “Thank you!” for taking the step you have with prayerfully making these commitments

If you have not yet offered your commitments to the Lord, you’re not too late. We are waiting to announce the total amount of all the commitments until the end of this month in order to give everyone the opportunity to be part of this ministry campaign together! We will have some fun “trackers” that will be in the atrium starting at the end of the month or early July to track our progress together.

As part of this great cloud of witnesses, I’m encouraging you today to prayerfully consider joining with all of us here at Immanuel, if you have not already, in committing and recommitting yourselves to our Lord and the mission He’s given us to serve together in the many and various opportunities we have here at Immanuel, sharing the love and the hope we have in Jesus.

To make your commitments, there are three options:

1. You can go online to Immanuel’s website (https://immanuelloveland.org/runwithperseverance/), click “Online Commitment Card,” fill out the online card, and submit it.
2. You can stop in the church office anytime during business hours and pick up a paper copy of the commitment card. Once you have it filled out, tear off the white copy, place it in an envelope, and return it to Immanuel, either during the week or on Sunday morning when you can place it in the offering basket.
3. You can print off a copy of the commitment card below, fill it out, and bring it back to Immanuel in a sealed envelope.

However you choose to do it, I pray that you do! As I’ve said previously, these commitments are not just about the money. More than anything, making these commitments is about being part of this community of faith and serving our Lord together. There’s real joy in knowing we are part of something much bigger than ourselves – and what better to be part of than the Body of Christ?!

Serving together in Christ alone!

Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,
This Sunday we are beginning our new summer worship series, A Summer of Hope. The readings for this summer are amazing! The richness and depth of St. Paul’s letter to the Romans are coupled with Matthew’s Gospel—long recognized as a discipleship manual for followers of Jesus. Sprinkle in some well-known Old Testament accounts and we have ourselves A Summer of Hope! Through these readings, hope comes to us in both expected as well as surprising and unexpected ways. I pray that as we travel through these summer months together, you are filled with this profound gift of hope our Lord offers us!

I also want to remind everyone that an important component of our ministry campaign, Run with Perseverance, is that we are here at Immanuel together – running together, serving together, worshiping together, giving together, playing and praying and doing ministry together. In light of our campaign theme verse from Hebrews 12:1-3, we are “surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,” a cloud of witnesses that includes each one of us as we surround each other, cheer each other on, and encourage each other in this race of life and faith so that “will not grow weary and lose heart.”

My prayer is that we are all committed to the Lord’s ministry here at Immanuel that He has entrusted to us and that we all make those commitments, from the financial (even if it’s an extra $10/month over these next three years) to the spiritual disciplines of prayer, worship, and being in God’s Word, to continuing to learn and grow together with upcoming opportunities.

So if you haven’t filled out a Commitment Card yet, I would strongly urge you to do so as we run this race together. You can fill out a commitment card online at https://immanuelloveland.org/runwithperseverance/ or you can stop in at the church and pick up a paper copy anytime the office is open. We will be announcing the total commitments later in June once everyone has had a chance to make their commitment.

Thank you for being part of this awesome ministry of Immanuel!

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel, 

I want to give a huge thank you to everyone who made yesterday’s Commitment Sunday the awesome celebration that it was. The worship, the music, the stories, the brunch, the fellowship, the conversations – all of it! Thank you for being here and for being part of the Lord’s amazing ministry at Immanuel. Stepping through the morning, I had a real sense of God’s presence – we were truly living out our name: Immanuel, “God With Us”!  

Thank you to those who were able to help with set-up of the gym, making some delicious breakfast casseroles, serving the brunch, and the clean-up. Many hands make light work and thank you for your servant hearts to serve in these ways. 

For those who were not able to be here, be sure and check out the live stream which can be found on Immanuel’s sermon page. If you haven’t filled out a Commitment Card yet, you can fill one out online at https://immanuelloveland.org/runwithperseverance/ or you can stop in at the church and pick up a paper copy anytime the office is open. I’m praying and encouraging everyone who calls Immanuel “home” to be part of offering our commitments to the Lord as together we Run with Perseverance! We will be announcing the total commitments later in June once everyone has had a chance to make their commitment. 

One other thank you I want to give is to our Ministry Campaign Leadership Team. This was an amazing team of people who helped make this entire campaign the success it is in every regard. The team includes Campaign Director: Becky York; Campaign Coordinator: Annette Bures; Communications Director: Justin Logston; Communications Team: Julie Geary, Kurt Holdorf, Josh Hubble; Prayer Coordinators: Paul and Gail Hein; Hospitality Coordinator: Kathy Schlecht; Hospitality Team: Donna Aigner, Tam Small; Connection Coordinators: Paul and Donna Gorky; Children’s and Youth Leader: Emma Hubble; Financial Coordinator: Dave Ritter; Fulfillment Coordinators: Jerry Austin and Bill Busacker. Thank you for a job well done! 

To let you know, Kathy and I are out of the office for a few days, catching our breath before we jump back into our exciting line-up of summer ministry events. We’ll be back on Thursday and we look forward to seeing you again on Sunday in worship as we’re back to our Summer Worship Schedule (8:00am and 9:30am). 

Serving together in Christ alone! 

Pastor Glen 

Friends of Immanuel, 

I hope you’re ready for a very fun and inspiring Sunday morning of worship! This Sunday, May 31^st, we’ll gather all together in one worship service beginning at 9:00am, to worship our Triune God. There will be handbells, instrumentalists, inspiring videos, stories shared, and an opportunity to commit ourselves to our Lord in a variety of ways.

It is Commitment Sunday, a culmination and celebration of our ministry campaign, Run with Perseverance. If you have not yet, I would encourage you to pray about the ways you would be willing to commit yourself to the Lord for the next three years. There is the opportunity to make a financial commitment over-and-above your regular giving to help us reach our 3-year goal of $950,000. With that financial goal, we are committing $600,000 of that toward ongoing ministry expenses ($200,000 each year), and $350,000 that would be placed in a reserve account to pay for expenses incurred with our aging facilities. Immanuel’s leaders have already made commitments that put us halfway to that goal! Praise God! And as everyone joins together, I believe we can reach that goal and continue to strengthen our ministry of both our church and school and all the great Kingdom-building outreach and ministry we do.

Just as important as our financial commitments is the opportunity we have to commit and re-commit ourselves to some basic spiritual disciplines that will help us individually and collectively to keep growing stronger in our faith and following Jesus. My prayer is that everyone connected to Immanuel is willing to make these important and prayer-filled commitments as we continue faithfully to carry out the mission our Lord has given us as His children. Those spiritual disciplines include:

• Praying regularly
• Reading God’s Word each day
• Worshiping together each week
• Growing as good stewards of all God has entrusted to us, taking advantage of adult education classes and seminars coming this fall
• Being part of Bible studies, small groups, and other learning and study opportunities

You can see all the specific opportunities on the commitment card below. If you can’t be here on Sunday, I encourage you to bring your commitments to the church office or to worship over the next couple of weeks. We will be announcing the total commitments later in June.

Commitment cards will be handed out on Sunday in worship. You can also fill one out online at https://immanuelloveland.org/runwithperseverance/. These commitments will be seen by only three people who serve on the campaign Finance and Fulfillment Team and will be held in strict confidence.

If you have any questions about the campaign, about making a commitment, or about Commitment Sunday, don’t hesitate to reach out to me or to our Ministry Campaign Director Becky York (bly80516@gmail.com).

All of us share the same mission and purpose, and this campaign, as we’ve aptly named it, is intended to encourage us to Run with Perseverance – to keep doing what our Lord has called us to do, which is to share the powerful, life-changing message of Jesus, His death and resurrection, and the life and hope He brings to us. Thank you for being part of the amazing work the Lord is doing here in this place through each and every one of us!

Serving together in Christ alone! 

Pastor Glen