ABOUT IMMANUEL
Immanuel Lutheran Church & Preschool of Powell, Wyoming is a member of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, a worldwide body of two and a half million members.
IMMANUEL WELCOMES YOU
The members of Immanuel Lutheran Church welcome you to our fellowship. We consider it a very special privilege to be able to share with you the riches of God’s Word and the love of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
If you are not presently affiliated with a Christian church body, or are seeking a new place for worship and spiritual growth, we cordially invite you to worship with us and consider making Immanuel your new church home.
As a congregation of God’s redeemed people, it is our goal to proclaim the Good News of Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” It is our prayer that though this proclamation others can be brought into a meaningful personal fellowship with Jesus Christ, and more fully discover and understand God’s loving purpose for their lives – both now and in eternity.
The congregation gave Paster Lee Wisroth a Peaceful Release from his Pastoral call to Immanuel effective July 23, 2023. We are grateful for his 17 years of service. Reverend Lee and his wife Rachel continue as communicate members of Immanuel and live in Powell.
PLEASE JOIN US
Pastor Kenneth Mars, vacancy Shepherd, desires to minister to your spiritual needs, and aid you in exploring our congregation’s ministry and the Lutheran/Christian faith. For those not yet acquainted with the Biblical teachings of the Christian faith and the Missouri Synod’s position on them, we offer Adult Information Classes as a preparation for membership.
Please let the pastor know if you have any questions regarding membership or your potential role in our congregation’s mission and ministry. We are excited and enthusiastic about the potential for ministry that exists in our community and surrounding area, and the abundance of gifts and willingness to serve with which God has supplied our congregation. As we serve the Lord with gladness, we come together for Sunday morning worship and Sunday School, various Bible studies during the week, mid-week children's school, pre-school and a ladies group called Lutheran Women's Missionary League.
MEET OUR VACANCY PASTOR
Kenneth Mars was born and raised in Lubbock, Texas. He attended Texas Tech University, and earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree in geology. Kenneth met Vickie at Texas Tech, and they were married in 1997. They lived in Casper, Wyoming, where Kenneth worked as a uranium geologist for five years before entering seminary. Over the years, their family has grown to nine children: Nathaniel, married to Hannah, Timothy, Patrick, Maria, Lydia, Sirena, Abigail, and Noah. The oldest five currently attend Concordia University-Nebraska and the youngest four are homeschooled.
Kenneth and Vickie were catechized in the Lutheran faith under Rev. John Hill in 1999. Kenneth earned a Master of Divinity degree from Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 2005. His first call was to serve the dual parish of St. John's Lutheran Church in Kimball, Nebraska, and Immanuel Lutheran Church in Burns, Wyoming, where he remained for 17 years. Kenneth has been active on various boards and committees of the LCMS-Wyoming District, including serving as a PALS facilitator, district reconciler, homeschool retreat coordinator, and secretary and pastoral representative on the Board of Directors. In his free time, Kenneth enjoys reading theology and various types of literature, hiking and camping, playing the cello, listening to music, playing board games, and spending time with his wife and children.
AS CHRISTIANS WE BELIEVE
THE BIBLE, both Old and New Testament, is in every part the inspired Word of God unalterable, inerrant, and complete, requiring no human interpretations and permitting no additions to its teachings. It is our only source and norm for our Doctrine.
GOD, is one divine essence, who has revealed Himself in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
MAN, originally created by God pure and Holy, in God’s image, fell from his original state, bringing the curse of sin upon the whole human race, and in his present state is entirely depraved and enslaved in sin.
THE LAW (of God) is summarized in the Ten Commandments, demands perfect obedience to it on the part of man. Such perfect obedience is impossible for man and thus the Law condemns man’s failure to live by it.
THE GOSPEL reveals how Jesus Christ, the Son of Mary (thus true man) and the Son of God (thus true God), perfectly fulfilled God’s Law in man’s place. By His suffering and death He paid the full penalty for our sins and guilt, and by His resurrection has been declared the all sufficient Divine Redeemer. All who penitently accept Christ as the one and only Savior in sincere faith are justified in the sight of God and made heirs of salvation.
FAITH in God and Jesus Christ is not a personal achievement or work of man, but is created in us by the working of the Holy Spirit, Who works through the “Means of Grace,” the Word and Sacraments.
HOLY BAPTISM, commanded by Christ Himself and to be administered to both young and old without exception, is a washing or regeneration, a spiritual rebirth, through which saving faith is created in man’s heart by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Gospel.
HOLY COMMUNION, in which every communicant receives the true Body and Blood of the Living Christ together with the bread and wine is received by the believing Christian for the strengthening of his faith and the growth in godliness.
THE CHURCH is the sum total of all who believe in the Triune God and who have faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
JUDGEMENT DAY will come at the end of time, when Christ will visibly return to judge the living and the dead, reviving into eternal glory all who firmly trust in Him, and pronouncing eternal doom upon all who refused to acknowledge Him as their Redeemer and Lord.
CLOSE COMMUNION
THE LUTHERAN CHURCH-MISSOURI SYNOD practices "close Communion" believing that when a person partakes of the Sacrament at the altar, he is also confessing his unreserved agreement with that church body's doctrine. Because of doctrinal differences existing between the Missouri Synod and other Lutheran bodies, and also with Christians of other denominations, we cannot expect a person to make that kind of commitment, nor do we desire anyone to compromise his own convictions and his church body's teachings. Therefore our practice of "close Communion" admits only those in doctrinal agreement and who are members of the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church. Thus, out of loving concern for all, and commitment to Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions, we practice "close Communion". We thank you for your cooperation and respect for our practice.