Mission Plan
Emmaus Ev. Lutheran Church
Mailing Address: 2617 Shenandoah Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63104
Physical Address: 2241 S. Jefferson Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63104

Proposed to the congregation by the call committee, 3/6/10.

Mission Statement:

Enabled by His Spirit, Emmaus Lutheran Church boldly proclaims God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ to all people through excellent liturgical worship, bold community outreach, and dedicated, caring service to our neighbor.

Image Statement. We want to be known as:

• The church where faith is nourished and strengthened by the Word and Sacrament.

• The church where the people of God are educated and equipped to live a godly life serving neighbor near and far.

• The church where the bounty of God is known through preservation of our Christian liturgical heritage.

• The church where the Shepherd is present through the work of His undershepherd in pastoral care.

• The church that brings the message of hope in Christ to those who have lost hope or have never known hope before.

• The church that brings together brothers and sisters in Christ for mutual consolation and support.

Key Strengths

1. The key strength of Emmaus is the bold proclamation of the Word with a right division of Law and Gospel and the proper administration of the Sacraments so as to bless the household of faith.

2. Further, the members of Emmaus share in the servant ministry to each other and to the community:

• working to keep an ordained minister in the pulpit and to lead Bible study,

• working to maintain facilities,

• working to develop new programs and services to help each other and our community.

As God is steadfast, so the members of Emmaus persevere.

3. The members of Emmaus have unique gifts from God that provide a wide range of opportunities to serve our congregation and community including musical talents, leadership skills, teaching skills, and a commitment to provide community support through neighborhood associations, food bank collection, and education classes for parenting, for music, and for home school support.

4. The support of Emmaus alumni and friends of the parish are a valuable strength with which God has blessed Emmaus. The support of these individuals has helped with major maintenance expenses and their prayerful support assists with the continuation of the public ministry of Emmaus.

5. We own spacious facilities and have no debt. Our sanctuary is a traditional worship space.

Key Challenges

1. Ongoing need to maintain two large and aging facilities (the church building and the school building).

2. The small number of members leads to too few people for too many tasks. Most of the members are elderly or are full-time employees with families. This limits the resource of time available for parishioners to innovate or take-on additional responsibilities within the congregation.

3. Limited financial resources for the general operating budget.

4. Our location in a challenged neighborhood in the inner city.

Key Opportunities

1. Emmaus has the opportunity to be a stabilizing factor in the neighborhood. The stability of the Word and the ministry of Emmaus is greatly needed in our unstable neighborhood. Through the Word of God, hope and stability can be proclaimed to our immediate neighborhood through worship, Bible study, educational classes, and support of community programs.

2. Emmaus recognizes the opportunity to provide comfort to the weak in faith through the richness of the Word in our preaching and historic liturgy. We can be a haven of comfort for those who have been tossed about by the whims and fads of experiential religion or secular spirituality. God’s Word proclaimed and God’s Word spoken in our liturgy provide nourishment to the weak faith in need of respite.

Key Obstacles

1. The primary obstacle for Emmaus is financial. We have a faithful congregation that worships regularly, attend Bible study, and support each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. We are committed to serving God in the extension of His kingdom as He provides the opportunities. And despite limited financial resources, the Lord provides the treasure as needed through the support of members, alumni, and friends.

2. If those outside our congregation perceive us as a small community in a large worship space, they may come to the wrong idea that we are declining, dying, or unwelcoming. It may be difficult for potential members to imagine themselves as a member at Emmaus.

What We Desire to Accomplish

1. Call a pastor to provide comprehensive pastoral care to the congregation and to prospective members through Word and sacrament.

2. Continue and grow our current educational offerings to members and neighbors.

3. Continue and grow our instrumental and choral worship enhancements.

4. Develop new educational programs: for example, mid-week Bible studies, Saturday seminars, and evening classes.

5. Expand our involvement with the St. Louis neighborhood associations to find activities that Emmaus can support: for example, neighborhood food collection, clean-up projects, teaching resources.

6. Increase membership to a level that can meet financial obligations and do more to reach out with the Gospel and charity.