50th Anniversary

Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

2 Peter 3:18

Celebrating 50 Years of Gospel Ministry!

Messiah celebrated 50 years with a special Worship Service on Sunday October 1, 2023. Below, you can read about Messiah's history, who we are and where we are today by God's grace, and our plans as we ask God to bless us in the future!

Remember the past

In 1972, a small group from Fruitland, Idaho, expressed interest in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. In 1973, Messiah Lutheran Church was established and designated as a mission congregation in Nampa, Idaho.

"We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done!"

-Psalm 78:4

Timeline

1972

May - Mrs. William Leder of Fruitland, ID wrote to the WELS. Pastor Ralph Baur, chairman of the Pacific Northwest Mission Board, contacted Mrs. Leder, and set up a meeting in the home of Jackie Hatch in Fruitland. Pastor Warren Widmann, Pacific Northwest missionary, then contacted interested people in Idaho, held services and did spot canvassing in Boise, Payette, Emmett, and Ontario.

October - Exploratory services in Emmett, Ontario, and Nampa.

1973

Monthly services held in Nampa, at the Women’s Century Club.

March - First Communion Service

Messiah Lutheran Missionary Society is organized shortly after Messiah became a church. Women served on alter committee, kitchen, funeral committee, visited the ill and new members. Organization eventually became Wed afternoon bible class.

July 22 - Pastor Ron Mehlberg was ordained and installed as the first pastor of the only WELS congregation in Idaho. The church was designated as a mission, which made it eligible for financial support from the WELS. (He served here until April 1978.) The services continued in the Century Club. Pastor Gordon Peters from Pocatello conducts interim services.

October 1974

Messiah’s building site was purchased for $21, 000 with a loan from WELS CEF.

May 1975

Groundbreaking for the parsonage, which was completed in October, at a cost of $43,000. The parsonage was sold in 2002.

1976

April - WELS Board of Trustees approved funding in the amount of $177,351.

August 29 - Ground Breaking for the new church.

October 15 - New Parsonage occupied.

November 7 - Parsonage dedicated.

1977

April 7 - First Service in the new church - Maundy Thursday, Pastor Widmann

April 17 - Dedication of the new sanctuary. At the time of dedication, there were 130 souls with 88 communicant members. Average Sunday attendance 65.

July 1978

Pastor Beck Goldbeck was installed as Messiah’s new pastor after Pastor Mehlberg accepted a call to Vancouver WA. Pastor Goldbeck accepted a call to El Paso, Texas in December 1980. Pastor Peters again conducts services. Membership dwindles to 40 members.

May 1981

Pastor Mark Cares installed as pastor. He arrived with his wife, Bonnie, and their four children - Jenny, Erin, Adam, and Jeremy from Boulder, CO. Their youngest daughter, Natasha, is an Idaho Native.

1980’s

During the 80’s various attempts were made to minister to the scattered membership and to reach other communities. Weekly services were held for a number of years in Ontario and Boise. Monthly services were also held in Mountain Home and Gooding. In 1984 pews were purchased from a Baptist church in Boise.

1988

Messiah became self supporting. Prior, subsidy came from WELS

1989

February - Outreach to Mormons program picks up steam. With a generous grant from WELS Kingdom Workers, a second pastor was called in order to give Pastor Cares more time to work on this program.

July - Pastor Mark Franck was installed as our second pastor. He served from 1989-1992 when he accepted a call to Redeemer in Yakima, WA.

1991

Pastor Cares begins teaching classes to better understand mormonism.

1992

Portable building was bought for Sunday School

1993

Outreach begins to the Vietnamese community of the Treasure Valley with weekly bible classes. Mr. Vihn Phan is a faithful interpreter.

OWLS began. Organization of Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Seniors.

Pastor Cares book, Speaking the Truth in Love to Mormons, is published.

May 1994

Pastor John Steinbrenner was commissioned as a missionary to West Boise. In 1995 Cross of Christ Lutheran Church began holding weekly services with a core group of members from Messiah. Over the years, we have rejoiced to watch the Lord richly bless our sister congregation.

1995

Youth group became active.

50 members transfer to Boise - Cross of Christ

Barnabas Society - Reaches sick and shut-ins.

September 1996

Messiah’s Children Preschool began with 10 students and teacher, Sue Clark. The preschool is starting its 28th year and currently has 62 students registered.

July 1997

Pastor Rick Tuttle was installed as Messiah’s second pastor to give Pastor Cares time to develop more resources for our Outreach to Mormons. He served until 1999. Choir meets every Monday.

1998

Messiah celebrates 25th Anniversary

August 1998

Pastor Dan Kramer, our former vicar, was commissioned as a missionary to the Vietnamese community. We now rejoice in the fellowship we enjoy with another sister congregation, Peace in Jesus Vietnamese Lutheran Church.

January 2002

We dedicated our new education wing and expanded fellowship hall.

2003

Kitchen renovation.

2005

Chapel expansion, seating capacity increased to 210.

January 2005

Truth in Love Ministry (formerly Outreach to Mormons) was incorporated as a separate ministry.

May 19th, 2005

Mark D. Gunderson was assigned to be our second pastor to help compensate for Pastor Cares’ services as Chairman of the Board for Home Missions. He served until October 2007.

February 17, 2008

Pastor Howard Mohlke was installed as our associate pastor in a special afternoon service. He was our senior pastor, as Pastor Cares was spending a larger percentage of his time on the Truth in Love Ministry. Pastor Mohlke served until June 2017.

Summer 2010

Our portable building was redecorated and renamed “Messiah’s Kids Church”

July 1, 2011

Pastor Mark Cares moved full time into the Truth in Love Ministry. He was president of TILM and missionary to Mormons.

2014

A second pastor is needed to assist while Pastor Mohlke was on World Board of Missions.

Pastor Edward Frey, wife Christy and four boys join Messiah. He served until 2020.

June 2021

Pastor Justin Gran, wife Emily and three children, Maggie, Martin and Julianna arrive from Tempe, Arizona.

2022

Messiah purchases building next door to be renovated for Preschool, classrooms and Family Ministry Center.

October 1, 2023

Messiah celebrates 50th Anniversary!

Celebrate the Present

Messiah is currently a congregation of 319 souls. When you come to Messiah on any given Sunday, you'll find a church family of all ages. Some members have been here for decades, others have been here for less than a year. Whatever your case may be, we gather around the unchanging Word of God as one family in the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

"This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!"

-Psalm 118:24

What makes Messiah, Messiah?

Our Mission

Our mission can be summed up as, "Knowing Jesus - Sharing his love."

The two go hand-in-hand! The more we know Jesus and are fed by his grace through his Word and Sacrament (Communion and Baptism), the more we are equipped to share Jesus and his love with each other and our community!

Our Core Values

These values capture who the Messiah family is. These are what makes Messiah, Messiah!

Servant Heart
Members of the Messiah family are eager to take ownership of their congregation. Many serve in different ways. Some serve in ways that are seen, and others serve behind the scenes in ways only the Lord and a few others know.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord" (Colossians 3:23).

A Caring Community
At Messiah, you will find Christians that care about each other. Members of the church family develop lifelong relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ and find great support through life's ups and downs. Many first-time guests comment on the welcoming atmosphere and the caring community they observe.

"Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers" (Galatians 6:10).

Anchored in the Word
Our world is constantly changing, but God and his promises never change. Amid the confusion and hopelessness of our world, we find answers and hope at Messiah because all we do is anchored in the unchanging Word of God. In his unchanging Word, we find his love and forgiveness. We find guidance to live in this world as his children.

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God" (Colossians 3:16).

Adaptable
While the good news of Jesus never changes, the ways we reach people with the gospel and the ways we do ministry adapt. We may have "done things a certain way" for years but the Lord in his wisdom may redirect our plans. Messiah is uncompromising in the gospel we share, but appropriately flexible in carrying out gospel ministry. For example, in the past Messiah demonstrated eagerness in reaching the Vietnamese community as the opportunity presented itself. Presently, Messiah is excited to cross language and cultural barriers to reach our Spanish speaking neighbors.

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15).

Outreach Focused
What we enjoy as a close and caring church family, we want to share with others who are not part of the Messiah family or the family of Christ. We strive to create an atmosphere that welcomes new-comers and we host events that open doors to sharing Jesus. However, the most effective outreach happens when our members patiently listen and share the gospel they know and cherish so well with friends and family.

“Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." (Mk 16:15).

Grow the Future

Each day is a gift of God's Grace. The Lord ultimately knows what the future will hold. As we reflect on the last 50 years and have witnessed countless blessings, we trust that our gracious God will grow his church according to his good will.

"Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen."

-2 Peter 3:18

Our future plans

In February 2022, 17 members who serve and lead in various ways gathered to set a vision plan for the next 6 years. Those plans include:

Family Ministry Center

God is already blessing and redirecting those plans! We had planned to construct a Family Ministry Center by 2028 on our property. God had different plans. Messiah unanimously decided to purchase the adjacent commercial property in June 2022 and renovations were completed in August 2023.

The expanded space will facilitate a growth in preschool enrollment, more adequate space for Sunday School and Kids Church, and additional space for in-reach and outreach ministries.

Nurturing and equipping the souls already in the Messiah family

Our future plans include opportunities to build up our members with the Word of God by:

Increasing Bible study opportunities
Developing a shepherding program to better connect with and encourage every member.
Equipping members to confidently live and share their faith through evangelism training.
Matching members with service opportunities.

Reaching out to more souls in our community

Our future plans have in mind those in our communities whom we intentionally want to reach with the gospel:

Families with young children. Messiah's Children preschool has been serving families for 28 years. Added space in the Family ministry center will allow us to double our enrollment in the coming years.
Future plans also include an after-school program to reach families from the nearby community.
Hispanic/Spanish speaking community. Exploratory work is already taking place with the help of Pastor Tim Flunker, our church body's Hispanic ministry consultant. We are planning to offer English classes in the fall of 2023 or spring of 2024 as a way to connect with Spanish speakers and open doors to sharing the gospel.
New Residents. Nampa continues to see an influx of new residents. We regularly have new residents visit Messiah. We want to prepare to welcome new residents who walk through our doors, and with the help of every member, reach out to new neighbors with the good news of Jesus.

Refreshed in Grace