Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church stands on North Adams Road in Bloomfield Hills, just northwest of Detroit, where members gather around a shared motto: "Beautiful Savior is a biblically grounded community who unites to follow and share the way of Jesus." A member congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Beautiful Savior draws worshipers from across Metro Detroit, with some driving in from neighboring communities and others joining online from across the country. The congregation describes itself as "wonderful, friendly, spirit-filled, yet imperfect people," and centers its life on communal prayer, music, Bible study, repentance, praise, and offerings.
Two Sunday Services, One Family
Beautiful Savior runs two Sunday worship services that share a liturgy of repentance, praise, Communion, and a reaffirmation of baptismal promises, but differ in musical style.
The Sunday Traditional service begins at 9:00 a.m. Hymns are accompanied by organ and piano, with special music from the choir and handbell choir. The sanctuary is set up to be family-friendly, and pew packs filled with drawing and writing supplies are available for children of all ages. On the 1st and 3rd Sundays from September through June, toddlers and young children are invited to step out of the pew for Wiggle Worship, where they learn about God's love through action songs, instruments, and hands-on activities. They return during the offering to receive a blessing and share what they learned with the congregation.
At 10:15 a.m., between services, the Welcome Center fills with coffee, tea, and treats, and breakout Bible study sessions open for tots, kids, teens, and adults.
The Sunday Contemporary service begins at 11:15 a.m., with contemporary Christian music led by a worship team. The description emphasizes an "upbeat experience but not overly amplified," with a more comfortable sound level. While Wiggle Worship is not offered at this hour, a Children's Message is given each Sunday, and the more open sanctuary layout is favored by many families.
Beautiful Savior also livestreams its worship on YouTube and Facebook Live, posts recordings that can be watched anytime, and offers a Virtual Blue Slip so online worshipers can mark their attendance. Members who cannot attend in person can also arrange home communion kits to be mailed or picked up by calling the church office.
The Service of the Word for Wholeness
One of the most distinctive offerings at Beautiful Savior is the Service of the Word for Wholeness, held on the third Sunday of each month in the chapel. Music begins at 10:05 a.m. and the service at 10:15 a.m. Worshipers gather to renew their baptism through scripture, anointing with oil, laying on of hands, personal and group prayer, and fellowship.
The service is grounded in the conviction that "all healing is of God." It is open to anyone grieving a loss, going through divorce, living with addiction, facing illness, caring for someone in need, or simply seeking wisdom and peace. The congregation teaches that God does not promise escape from suffering, but promises presence within it, and that the deepest healing is reconciliation with God.
A Music Ministry With a Concert Hall Feel
Music is woven through nearly every aspect of Beautiful Savior life. Julie Steinmayer leads the program as Minister of Music. Adult choir rehearsals are held Thursdays from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. in the Music Room, and two handbell choirs meet on Thursdays as well - an evening group at 6:00 p.m. and a morning group at 10:30 a.m., with a Beginning Handbell Choir at 12:00 p.m. A praise band rehearses Sundays at 10:15 a.m. before leading the 11:15 service. Youth can serve as worship musicians too, joining either the traditional or contemporary ensembles.
The Beautiful Savior Concert Series, sponsored by Robert Hoffman, brings professional guest artists into the sanctuary throughout the year. Recent seasons have featured jazz, classical, brass, organ, and world music performances by artists such as Alexander Zonjic, Sean Blackman's In Transit, the Michigan Flute Orchestra, the Five Lakes Silver Band, the Dave Bennett Quartet, Classical Bells, the Motor City Chorale, Orchestra Sono, the North Oakland Dixieland Band, the Mack Sisters Piano Duo, and Vanessa Rubin with the Scott Gwinnell Quartet. Concerts are generally non-ticketed with a free-will offering. A Sunday Morning Guest Artist Series also weaves featured musicians into the 9:00 a.m. worship services themselves, with guest artists joining Julie and the music team to lead music from around 8:50 a.m.
The church also runs a small Music Academy offering private lessons in voice, piano, violin, and viola, and maintains a circulating library of jazz CDs donated by the Lee family.
Children, Youth, and Family Ministry
Children and youth are central to Beautiful Savior's identity. Margie Turowski directs Youth and Family Ministry, and Karyn Parker leads Children's Worship. On Sunday mornings between the two services, age-appropriate Sunday School meets at 10:10 a.m. from September through May, with storytelling, Bible verses, crafts, and play. A Children's Message is also offered each Sunday during the contemporary service, and a future "Tiny Blessings" hour for parents and newborns is in development.
For older children, the church runs a Middle School Catechism Class (grades 6-8) preparing students to affirm their baptism, and Sunday High School Hangouts where teens apply faith to daily life. Youth of all ages are invited into worship leadership as acolytes, scripture readers, praise band members, communion assistants, projectionists, sound techs, greeters, and ushers, and they lead worship twice a year at Christmas and Mother's Day. First Communion Instruction is offered to early-elementary students and their parents, typically planned for second graders. Social activities - from TreeRunner Adventure course outings to game nights and trivia - round out the youth calendar.
For parents, two programs run side by side. The MomCo (formerly MOPS) meets on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., October through May, offering breakfast, speakers, table discussions, and crafts while children enjoy supervised play, crafts, music, and snacks. Moms Making Meals (To Go!) gathers a small group in the church kitchen to chop, mix, and package five to eight homemade freezer meals per session. Family-friendly events run throughout the year, from a Fall Family Gathering and Pizza Party to apple picking, Christmas cookie decorating, and a Summer Send-off church-wide picnic.
Care Ministries That Walk With People
Beautiful Savior operates one of the more extensive lay-care ministries in the area. The cornerstone is Stephen Ministry, which trains and deploys lay people to provide one-to-one, confidential, Christ-centered care to those experiencing difficult life circumstances. Around it sit a constellation of other ministries:
- Prayer Team - weekly prayer warriors who lift up specific requests submitted by email.
- Eucharistic Ministry - taking consecrated communion to the sick, homebound, and those in hospital or nursing care.
- Telecare - regular phone, text, and email check-ins to keep members connected.
- Transportation - rides to church and other errands for members and friends in need.
- Breaking Bread Ministry - sharing meals with those in need across the wider community.
- Funeral Meals - catered meals hosted at the church for grieving families.
- Piecemakers - quilters, knitters, and crocheters who make baby blankets and layettes for the Christ Child Society and comfort quilts for members and friends facing illness or trauma.
- GriefShare - a 13-week support group offered in the fall, plus a "Surviving the Holidays" event each November.
A Columbarium and Memorial Garden on the church grounds provides a peaceful, in-church option for cremated remains, and Beautiful Savior's Pastor Nik teaches that cremation is acceptable within the Lutheran tradition.
Small Groups, Bible Study, and Faith Formation
Bible study at Beautiful Savior happens in many shapes. Six-week small group series run throughout the year, meeting in homes, the church, and on Zoom. Recent studies have included "The Walk," "Moses: Building a Community," "What On Earth Are We Here For," "40 Days in the Word," "Sermon on the Mount," and "Counterfeit Gods." The current series, "Questions Jesus Asked," is based on Magrey R. DeVega's book and meets in four groups on Sunday evenings, Tuesday evenings, and Wednesday mornings.
Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Niklaus Schillack produces a weekly Brief Bible Dive video on YouTube, exploring a single Hebrew word from the week's Psalm or passage. The series now stretches back several years. Seasonal studies like "Summer in the Psalms" supplement Sunday worship with deeper weekday exploration led by Pastor Nik, Pastor Diane, and other leaders.
Two weekly circles gather women in Bible study - the Esther Circle on the fourth Thursday at 11:30 a.m. in the Welcome Center Lounge, and the Bethany Circle (monthly) on Wednesdays at 11:45 a.m. The Soul Sisters Bible Study meets Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. WINGS (Women In God's Service) plans a variety of events, fundraisers, and outreach projects, including the annual Woman of the Year luncheon. The Brotherhood, gathering men of all ages, hosts monthly dinner meetings with guest speakers and occasional outings like a Detroit Auto Show trip.
Other long-running groups include the Piecemakers (quilters), the Investment Club (a fully licensed Michigan LLC since 2000), and two book clubs: Friends of Friends and Ravenous Readers. BSLC Hikers heads out the second Saturday of each month for an hour on the trail at a different location.
Outreach Across Metro Detroit and Around the World
The Outreach Ministry Committee meets monthly to direct support to a wide range of Southeast Michigan charities, including Lighthouse (formerly SOS), Christ Child Society, Forgotten Harvest, Gleaners Community Food Bank, Grace Centers of Hope, Haven Women's Shelter, Samaritas, Lutheran Adoption Services, and Humble Design. Beautiful Savior members prepare, package, and deliver meals to homeless families rebuilding their lives through Lighthouse. Annual food collections on First Fruits Sundays stock local pantries, and a Thanksgiving Food Drive each fall partners with Lighthouse and Spirit of Grace Church to feed families in need. Donations can also be shipped directly from an Amazon wishlist.
The annual Forever Home Run raises funds for Lutheran Adoption Services, which works to place children across Michigan's foster care system into loving adoptive homes.
Globally, Beautiful Savior supports Lutheran World Relief, Lutheran Disaster Response, and the ELCA World Hunger Fund. The church also sustains a long-standing relationship with its sister congregation, Gendabi Lutheran Church in Tanzania, and has formed a Ukrainian Welcome Team to support a family resettling in the area.
Stewardship, Endowment, and the "Faith In Action" Plan
Beautiful Savior's 2026 stewardship theme is "Faith In Action," centered on three imperatives: helping members discover and deploy their spiritual gifts, strengthening the 11:15 a.m. contemporary service, and investing more deeply in outreach beyond the building. Annual offerings support general operations, property maintenance, and the Pastor's Discretionary Fund, which provides small gifts - gas cards, grocery cards - to those with short-term needs.
The long-standing Matthew 25 Fund supports a monthly meal for 70 men at Grace Centers of Hope and underwrites donations to Baldwin Center, ELCA World Hunger, South Oakland Shelter, and Troy People Concerned. The Ministerial Scholarship Fund supports seminary students from the congregation.
For longer-term mission support, the Beautiful Savior Endowment Fund invests gifts as principal, using only the earnings to launch ministries, develop the campus, and empower outreach. Gifts can be made securely online through Realm Connect. A separate First Fruits Sunday food collection and ongoing memorial giving programs round out the giving picture. Online giving can be directed toward general operations, property maintenance, the Pastor's Discretionary Fund, the Matthew 25 Fund, the Endowment, the Ministerial Scholarship Fund, or the church's bookstore purchases.
Planning a Visit
The church building sits at 5631 North Adams Road in Bloomfield Hills. Office hours run Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Anyone considering a first visit is encouraged to call (248) 646-5041 to arrange a visit.
The main building and Sanctuary are wheelchair accessible. For those who need help hearing, Beautiful Savior offers a Listen Wi-Fi Assisted Hearing System for Bluetooth-enabled hearing aids and smartphones (download the "Listen Everywhere" app and connect to "Listen5ghz"), plus traditional headsets and receivers available from the ushers. Worship is in English, and visitors from any Christian background are warmly welcomed - Beautiful Savior is happy to host non-members for Communion and encourages anyone curious about either worship style to try both.
For those unable to attend in person, services are livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook Live, recorded for anytime viewing, and supported by a Prayer Team that lifts up submitted requests. With two Sunday services, a monthly healing service, an extensive music program, intergenerational care ministries, and a five-year strategic plan titled "Deep Roots, New Life," Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church continues its long work of following and sharing the way of Jesus in Bloomfield Hills.