A 75-Year Story in Southgate
Christ The King Lutheran Church began in 1951 in Southgate, Michigan, a Downriver community just south of Detroit. From those early days, the congregation has grown into a multi-faceted ministry that now includes two campuses, a preschool-through-eighth-grade school, a childcare center, a food pantry, and a resale shop. The church belongs to The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and traces its mission to connecting people to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Seventy-five years into its ministry, the congregation looks both backward and forward at what it has become.
Two Campuses on the East Side of Downriver
The original Trenton Road Campus sits at 15600 Trenton Road, across from the MJR Movie Theatre. Most weekend worship, the school, the music ministry offices, the gym, and the church offices call this address home. Office hours run 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM, Monday through Friday.
The Pennsylvania Road Campus, added in 2006 and located at 16700 Pennsylvania Road, is the community-facing side of Christ The King. It houses the Event Center, the Childcare Center, the Donation Station resale shop, and the Food Pantry. The church's outreach ministries, including concerts, events, and programs for the surrounding area, are run from this property under the leadership of Director of Campus Outreach Chance Childers.
Worship on Saturdays, Sundays, and Summer Nights
Christ The King offers three weekend services each week at the Trenton Road Campus. Saturday worship begins at 5:00 PM, followed by an hour-long Bible Study in the West Gallery at 6:00 PM. Sunday services are at 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM, with a 10:00 AM hour between them that includes Bible Study, Sunday School, and the 411 Kids Ministry. The Saturday evening and 9:00 AM Sunday services are traditional, drawing on organ, piano, choir, brass ensemble, and handbells. The 11:00 AM service is contemporary and features a full praise band and singers. The sermon and order of worship remain the same in every service, despite the music changing.
On selected summer evenings, the congregation gathers for a 7:00 PM Summer Holiday Worship service at the Pennsylvania Road Campus. Holy Communion is celebrated at each service. The church practices the two LCMS sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion, using the words of Jesus for both. Visitors who would like to learn more about the church's teaching on Communion will find a printed explanation in the announcements handed out at the Welcome Desk.
What a First-Time Visitor Finds
Christ The King has put serious thought into a first visit. Newcomers who come to a weekend service pull into the north parking lot off Trenton Road; the south lot is a backup if the north one fills up. Visitor spots sit across from the main entrance under the overhang. Inside the long gallery, a clearly marked "New Here? Start Here" Welcome Desk is staffed on Sundays. Saturdays do not yet have a staffed desk, but greeters and ushers downstream are glad to help with questions, restrooms, and seating.
Greeters and ushers hand each visitor an announcement sheet and offer a bulletin; large screens at the front and wings of the sanctuary carry every word of the service for anyone who would rather follow along. Kids who come along can pick up a tote bag with coloring sheets and quiet toys; the totes are reused each week, so families return them to the ushers after the service. A children's sermon is part of each service. Children are invited to come forward to listen to the pastor before the main sermon begins, with no pressure on those who prefer to stay in their seats.
After the service, one of the pastors greets visitors at the sanctuary doors. Visitors are encouraged to fill out a Connection Card in the pew or at the Welcome Desk, and the staff follows up by email with a welcome gift. Snacks and coffee are served after the Saturday service in the West Gallery and after the 9:00 AM Sunday service in the gym, alongside Bible Study.
The LCMS Faith at Christ The King
The congregation is confessionally LCMS, and the church gives a careful summary of what that means. The church teaches that God created the world as perfect around 6,000 years ago; that Adam and Eve fell into sin, bringing death into the world; and that God promised a Savior who would defeat sin, death, and the devil. That Savior, Jesus Christ, was born of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit, lived a perfect life, took on the sins of the world through His Baptism, suffered and died on the cross, descended into hell to announce victory, and physically rose from the dead on the third day.
The Bible is taught as the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God, written by forty different people under the direct influence of God. The Old Testament and the New Testament are read as one cohesive story pointing to Jesus. Two sacraments are practiced: Holy Baptism and Holy Communion, both instituted by Jesus and administered with His words.
Anyone weary or burdened is invited in. "Your sins have been paid for," the teaching reads, "and it's God's will that you live with this joy and faith."
A Preschool Through Eighth-Grade School
Christ The King Lutheran School and Childcare Center is part of the church's mission to families in the Downriver area. The school, serving preschool through 8th grade, runs from the Trenton Road Campus. A Lutheran teacher is assigned to each grade from preschool through eighth grade, with an Enrollment Director and Administrative Assistant handling admissions and front-office work. The school's online home is ctkpanthers.com.
The Childcare Center, for infants through age three, operates from the Pennsylvania Road Campus. Jessica Anderson Smith directs the Childcare Center, with Mary Waara as Director Assistant. Both programs share the school's Christ-focused philosophy and are listed as ministries of Christ The King.
411 Kids and the Rooted in Christ Youth Group
Children's ministry at Christ The King is organized under the 411 Kids Ministry. Sunday School meets weekly at 10:00 AM for children from preschool through 6th grade, in the classrooms at Trenton Road. A Special Connections option, for children with special needs, meets at the same time in the Cana Room, with applications available at the Ministry Center. A Parent Tot Class also meets at 10:00 AM for the youngest families.
The Rooted in Christ Youth Group is the high school ministry, meeting weekly on Sunday evenings at 6:00 PM at the Pennsylvania Road Campus. Youth nights include games, sports, snacks, fellowship, and a Bible-based study. Trips each winter and summer, plus fundraisers like pancake breakfasts and a spring craft show, give teens a fuller group culture. Gina Davidson leads the youth group.
Music Across Generations
Music ministry at Christ The King is led by Minister of Music Tim Bode and touches every weekend service in some way. The Chancel Choir sings for Christmas Eve, Easter, and other services throughout the year, rehearsing Wednesdays at 6:30 PM. The Instrumental Ensemble, including the Brass Ensemble, Christmas Orchestra, and Easter Orchestra, plays for major services. King's Ringers, the adult handbell choir, rehearses Thursdays at 3:45 PM in the Upper Room at Trenton Road and performs through the church year outside the summer months. A Praise Band of guitarists, percussionists, bassists, and singers provides the contemporary music for the 11:00 AM service.
All musicians are volunteers. A CTK Music Ministry Facebook group lets anyone interested learn more or sign up.
Food, Furniture, and the Love Thy Neighbor Fund
The Pennsylvania Road Campus is where much of the community work happens. The Food Pantry distributes groceries every Thursday from 3:00 to 3:45 PM in a drive-through line at Building #12. Volunteers shop at Meijer, unload Gleaners orders, transport food between campuses, and staff the Thursday distribution. The pantry does not require Southgate residency; people from anywhere in Michigan are welcome, though the church tries to refer those coming from far away to closer pantries. No deliveries are currently available, but the church office will work to connect people in emergency situations with a partner pantry.
The Donation Station is the church's resale shop, open Thursdays from 12:00 to 2:00 PM and Saturdays from 10:00 AM to noon. Volunteers sort, price, and cashier, and donations are accepted throughout the week. Carol Cashmer directs the operation.
Love Thy Neighbor is the church's benevolence fund, directed by Garrett Tank. Its mission is to put the love of Jesus Christ into action through donations, prayer, and church-and-community generosity. The fund helps with food, housing, utilities, medical costs, and other hardships, and applications are accepted online. A "Meet the Family" feature on the program page gives a face to the people being helped.
The Event Center, developed at the Pennsylvania Campus, serves as a venue for concerts, comedy acts, conferences, sports camps, and select CTK ministries. Bookings are handled through Chance Childers.
Spiritual Care, Military Prayer, and Guatemala
Spiritual Care Ministry visits members who are hospitalized, in rehab, in a nursing home, or homebound. Led by Director of Spiritual Care Harry Dutka, the team brings a devotion, distributes Holy Communion, and leaves bulletins with those who cannot attend services. Anyone who would like a visit or a phone call can contact the church office at 734-285-9695.
The Military Ministry keeps a steady prayer effort for service members, veterans, and their families and partners with a chaplain through the Adopt-a-Chap program. Updates from the chaplain appear on the ministry page.
Christ The King also supports international missions through Children's HopeChest. Since 2024, the church has partnered with Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Lakeland, Colorado, on a long-term Guatemala initiative. Members sponsor children and support a community working to escape poverty; trip videos from Pastors Jay and Brooks document the work.
Adult Life at CTK: Studies, Groups, and Service
Bible study and small group life at Christ The King takes many shapes. The Men's Bible Study meets Fridays at 8:00 AM at the Pennsylvania Campus; the Women's Bible Study meets Wednesdays at 9:00 AM at the same location. A Teen Bible Study meets Sundays at 10:00 AM in the Trenton Road Library. Confirmation Classes are taught on a rotating schedule. A New Member Class starts each fall, walking through the foundations of the Christian faith in a study of Christianity "consistent with reason and grounded in reality."
Lay-led groups cover a wide range of interests. Toolbelt Tuesday gathers at 8:00 AM on Tuesdays at the Penn Campus for fix-it projects, grass cutting, and building maintenance, opening with a devotion. The Gather and Grow Book Club meets once a month, usually on the last Monday at 6:30 PM, alternating between Christian fiction and non-fiction. A Co-Ed Volleyball group plays Tuesdays at 7:00 PM. A Walking Club meets seasonally through the summer. A monthly Euchre night is held in the Upper Room at Trenton Road. A Sewing Circle meets Mondays at 10:00 AM at the Penn Campus for sewing, knitting, and crochet projects for the community. Alcoholics Anonymous meets Saturdays at 7:00 PM at Trenton Road. The 59+ group, for people over fifty-nine, gathers monthly at the Trenton Road Cana Room for fellowship, games, and crafts.
Pastors and Directors Who Lead the Work
Pastor Jay (Jason) Cashmer serves as Executive Pastor, and Pastor PJ Brooks as Associate Pastor. Pastor Terry Cashmer and Pastor Harry Edenfield are listed as Pastors Emeriti. Lynn Konkel and Mary Voelz are the school's Interim Principals. Harry Dutka directs Spiritual Care. Jessica Anderson Smith directs the Childcare Center. Tim Bode is the Minister of Music. Chance Childers directs campus outreach, including the Event Center. Carol Cashmer directs the Donation Station. Garrett Tank directs the Love Thy Neighbor initiative. Gina Davidson leads the youth group.
The church streams services weekly at 9:00 AM and keeps a YouTube channel of past services and a separate weekly show, The Church Office, hosted by Pastors Jay and Brooks. Online giving is available through Access ACS and Zeffy, and contributions can also be mailed to the church office or texted by sending CTKGIVE to 73256.