Immanuel Lutheran Church stands on Luther Way in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, a suburb southwest of Minneapolis. The congregation has lived by a simple tagline for years: Called to Care. Sent to Serve. That phrase shapes everything from Sunday morning worship to the Wednesday night cafe to quilts stitched for Lutheran World Relief. Immanuel belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and works within the Minneapolis Area Synod.
A Welcome With No Exceptions
The congregation extends a welcome that begins: "You are welcome to share in God's love and grace. You are welcome no matter your race or culture, sexual orientation, gender identity, or relationship status. You are welcome without regard to anything that divides us." Immanuel specifically names LGBTQIA+ people as included and frames its welcome as an expression of unity in Christ, not a set of conditions. That stance carries through Sunday worship, the Sunday School classrooms, and every program for children, youth, and adults.
Worship on Weekends
Three weekend services anchor the life of the church. On Saturday evenings from September through May, an informal traditional service is held at 5:00 pm with Holy Communion each week. On Sunday mornings, a traditional service follows at 9:00 am and a contemporary service at 10:30 am. Both Sunday services are livestreamed and remain available for replay on the church's YouTube channel.
Holy Communion is open to everyone. It is celebrated at every Saturday service and on the first and third Sundays of each month at both Sunday services. Children who come with an open hand, along with youth and adults, are invited to receive the bread and wine. Ushers are ready to help anyone who is approaching the table for the first time.
Two monthly rhythms shape the program year. One Story Sundays invite the whole congregation to read, learn, and discuss the same Bible passage across age groups and classrooms. Everybody Worship Sundays pause Sunday School and God Squad for a day so families can worship together without choosing between the sanctuary and the classrooms.
Children at the Center of Sunday Morning
Immanuel rejoices in having children present in the sanctuary. The occasional noise and activity of small worshipers is part of the promise made at each child's baptism, walking alongside caregivers in faith formation. A Children's Worship Center with quiet activities and a few soft friends sits just outside the sanctuary doors. A nursery cares for children under three, and a dedicated space is available for nursing mothers off the nursery.
Sunday School for ages three through grade four meets at both Sunday services, and God Squad serves grades five and six at the same hours. Children's Music brings young voices into worship through choirs and instruments. The Stepping Stones milestones mark important moments in a child's faith journey, from baptism through First Communion. Vacation Bible School, summer parties, family camping, Trunk or Treat, and Parents' Night Out fill out the year.
Youth Ministry and Confirmation
Confirmation is an intentional three-year walk that begins in seventh grade. Each year gathers students and parents for a Stepping Stone:
- Seventh grade: Introduction to Confirmation, with practice in acolyting, taking sermon notes, family devotions, and Bible reading.
- Eighth grade: Healthy relationships and the transition into high school.
- Ninth grade: A series called Stepping Behind the Wheel, built around the year many students begin to drive, with a Driving Covenant and honest conversation about peer pressure.
- Tenth grade: Final preparations for Confirmation, including writing a personal Faith Statement.
High school students have a separate track with student leadership, fellowship, the annual Youth Rejoice music service, and service-learning trips. Recent groups have traveled to Mexico City to walk alongside AMEXTRA and to Tanzania to visit the Institute for Child Healthcare Africa in Arusha, where Immanuel partners Dr. Steve and Jodi Swanson work to save premature infants in a neonatal intensive care unit.
Music That Fills the Sanctuary
Music at Immanuel draws on voices and instruments of all ages. Kyung Ko leads the music ministry; Jeong Lee serves as staff organist and accompanist, and Joan Meyer staffs the Saturday organ bench. Two adult choirs enrich worship across the church year: the Epiphany Choir under Christina Orton and the Ascension Choir under Julie Kruse. Instrumentalists, bell ringers, and a contemporary band round out the offerings that support both traditional and contemporary services.
Wednesdays in the Atrium
Most Wednesday evenings, the Atrium fills with neighbors for the Wednesday Cafe'. Between 5:15 pm and 6:15 pm a home-cooked dinner with dessert is served hot. Adults pay $5, children ten and under pay $2.50, and the program is free for anyone for whom the cost is a burden; the church's standing invitation is to accept the meal as a gift. The weekly menu rotates through comfort food (tacos, pasta, hot dogs and tots, pizza) and gives families, seniors, newcomers, and anyone looking for a real table a natural place to land.
Bible Study and book groups meet in smaller settings on other days of the week. The fellowship calendar adds seasonal events such as Anna's Craft Sale, a craft and donation bazaar started by an Immanuel child that raises money for unhoused families served by Simpson Housing in the Twin Cities.
Care, Prayer, and Grief Support
Pastoral care runs through a Care Team that meets monthly to coordinate congregational support. Deacon Savannah Olaphson oversees this work alongside a Card Ministry that sends monthly notes, a Soup Ministry that puts meals in the hands of those recovering from surgery or illness, prayer shawls and baptismal blankets knitted by volunteers, and an active prayer chain. Mental health is treated as a serious part of the church's pastoral care, and resources include national hotlines, regional organizations such as NAMI and Mental Health Connect, and a roster of local therapists for grief, trauma, perinatal concerns, and LGBTQ-affirming counseling.
Immanuel is a member of the Southwest Grief Coalition, a network of southwest-suburban churches that runs faith-based grief support series in cooperation with congregations such as Family of Christ in Chanhassen.
Service Near and Far
The congregation gives generously of its income to benevolence each year, funding an unusually wide roster of partners. Locally, members volunteer with Habitat for Humanity (no construction experience required, with a minimum age of sixteen), serve lunch at Simpson House in Minneapolis through a monthly carpool from Immanuel's parking lot, prepare meals with The Humanity Alliance for families in Carver and Hennepin counties, and help cook and serve at Salem Lutheran Church's community meals in north Minneapolis. A small Disciple Garden on the campus sends its harvest directly to the PROP food shelf.
In schools, an annual back-to-school supply drive benefits three partners: Prairie View Elementary, Cristo Obrero, and Cornerstone. Diapers and wipes are delivered to a Redeemer Lutheran food shelf in north Minneapolis on the first Saturday of each month.
Globally, Immanuel partners with AMEXTRA in Mexico City, the Institute for Child Healthcare Africa in Tanzania, Lutheran World Relief, and ELCA World Hunger. International trips are planned every year or two so that members can walk alongside these partners in person.
Thirty Years of Quilts, Sixty-five Years of Art
The Piecemaker Quilters have been meeting at Immanuel since 1993. In three decades, the group has produced more than 3,400 quilts that have traveled through Lutheran World Relief to people around the world. Hand-delivered batches have even reached Arusha, where Immanuel quilters met the ICHA team in 2024.
The congregation itself is marking 65 years of ministry on Luther Way, and a collection of artwork spanning that history hangs inside the building. The campus also includes a columbarium, giving members the option of interring cremated remains on church grounds, and an Atrium and meeting spaces that host concerts, the Wednesday Cafe', summer worship, and community events throughout the year.
Grace Alone, on a Lutheran Path
Immanuel is grounded in Lutheran theology: salvation by grace through faith, scripture as the unfolding story of God and humanity, worship as the regular place to be fed and sent, and generosity as a faithful response to God's gifts. The mission is simple:
- Celebrate that God is with us.
- Grow as Christ works in us.
- Serve as the Spirit loves through us.
The vision pushes the congregation deeper into itself and further into the community. Immanuel intentionally works for justice on issues of race, sexuality, peace, equity, poverty, and the environment, and welcomes into membership anyone who wishes to follow Christ in this Lutheran tradition.
Knowing What to Expect on a First Visit
Immanuel Lutheran Church gathers at 16515 Luther Way in Eden Prairie, just southwest of Minneapolis. Weekend worship includes Saturday at 5:00 pm (September through May), Sunday traditional at 9:00 am, and Sunday contemporary at 10:30 am. Members are encouraged to leave the closer spaces for visitors by carpooling and using the Kowalski's parking lot south of the church.
Children are welcome in worship at every service. A nursery and quiet activity bags serve younger children; Sunday School for ages three through grade four and God Squad for grades five and six meet at both Sunday services. The single-floor building is wheelchair accessible, with accessible parking and automatic doors at the north and west entrances. Communion is open to all. Giving is offered online through the church's secure giving platform, and a member account system called MyChurch provides access to the directory, giving history, and volunteer sign-ups.
Leadership
Senior Pastor Daniel Nelson leads the congregation with Deacon Savannah Olaphson, who oversees caring ministry, formation, and outreach. Paul Erdmann directs youth and family ministry, Grace Porter directs children, youth, and family ministry, and Kyung Ko leads the music ministry. Jeong Lee serves as the staff organist, with Joan Meyer at the Saturday organ bench and Christina Orton and Julie Kruse directing the adult choirs. The elected Church Council, led by President Tom Getchius, shapes vision alongside the staff, and the congregation partners with the Minneapolis Area Synod of the ELCA.