On the north side of Wagoner, Oklahoma, just a few blocks from the heart of town, a brick church building stands on the corner of North Gertrude Avenue and NE 6th Street. Immanuel Southern Baptist Church has met there for years under the motto that members quote often and mean plainly: "A Caring Church for a Hurting World." The name itself is a confession. "Immanuel" is a Hebrew word meaning "God with us," and the church opens its doors with the message that God became flesh and dwelt among men, that the most important thing in any believer's life is a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.
The Baptist Faith and Message
Immanuel Southern subscribes in full to The Baptist Faith and Message (2000), the doctrinal statement of the Southern Baptist Convention. Eighteen articles shape the congregation's teaching. Scripture is held to be God-breathed, totally true and trustworthy, the supreme standard for faith and practice. God is one in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, infinite in holiness and all other perfections. Man is created in God's image, fallen into sin, and in need of grace.
Salvation, in their confession, involves regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Baptism is by immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, prerequisite to church membership and to the Lord's Supper, which is the symbolic memorial of the Redeemer's death. The first day of the week is the Lord's Day, set apart for worship and devotion. Each member congregation, in the Baptist way, is autonomous under the Lordship of Christ, governed democratically, and served by pastors and deacons as scriptural officers.
The statement goes on to affirm the priesthood and dignity of every believer, the value of Christian education, faithful stewardship of time, talents, and resources, voluntary cooperation among churches for the spread of the gospel, the sacredness of marriage between one man and one woman, the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death, religious liberty, and a free church in a free state. It is the confession members will tell you they teach, preach, and try to live by.
Sunday in Worship
Worship at Immanuel Southern gathers on Sunday morning at 10:50. The hour before that, at 9:45, is given to Sunday School, with classes for every age from the youngest children through adults. Members describe the congregation as friendly, casual in dress, and shaped by a steady diet of expository preaching from Pastor Rick Boyne. The pastor's sermons are the message of the week; visitors who want a taste of what is taught can listen to recent sermons at the church's YouTube channel, @ISBCSermons.
Music in the service is led by Music Director Jonathan Seltenreich, who joined the church in January 2026 with his wife Kortni and their two children. He directs congregational singing backed by a full team: Penny Iness at the piano, Betty Rick at the organ, and Sally Boyne on lead guitar. Sally Boyne also serves as church clerk. The blend of piano, organ, and guitar gives the worship a gospel warmth that fits the congregation's Southern Baptist roots. Past music directors have included Curt Angel, who led the music program from 2022 until Jonathan took the position, and who also leads a Gospel quartet called Sound Decision.
Wednesday Nights: Prayer, Children, and Youth
Wednesday is the second pillar of the church's week. At 6:30 pm, the prayer meeting gathers adults around the Bible and a season of prayer. The same hour opens the children's program for kindergarten through fifth grade. The children begin with a light supper together, then divide by grade for Bible study, memory verses, Bible drills, and missions learning. The children's ministry has its own Facebook page at ISBCKidsonthemove, where families can follow weekly updates.
At the same time, the youth program opens its doors with the slogan "Fun, Food, and Bible Study! Everyone Welcome!" Preston and Grace Stoeck have directed the youth group since 2023. They are supported by a team of volunteers, and the Wednesday night program is designed around the rhythm of the Wagoner school schedule, so that students coming straight from after-school activities can step straight into worship and study. Recent youth fundraisers, including a roast beef dinner and a Sunday lunch, have raised money for trips and summer camp.
Tuesday Nights for Men and Women
Tuesday evenings belong to the men and women of the church. The men of Immanuel Southern gather at 6:30 pm for Bible study, and about once a quarter they share a meat-themed meal together, with BBQ and smoked meats on the menu. The women of the church, who call themselves the Women of ISBC, meet at the same hour, 6:30 pm on Tuesday, for Bible study, prayer, and fellowship. Their work is organized through a Facebook page at facebook.com/women-of-isbc, where the women's ministry posts updates and announcements.
Children and Vacation Bible School
Children are central to the life of Immanuel Southern. The children's ministry covers kindergarten through fifth grade, meeting on Sunday mornings for Sunday School and Wednesday evenings for Bible study, memory work, and missions education. Once a year, the whole church turns its energy outward for Vacation Bible School, which is free and open to any child in the community. VBS 2026 will run the week of June 15 to 19, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, for children who have completed K-5 through sixth grade. A VBS Celebration follows on Sunday, June 30 at 6:30 pm, with songs, crafts, awards, and a gospel presentation for families.
Past VBS themes have included "BreakOut," "Rocky Railway: Jesus' Power Pulls Us Through," "Game On," "Galactic Starveyors," "Submerged," and "Colossal Coaster." Recent years have drawn more than a hundred children, with dozens of volunteers and a long list of professions of faith. Pre-registration is offered through the church's online form, and a snack supper is provided for the children each evening. For information, families can email info@immanuelsouthern.com or call the church office.
The Great Commission: Missions Around the Corner and Around the World
Missions are the heartbeat of Immanuel Southern. The Great Commission, Matthew 28:18-20, is printed at the top of the church's missions page: "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations." The church frames the call as one given to every believer, not only to career missionaries, and identifies three ordinary ways to be involved: praying, giving, and going.
Through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions and the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions, the church supports the broader work of the Southern Baptist Convention's mission boards. The church also supports a roster of missionaries related to Immanuel Southern. Tim Tillinghast serves as assistant to the international director of Wycliffe Bible Translators, having previously worked in West Africa and now based in Germany. The church also relates to a missionary couple identified only as "Joe & Jane," for security reasons.
A Partnership in Punjab
One of the most distinctive commitments of Immanuel Southern is its partnership with Immanuel Baptist Church in Pakistan. The location of its Pakistani partners is not publicly shared for security reasons, but the relationship is substantial. The Pakistani congregation, supported by the Wagoner church, is committed to evangelism, church planting, and pastor training, and operates both a school and an orphanage, providing free education to Christian children in Punjab province. The partnership began when the Pakistani church changed its name to Immanuel Baptist Church in Pakistan in honor of the relationship. Immanuel Southern supports the work with a bimonthly cash donation, prayer, and encouragement, and is exploring ways to use technology to help train new pastors. Members who want to give specifically to the partnership can write "Pakistan Partnership" in the memo line of a check mailed to the church office.
Outreach Close to Home: The Blessing Box and Beyond
Immanuel Southern's care for a hurting world is most visible on its own block. Since October 24, 2019, a Blessing Box has stood on the northeast porch of the church building, near the corner of North Gertrude and NE 6th Street. The wooden box is stocked two to three times a week with non-perishable goods and is open to anyone in the community who needs immediate help with food, day or night. The church invites neighbors to take what they need and to leave some for the next person, rather than cleaning it out.
For nine years before the Blessing Box, the church operated a Food Pantry Ministry out of its own store-room, distributing more than ten thousand meals to neighbors in Wagoner and pointing everyone who came through the door to prayer. When the pantry closed in March 2018, the church redirected that energy to Wagoner Area Neighbors, a community organization, and to the Blessing Box. Members have also baked cookies for the inmates of the Wagoner County Jail each month, slipping a salvation tract into each bag; several inmates over the years have written to thank the church and to say they came to faith through those cookies.
F.A.I.T.H. Riders
In 2011, Immanuel Southern became the sponsoring church for a chapter of F.A.I.T.H. Riders, a Southern Baptist motorcycle ministry. Each F.A.I.T.H. Riders chapter must be based within a Southern Baptist congregation. The letters stand for Forgiveness, Available, Impossible, Turn, and Heaven, and the chapter's purpose is to share faith through Christian fellowship on the road. The ISBC chapter relates to the Oklahoma F.A.I.T.H. Riders and participates in local, state, and national rides, with reserved motorcycle parking along the east side of the church building on commissioning Sundays.
The Pastor and the Staff
Pastor Rick Boyne is the shepherd of Immanuel Southern. He was born and raised in Sapulpa, Oklahoma, and came to know Jesus at the age of eight. His walk with the Lord deepened during his years with the Baptist Student Union at the University of Oklahoma, and after earning a degree in psychology, he served in ministry in Los Angeles before being appointed as a Journeyman with the Foreign Mission Board in Hong Kong. There he worked with Hong Kong Baptist Press and Hong Kong Baptist College and helped plant New Hope Baptist Church in Kowloon. After returning to Oklahoma in 1991, he worked as a social worker and married Sally in 1992. The couple later went to West Africa, Thailand, and Hong Kong through the International Mission Board, returning to the United States in 2007 with a sense that God was calling them to continued ministry stateside. Sally Boyne now serves the church as lead guitarist and church clerk. The Boynes have two married daughters and two grandchildren.
The church is also served by Youth Directors Preston and Grace Stoeck, who have led the youth ministry since 2023, and Music Director Jonathan Seltenreich, who joined the staff in January 2026 with his wife Kortni and their two children. The Ministry Assistant is Kathy Keck, who joined the staff in 2014 after retiring from a career in office work in Wagoner and is married to Richard Keck, the Sunday School Director. The deacon body is led by Bob Rice, John Couch, and Preston Stoeck. John Couch and Dean Haley were both ordained as Ministers of the Gospel in a special service at Immanuel Southern on October 5, 2014. The church also recognizes the gifts of pianist Penny Iness and organist Betty Rick. The late Rev. Willie Rice, who served the church as pastor and most recently as Associate Pastor and Sunday School teacher, is remembered with affection.
What to Expect on a First Visit
Visitors at Immanuel Southern will find the building easy to find, just north of downtown Wagoner, with the Blessing Box out front as a quiet witness to the church's outward-facing mission. Sunday mornings begin with Sunday School at 9:45 am, giving newcomers a chance to meet people in a smaller setting. The worship service begins at 10:50 am. The dress is casual, the music is gospel-inflected, the preaching is Bible-centered, and the people will introduce themselves.
For families with children, the kindergarten-through-fifth-grade program meets on Sunday mornings during the Sunday School hour and again on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 with a light supper first. Teenagers have their own Wednesday night program at the same hour, with worship, teaching, and fellowship. Visitors who want a place to serve or to be served will find an open door in the men's or women's Bible study on Tuesday evenings, in the children's or youth program on Wednesdays, or in one of the mission partnerships the church supports. For prayer requests or questions about the Christian faith, the church offers a page called "Do you know Jesus?" that lays out the gospel in the words of Romans and walks a seeker through a prayer of commitment.