Martin Luther Church stands on South Lake Street in downtown Neenah, Wisconsin, anchoring its corner of the Fox River valley with a three-part calling: proclaiming the gospel, strengthening believers, and serving others. The congregation belongs to the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), and that identity shapes its worship, its school, and a member-led ministry that reaches from Neenah to mission fields on several continents.
A Threefold Calling
The church's rhythm is built around three commitments. The gospel is its center of gravity; the Bible is treated as the true Word of God and the standard for everything the congregation does. Strengthening happens through Bible classes that run almost every day of the week. Serving happens through a wide web of committees, ministries, and missions - many of them led by members rather than by staff.
Saturday and Sunday Worship
Services are held at 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays and at 9:00 a.m. on Sundays in the sanctuary on South Lake Street. Each service follows the same arc: an invocation that calls on the Savior, a confession of sin followed by the assurance of forgiveness in Jesus, Bible readings from the Old Testament, the Gospels, and the apostolic letters with a brief explanation from the pastor, a sermon rooted in Scripture, a response of offerings and prayers, and a parting blessing. Hymns and short songs of praise run through every step. Music may be loud or soft, in unison or layered harmony, because all praises are music to God.
A virtual church service is available on the congregation's YouTube channel for members and friends who cannot attend in person, and an online friendship register lets worshippers share their contact details with the pastors. Online giving is also available.
A Range of Worship Tastes
The worship style at Martin Luther reaches across centuries. Members describe it as ancient and modern, solemn and exuberant, traditional and contemporary, with hymns drawn from the hymnal, songs projected on a screen, and instrumental music from organ, piano, and hand chimes. Volunteers create the banners that hang in the sanctuary, and the spoken service language mixes traditional forms with modern phrasing.
Bible Classes Most Days of the Week
If worship is the church's heartbeat, Bible study is its steady breath. The schedule covers most days:
- Sunday at 10:20 a.m. - Adult Bible Class for adults and teens, immediately after the 9:00 service.
- Sunday at 9:20 a.m. - the Bible Information Class, led by Pastor Loescher, designed for non-members or anyone wanting a refresher on foundational teachings.
- Monday at 7:00 p.m. - Ladies Bible Class, led by one of the pastors and open to women of any background.
- Thursday at 6:30 a.m. - a casual discussion group in the fellowship hall, with breakfast and coffee, built around articles or questions attendees bring.
- Thursday at 10:00 a.m. - Bible class in the fellowship hall, led by Pastor Shinnick.
- Third Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. - an informal discussion that meets at the Lion's Tail Taproom downtown, by the clock tower; each session is a stand-alone topic.
The 20s and 30s group gathers roughly once a month for hiking, bowling, game nights, movie nights, and campfires, and posts its dates through a Facebook group.
A Twelve-Session Welcome
Anyone curious about what the church teaches can join the Bible Information Class, a 12-session course that walks through sin and grace, faith and works, and the rest of Scripture's core teachings. The class opens the door to membership for those who want it, and it runs alongside confirmation instruction for both children and adults.
The Pastor
Pastor Tyler Shinnick grew up in Appleton, graduated from Fox Valley Lutheran High School in 2006, earned a bachelor's at Martin Luther College in 2010, and completed a Master of Divinity at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2014. He was assigned to Martin Luther Church that same year and now oversees the congregation's outreach, assimilation, and member care. He and his wife Callie, a former elementary teacher, count it a blessing to serve in Neenah with their three children, Savannah, Jonah, and Zoe.
A School Next Door
Christian education at Martin Luther begins early. The congregation operates a Lutheran preschool and elementary school - Neenah Lutheran School - serving students from 3K through eighth grade on the same campus as the church. Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, and confirmation instruction complete the educational ministry, and the church supports Fox Valley Lutheran High School in nearby Appleton as well.
A Confessional Lutheran Identity
Martin Luther is a confessional Lutheran church. Members and pastors hold to the three ecumenical creeds and the six Lutheran confessions, which they believe faithfully set forth the Bible's teaching in its truth and purity. The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod supports about 60 missionaries in roughly 20 countries and helps plant new congregations across the United States, and the Neenah congregation shares in that worldwide work.
Every Member Has a Role
Serving at Martin Luther Church is not just for staff. The list of ways to step in runs long: greeting worshippers, ushering, serving on the altar care team, singing in a group or as a soloist, playing the organ, piano, or hand chimes, making banners, running the audio and visual equipment, teaching a Bible class, hosting a study, visiting the hospitalized and the shut-in, providing rides, helping at funeral luncheons, delivering DVDs of worship to those at home, donating food and clothing, removing snow, mowing lawns, or helping in the church office. In the family of Christ, every member is important.
Come As You Are
The church is candid about dress. There is no dress code. On any given Sunday a member might arrive in running shoes, work boots, a suit, or jeans. Both casual and formal choices are welcomed, because clothing is treated as a personal matter of worship before God.