Our Savior Lutheran Church is a two-campus Lutheran congregation serving Tacoma and Puyallup, Washington. The Tacoma campus stands in the Summit area of South Tacoma near Highway 512 and Canyon Road; the Puyallup campus occupies a historic church building directly across from Puyallup High School. The church is known for intergenerational discipleship through worship at both campuses, Life Groups for adults, preschools, children and youth programs, pastoral care, and practical service such as Backpacks 4 Kids for students facing food insecurity.
Two Campuses, One Church Body
Our Savior began meeting at Collins Grange in the early 1960s. As attendance outgrew that room, the congregation purchased the property at Bingham Avenue and 112th Street East. A sanctuary and education wing were dedicated in 1963, and a larger sanctuary was completed in 1993. Additional surrounding lots were acquired to expand ministry opportunities. Fire heavily damaged the Tacoma worship center and lobby in November 2016, so OSLC temporarily became a mobile church at Ford Middle School during renovations while maintaining a close relationship with Franklin Pierce School District.
The Puyallup story began in 1920 when a small Immanuel Lutheran group met in a living room, then grew to use the Puyallup Public Library auditorium. The congregation joined The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod in 1921, and its first church building was completed that July at Second and Fourth Avenue Southeast, where it still stands. In March 1945, Immanuel bought the West Main and Seventh Street Southwest property across from Puyallup High School. Members contributed more than 10,000 hours to build the current sanctuary, and an education wing opened in May 1966 for Immanuel Learning Center. Immanuel merged with Our Savior in March 2025, creating the two-campus church.
OSLC is one church body with two campuses and an online worshipping community. It has live-streamed worship since 2016 and developed the online campus during the pandemic in 2020. That community reaches more than 300 people each week.
Sunday at Tacoma: Songs, Sacrament and Room for Families
Tacoma Sunday worship begins at 9:00 and 10:30 a.m. at 4519 112th Street East. Both services are livestreamed from the Tacoma campus through watch.oslc.com. Visitors may enter the parking lot from 112th Street East or Bingham Avenue. The main entrance is on the northwest side of the building by the circular drop-off area. In addition to paved spaces, Tacoma has gravel lots at the north end by the barn and to the west beside the West Campus building.
Both services follow a clear sequence:
- Songs of Worship and Praise
- Prayer
- Confession and Forgiveness
- Holy Communion
- Reading from Scripture
- The Apostles' Creed
- The Lord's Prayer
- A Kids Message
- An Opportunity to Give
- A Sermon
Tacoma music blends newer worship songs by modern hymn writers with older hymns that are sometimes rearranged. A worship team may include acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards, bass, drums and several singers. The Celebration Choir and New Hope Kids Choir also take part several times each year. Song lyrics, Scripture and sermon outlines are projected, while environmental projection and special lighting help direct attention during worship. Sunday sermons are usually part of a multi-week series, and sermon notes are available through the Church Center app or on a handout when visitors enter the Worship Center.
Holy Communion is celebrated almost every Sunday. Baptized adult Christians who seek God's daily forgiveness, acknowledge their sins and believe that the body and blood of Jesus Christ are truly present in the Lord's Supper are invited to receive it. An annual First Communion class provides instruction and is open to students as young as fifth grade. Visitors are welcome and are not expected to give an offering. A Connection Card can be completed during the service and brought to the Connection Counter afterward to receive a visitor gift.
There is no dress code. Some worshipers wear jeans and a T-shirt, while others choose business-casual or dressier clothing. For those concerned about volume, the church monitors music levels, offers earplugs, provides an assistive listening device at the AVL booth and has overflow rooms with independent volume controls.
Puyallup Worship: Coffeehouse Music Across from the High School
The Puyallup campus at 720 West Main has one Sunday worship service at 10:30 a.m. Visitors may park in the lot behind the church off Eighth Street Southwest or on surrounding streets. The main entrance is on the east side of the building on Seventh Street Southwest, directly across from Puyallup High School. The same worship sequence used in Tacoma is followed here, including confession and forgiveness, Holy Communion, Scripture, the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, a Kids Message and a sermon.
Music at Puyallup often has a coffeehouse character. Worship leader Brandon Hell is frequently joined by a few vocalists, acoustic guitar and keyboards, with electric guitars, bass, drums and percussion also used. The congregation likewise sings new worship songs alongside older hymns, and service words and sermon outlines are projected. Children begin in worship with their families and then move to age-appropriate classes during the sermon.
The Tacoma services are the congregation's live online worship services. Puyallup visitors are also invited to complete a Connection Card and bring it to the Connection Counter after the service for a special gift.
Kids Connect and Wednesday Night Youth Life Groups
Kids Connect is OSLC's Sunday ministry for preschool through fifth grade at both campuses. Children and families worship together at the beginning of the service, then children join trained leaders for age-appropriate teaching and activities while adults hear the sermon. At Tacoma, Kids Connect runs during the school year from September through July. Families find orange banners near the Kids Ministry check-in station in the lobby, register their children for a sticker name tag and pickup barcode, and then enter worship together.
Families who need extra flexibility have several options in Tacoma. Busy Bags contain quiet activities for young children. A Family Worship Room at the back of the Worship Center provides more room to move and includes space for mothers who are nursing. An Overflow or Quiet Room offers a calmer worship space for adults and friends with special needs. Nursery care is provided at the 9:00 Tacoma service for infants through age 3. At Puyallup, a nursery near the main entrance gives parents a place to sit with their little ones during worship.
Wednesday Night Youth Life Groups meet at Tacoma from September through May for students in grades 6 through 12. A light dinner begins at 6:00 p.m., followed by a large-group worship, welcome, prayer, announcements and icebreakers at 6:30. Students move into Life Groups at 7:00 for discussion, games or service projects, then return to the lobby at 8:00 for pickup. Groups are organized by grade and gender for age-appropriate conversations, with regular intergenerational and co-ed gatherings as well.
Every staff member and volunteer working with children or youth passes a Washington State Patrol background check and follows OSLC's written childcare policies. Weekly kids-message videos and downloadable notes also support family faith conversations at home.
Life Groups, Bible Study and Faith Milestones
Life Groups are the church's principal way of growing in relationship with God beyond worship. Groups for different ages and interests gather weekly to share, listen, laugh, pray, celebrate and serve. Bible studies are generally courses of set length taught throughout the year, including seasonal studies and separate men's and women's studies.
Adult connections include:
- Men's groups with weekend retreats, steak dinners, Saturday breakfast and bonfires
- Women's groups with a Tuesday morning Bible study, widow's grief support, special gatherings, Life Groups and retreats
- Young adult Life Groups welcoming couples and single people
- Young at Heart for adults age 55 and older, with recreational and educational activities on the first or second Saturday of each month
Faith Milestones mark significant stages in the Christian life journey. Baptism is open to people of all ages. First Communion is generally associated with fifth grade and is preceded by baptism and Communion instruction. Bible Presentations are given at three years old, third grade and ninth grade. Confirmation is normally a two-year journey beginning around sixth grade, graduation is celebrated for students completing high school, college, trade school or professional certification, and membership is open to baptized people who wish to formally align with the congregation's mission and beliefs.
Confirmation combines parent-led discipleship with staff teaching. Students and families engage in intergenerational worship, Bible reading, conversational Bible storying, service projects and a final capstone expression. The goal is for students to discover their identity, sense of belonging and purpose as they become integrated members of OSLC.
Membership is a four-step process: attend a New Member Class, submit a membership record and transfer information if applicable, meet informally with Pastor Tim or a Ministry Director, and be introduced to the congregation on New Member Sunday. New Member classes are held three times each year in January, April and September.
Two Preschools and Three Coffee House
OSLC Preschool at Tacoma and Immanuel Learning Center at Puyallup extend the church's mission through quality Christian early education. Both schools welcome children and families, teach children about Jesus and how to show God's love, and seek to make each family feel known and valued. At Tacoma, the three-year-old and pre-Kindergarten programs share a weekday morning schedule from 9:00 a.m. to noon, with Monday and Tuesday devoted to STREAM learning in science, technology, robotics, engineering, art and math. Teachers end each Tacoma day by telling each child something specific the child did well.
Immanuel Learning Center serves children from two through five years old. Its options include morning and afternoon classes, a Lunch Bunch program, and schedules ranging from one to four days each week. Lunch Bunch adds a shared meal, activities, stories and recess, with teachers helping children build independence. The church is also affiliated with Concordia Christian Academy, a K-12 school at 202 East 56th Street in Tacoma.
Three Coffee House is a ministry at 202 Seventh Street Southwest in Puyallup, directly across from Puyallup High School. Every purchase supports the church's mission, with particular emphasis on students at the high school. The coffee house is open Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to noon and Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. It is also available for private parties, bridal and baby showers, meetings and receptions.
Care Through Hospitalization, Grief, Marriage and Aging
OSLC's Care Ministry provides support through a pastoral team, elders and trained volunteers. Its work includes:
- Visitation for hospitalizations, at-home Communion and memorial service needs
- Companion Care for adults adjusting to an empty home after children leave
- Grief support through a group whose leaders and participants walk alongside people experiencing loss
- Marriage preparation and continuing support through SYMBIS and SYMBIS+ assessments led by certified facilitators
- DivorceCare, a 13-week video-based series for people working through separation or divorce
- Cancer Care through Care Totes for people receiving treatment, along with Faith Community Nursing
- Mental wellness conversations with pastors and connections to practical resources
The church's trained registered nurse offers confidential discussions from a faith perspective and helps people connect with community resources. Pastoral Care and Elder Team members offer prayer and visits, Stephen Ministers provide a listening presence, and one-to-one conversations can help families work through financial, legal, family and end-of-life concerns associated with aging.
Backpacks 4 Kids, Faith in Action and a 1,000-Pound Garden
More than 100 volunteers serve weekly across OSLC. Their work includes worship arts, hospitality, children's and youth ministry, care, facilities, communications and direct community service. Every volunteer submits an application and receives appropriate screening and training before serving.
Backpacks 4 Kids works with local school districts to identify students experiencing food insecurity. Volunteers pack easy-to-prepare meals for weekend food bags and support school and community pantries with food and hygiene items. The program delivers food bags to 15 schools and supports nine pantries, including the Franklin Pierce Family Resource Center, the Summit Library and seven Franklin Pierce schools.
Faith in Action project teams assemble on the third Saturday of March, May and September to identify needs and organize practical responses. Projects can include campus and community-space cleanup, basic yard work, accessibility ramps, handrails, ministry partner projects and VBS preparation. The OSLC Car Shop uses certified mechanics to oversee volunteers performing minor repairs and oil changes. The Meal Ministry prepares freezer meals for families in the church community during significant life events.
Other local ministries include the Abundance Garden, whose teams plant, harvest and deliver more than 1,000 pounds of fresh produce each year to Nourish Food Bank. Each August, the Back to School Fair distributes coats and backpacks filled with basic school supplies to local youth. The Giving Tree identifies families and provides gifts and groceries at Christmastime. Joy of Generosity directs ten percent of annual offerings to local, regional and global ministry partners.
OSLC also supports Compassion International through a Child Development Center in Nicaragua, where congregation members sponsor nearly 200 children. A long-term mission team serves in Southeast Asia by discipling and equipping regional leaders. Giving is accepted in worship, at a church office, by mail or through the Church Center app.
What Our Savior Lutheran Church Believes
OSLC's mission is to make disciples who love God, love people and live like Jesus. Its vision is to see people transformed through the gospel by prioritizing discipleship for every generation where they live, work, learn and play. The congregation's core values are:
- Being true to God's Word because God's Word is true
- Being in a personal relationship with Jesus
- Living life on mission
- Making truth relevant
- Fostering a culture of care and belonging
- Living generously
Its biblical and Lutheran beliefs are summarized in a statement of core beliefs:
- God exists eternally as one God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit
- The Triune God created and preserves the world and has made himself known through the Bible, which OSLC holds to be without error and the infallible rule for faith and life
- Human beings are separated from God by sin, and God reconciles them through Jesus Christ, true God and true man, who died and rose again for salvation
- Salvation comes by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone
- The Holy Spirit works through the Means of Grace, and OSLC celebrates Baptism and the Lord's Supper as means of grace
- Through the Holy Spirit, believers are transformed into the image of God, the Church is the Body of Christ called to worship and serve, and Christ will return in judgment
Within the Lutheran framework of biblical interpretation, OSLC centers the gospel expressed through grace, faith, Scripture and Jesus' mission to all people. The congregation welcomes people of faith, little faith or no faith. Becoming Lutheran is not required, and worship services are designed to be easy to follow without previous church experience.
One Body Across Tacoma, Puyallup and Online
Our Savior Lutheran Church brings together two physical campuses, an online worship community and ministries for every stage of life. Its rhythm of worship, connection, service and growth is grounded in the conviction that people are formed through relationships and sent out to love and serve.
That conviction shapes the whole church: one church body, two Tacoma and Puyallup campuses, online worship, preschools, children's and youth ministry, adult Life Groups, care teams, worship arts, missions and a coffee house committed to the people of its community.