Two Ministries, One Campus on the West Side of New Berlin
Peace Lutheran Church sits on West Small Road on the western edge of New Berlin, Wisconsin, in a building that also houses Little Lambs Academy, a Christ-centered preschool and childcare program that has shared the campus for decades. Together the church and school form a single ministry hub serving families from New Berlin and the surrounding communities of Muskego, Brookfield, and Waukesha County. The congregation describes itself as a dynamic Christian community committed to connecting individuals and families to Jesus Christ, and its threefold purpose is summed up in three words: Care, Connect, and Celebrate.
That purpose shows up in nearly everything the church does. Members Care for neighbors through two local food pantries and a long-running mission trip to the Mexican border. They Connect people to Jesus through Bible studies that draw more than forty percent of the adult membership during the week. And they Celebrate God's love in two Sunday worship services, a bell choir, a chancel choir, and a preaching rhythm that draws the whole congregation into a shared spiritual discipline.
Sundays at Peace: Traditional Worship and "Journey" Blended Worship
Sunday morning at Peace follows a familiar rhythm. The first service begins at 9:00 a.m. and is a traditional Lutheran liturgy led from the organ, piano, chancel choir, and bell choir. It is the weekly heartbeat of the congregation and reflects the church's commitment to its rich Christian heritage.
At 10:00 a.m., a brief Coffee Sip gives the congregation a chance to greet one another over coffee and snacks between services. Children who arrived with their families flow into Kidz J.A.M. (Jesus And Me), a Sunday school for ages 3K through fifth grade that meets at 10:15 to 10:20 a.m. Adults have the option of joining an Adult Bible Study at 10:15 a.m. in Founders Hall.
Once a month from September through May, a "Journey" blended worship service takes the stage at 11:00 a.m. Led by a band and featuring contemporary Christian music alongside Lutheran liturgical elements, Journey offers a more casual style. Worshipers planning to attend Journey should consult the church calendar to see which Sunday of the month it falls on.
For those who cannot attend in person, services are livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel, and recordings of recent services remain available afterward.
The Peace Family Gathers for Bible Study
Peace takes seriously the conviction that practical, relevant teaching is the catalyst for transformation in an individual's life. More than forty percent of the adult membership participates in a regular Bible study, and the church offers multiple options.
On Sunday mornings, an Adult Bible Study meets at 10:15 a.m. in Founders Hall between the two worship services. Mondays bring a Men's Bible Study at 7:30 a.m., and Tuesdays a Women's Bible Study at 7:00 p.m. Wednesdays are particularly full: a Women's Bible Study begins at 9:00 a.m., and the men alternate Wednesday mornings between Bible study and a casual gathering called Peace Men @ Chubby's that meets every other Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. Once a month the women enjoy a Ladies That Lunch fellowship.
The Prayer Chain, a separate ministry of more than thirty men and women, lifts up prayer requests for members, friends, relatives, co-workers, and others in need of prayer each day.
Children, Confirmation, and Youth
Children are woven into nearly every part of life at Peace. The Kidz J.A.M. Sunday school gathers students from 3K through fifth grade during the Sunday school hour between services, and a new school-year cycle begins each September with a sign-up form available for parents.
For younger students preparing to receive the Lord's Supper for the first time, the church offers an Early Communion Class that meets in the Gathering Place. Confirmation Class meets each Sunday from 10:15 to 11:00 a.m.
The Junior High Youth Group gathers sixth through eighth graders for events throughout the year, including a Corn Maze and Hayride outing at the Elegant Farmer in Mukwonago, parents-versus-youth Laser Tag, an annual Lock-In, a Live Nativity at Christmas, a Lenten dinner fundraiser, bowling, and an indoor rock climbing trip. High School Youth meets on Sunday mornings from 10:15 to 11:00 a.m. in the Youth Room, where they open God's Word together, ask questions, and grow in faith. A Summer Servant Event is on the calendar each July, with fundraisers supporting the trip. A Youth Ministry Permission Form is required for both youth groups.
Music as "Handmaid of the Word"
Peace treats music as central to its identity, in keeping with Martin Luther's description of music as the "handmaid of the Word." Both traditional and contemporary music support Lutheran rites and the Church Year, helping worshipers pray and praise.
The Peace Choir is a mixed-voice SATB ensemble singing accompanied and a cappella music drawn from traditional hymns, spirituals, classic choral arrangements, and contemporary anthems. The choir sings twice a month on the second and fourth Sundays, September through May, and rehearses at 10:15 a.m. on the same Sundays. Choir Director Tom Halverson leads the ensemble.
The Peace Bell Choir typically plays twice a month on the first and third Sundays, September through May, and rehearses at 10:15 a.m. on the same Sundays. Director of Music David Beyer welcomes anyone who grew up playing an instrument and would like to put music-reading skills to work in worship.
Twenty Years of Building Homes in Juarez
Since 2004 Peace Lutheran has sent teams of volunteers south each year to build homes for families in need in the greater Juarez area of Mexico, working under the leadership of Ysleta Lutheran Mission in El Paso, Texas. Teams stay in a dormitory in El Paso and cross the border each day to work on housing and church projects in the surrounding mission communities.
The trips have built a small neighborhood one house at a time. In 2004, twenty-nine people built two houses and a Sunday school building; the next year fifteen people built two more. Subsequent trips continued the work: two homes in 2006, a church addition at San Lucas Lutheran in Anapra in 2007, a staircase and foundation at San Francisco Church in Juarez in 2008, and a series of individual homes in 2009, 2013, 2014, 2021, 2024, and 2025. In 2025 twelve people built a home in the KM 30 area of Juarez and ran a three-day Vacation Bible School alongside the construction. Many volunteers say they receive more from the trip than the family who receives the new home.
Feeding Neighbors Close to Home
Closer to home, Peace channels its mission energy through two area food pantries. The New Berlin Food Pantry, housed in the New Berlin Community Center at 2600 S. Sunny Slope Road, distributes food on Wednesdays from 12:00 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. A blue shopping cart at Peace collects donations throughout the year, with members from the church delivering food every Wednesday morning.
The Muskego Food Pantry at S81 W19150 Apollo Drive, founded in 2009, distributes donated and purchased food to neighbors in need with a "neighbors helping neighbors" approach that never turns anyone away. Peace joins with both pantries by supplying volunteers, goods, and funding.
Little Lambs Academy: Preschool and Childcare on the Same Campus
Sharing the building with the church, Little Lambs Academy has been providing Christ-centered early childhood education for more than thirty-six years. With God as its foundation, the program aims to develop the whole child - physical, emotional, social, academic, and spiritual.
Little Lambs offers a 2T class on Monday mornings for two- and three-year-olds accompanied by a loving adult, with structured circle time, crafts, snack, and playground play from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. The 3K Preschool meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays with half-day or half-day-with-lunch options, beginning each day at 8:55 a.m. arrival and dismissing at 11:30 a.m. The 4K Preschool meets Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and offers half-day, half-day-with-lunch, or full-day options, with the full-day program running from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Chapel and Jesus Time are built into the weekly schedule.
Wrap-Around Childcare is available Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. for children from six weeks through five years old, with the One in Christ curriculum nurturing faith through age-appropriate activities. Before- and after-school care is also offered for three- to five-year-old students. Co-Directors Miss Sara and Mrs. Lehmann lead the program, with Pastor Kruse serving as the school's pastor.
What Peace Believes
Peace Lutheran confesses the historic Christian faith in language drawn from the Lutheran tradition. The congregation confesses belief in one God in three coequal, coeternal persons: the Father, creator of all that exists; Jesus Christ the Son, who became human to suffer and die for the sins of all people and to rise again in victory over death; and the Holy Spirit, who creates faith through God's Word and Sacraments.
The church teaches that God loves the world even though people rebel against Him, and that He sent His Son to love the unlovable and save the ungodly. By His suffering and death as the substitute for all people of all time, Jesus purchased forgiveness and eternal life; those who hear this Good News and believe it receive the eternal life it offers. The Bible is held to be God's inerrant and infallible Word, the sole rule and norm for Christian doctrine.
Getting Connected
Visitors interested in joining Peace are welcomed at regular New Member Classes. For those not yet part of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the church offers a Saturday class from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with breakfast treats and the basics of the Lutheran faith. Members transferring from another LCMS congregation meet from 12:00 to 2:30 p.m. the same day.
Giving to the work of Peace can be done online through a secure portal, placed in the offering basket at the back of the sanctuary, or mailed to the office. Members also enjoy a subscription to RightNow Media, a free video resource library for all ages. Peace publishes a weekly e-newsletter called Peace This Week and a monthly newsletter called Peace Notes, and maintains an active calendar of events across its ministries.
The church is located at 17651 W Small Road, New Berlin, WI 53146, and the office phone is (262) 679-1441.