About Us

The Metro-East Ministry (Christ Our Savior Lutheran Outreach) is an extension ministry of Martin Luther Evangelical Lutheran Church in St. Louis, Missouri to better serve the spiritual needs of people in the southern Illinois area. In accord with the disciple-making mission of the Church (Matthew 28:18-20), Christ Our Savior Lutheran Outreach will reach out to bring people to saving faith and nurture them in that faith through the faithful teaching of God's Word and the administration of the Sacraments.

We are members of Martin Luther Evangelical Lutheran Church in St. Louis, MO. We all live in Illinois and work to spread the Gospel to those with whom we live. That means an outreach program right here in our community in O'Fallon. Martin Luther Church supports this effort as part of their outreach initiative. Pastor James Witt of Martin Luther leads our Bible Study program and provides spiritual guidance.

We desire to spread God's word to all people, especially those in our own community. We do this in accord with Matthew 28:18-20.

"Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.' "

Our Goals

Christ Our Savior Lutheran Outreach has both short- and long-term goals for our efforts.

In the short-term, we aim to provide a caring, loving, edifying atmosphere for the study of God's Word. We work to spread the Gospel to area neighborhoods and provide opportunities for spiritual growth, with both educational classes and fun fellowship events.

In the long term, we pray that our group will be blessed and grow to a point in which forming our own individual congregation becomes necessary.

All these goals require hard work. We ask God to bless our efforts in his service.

History

For an outreach program formed so recently, one wouldn't expect a long history.
But Martin Luther Church has been a part of the Metro-East for many years. The congregation has provided programs in the Metro-East such as Vacation Bible School. Also, members from the Metro-East participated in many Metro-East fellowship events and Bible studies. In short, involvement in the Metro-East is nothing new. But today, we are getting more and more involved with Illinois.

Now, we have taken the next step. Christ Our Savior Lutheran Outreach is a new, broader, more-involved program in the Metro-East, one with permanent goals and lasting values.

What's going on among the Lutherans?

The Lutheran church in our country is divided into various groupings commonly known as church bodies. Some of these church bodies designate themselves synods, others designate themselves churches. Each church body is distinguished by its own beliefs and practices. Our church body is known as the Evangelical Lutheran Synod.

In 1988 a new Lutheran church body was formed when three separate church groups, the ALC, the LCA and the AELC, merged into the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Our synod did not join in this merger. We are not in fellowship with the ELCA because of what is being taught and preached in its midst. We do not doubt that there are many sincere Christians in the ELCA. This new church body, however, allows many things to be taught and preached which are clearly not in agreement with what God has stated in his holy Word.

In our preaching and teaching our main concern is that we speak in accordance with God's Word. When a church body does not hold to what God has said in his Word, it not only endangers the personal faith of its members, but it also evades the responsibility Christ has given to his Church to proclaim the truth to succeeding generations. It is because of this difference in teaching that we are separate from the ELCA.

Our Synod

We are a member of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS).
The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod has deep roots in America. Formed originally by three German pastors, WELS has grown immensely in the last 150 years. God has truly blessed our synod year after year.

Don't let the name fool you however, we are not a "regional" synod. The WELS is based in Milwaukee, WI and has a much higher concentration of congregations in the north, but the WELS serves not only America, but the entire world. Home and World missions serve on five continents worldwide.

WELS operates two preparatory schools, one college, and one seminary for worker training. Luther Preparatory School (Watertown, WI) and Michigan Lutheran Seminary (Saginaw, MI) train high school students who are considering making the Ministry their full time, lifelong vocation. Martin Luther College (New Ulm, MN) trains pastors, teachers, and staff ministers. Male graduates of MLC who wish to become pastors continue their education at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary (Mequon, WI). Our sister synod is the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, based in Mankato, MN.