Our Mission & History
Our Vision, Mission, & Values
Vision
Muhlenberg Lutheran Church strives to be a wellspring of God’s grace in Jesus Christ. A wellspring is an original and bountiful source offering a continual supply of something. The wellspring around which we gather as a community of faith is the abundant grace of God made known through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As a vision statement sets our attention on the future for which we strive, we envision a community who knows that God’s abundant grace can be found through the ministry of Muhlenberg Lutheran Church. We trust that the community will know that God’s grace is abundant, continual, and poured out for all people.
Mission
We are a community who equips all people to live out Christ’s love. In order for our wider community to know God’s grace, we believe it’s essential to equip the Muhlenberg community to share the love of Christ. Through worship, bible study, devotion, music, faith formation, service, and so much more, we see our purpose lived out in nurturing the gifts of each member for the ministry of sharing Christ’s love with everyone we meet. As we hear in Ephesians chapter 4, God has given many diverse gifts that all point to our call to equip God’s people for the ministry of love, unity, and redemption. Through the various ministries of this body of believers, we see it as our purpose to discern, build up, and grow into the gifts God has given, that all people may feel equipped to live out Christ’s love.
Values
Open + Authentic + Relational + Serving
These words represent the kind of congregation we strive to be…
A community that is truly OPEN to all people, whoever they may be, however they may have come to be part of our community--without judgment or expectation--a simple welcome following the example of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
A community that is real, honest, and AUTHENTIC as God’s people as we work with one another and serve our wider community. We want what you see to be what you get--saints and sinners at the same time!
A community that is RELATIONAL--marked by genuine, safe and healthy relationships. In many and varied ways we come together in large and small gatherings for worship, meetings, fellowship, and education, to get to know one another as individuals. This allows us to grow and support each other, working side by side for common goals.
A community of faithful people SERVING others. We serve thousands of people a year through dozens of local and global missions. We firmly believe that we receive God’s peace and the support of this community so we can serve others in our daily life.
The Strategic Plan
In 2019, a group of leaders gathered to begin the work of this Strategic Plan. It was an exciting time: Muhlenberg was in the midst of a period of great transition, and energy for forward momentum was high. Over the course of several Congregational Council retreats, the beginnings of this plan were sketched out. We could not have dreamed that very soon the world would be forever changed by a global pandemic and work on this plan would have to be set aside to attend to the immediate concerns of being church in this strange new world.
Our History
Muhlenberg Lutheran Church has a rich history stretching back to the 1840s, when a small group of Lutherans gathered together to form a worshiping community. Named for American clergyman John Peter Muhlenberg, who had served the Lutheran congregation in Woodstock for four years before joining the Continental Army in 1776, Muhlenberg Evangelical Lutheran Church was officially formed and recognized in the Virginia Synod in 1849. The original group of 50 baptized members built a small frame structure at what is now Wolfe Street and North Main Street to serve as their church building.
This building was commandeered as a Union hospital and barracks for wounded troops during the Civil War, and suffered extensive damage. But the congregation persevered and eventually built a more substantial house of worship on an adjacent lot. Dedicated in 1889, the brick building served the congregation well for the next 60 years, and still stands (though it is now a commercial property) at the corner of Wolfe and Main Streets.
In the 1940s, the number of members had outgrown this site, and the congregation broke ground on East Market Street to build the beautiful structure where we worship today. Soon, an education wing was built, and Muhlenberg’s education, music, and outreach programs grew. Youth and campus ministries were established, as well as a thriving quilting ministry and other ministries of care.
Over the years, Muhlenberg has sought to be a place that is open to what God is doing and responsive to join that call. The image of the cross on our steeple, formed with arrows pointing out in all directions, reminds us to go out into the world with the good news of the gospel.
In 1992, Muhlenberg helped to form and became the host site for People Helping People, which brings together over 50 congregations and synagogues in the region to serve more than 1000 families each year in need of assistance with utility bills and other needs.
After building the Muhlenberg Activities Center in 2003 to serve the wider community, Muhlenberg launched Second Home Learning Center, a before- and after-school program which serves families with limited financial resources.
Today, Muhlenberg is a thriving congregation. It’s a place for spiritual growth, deepened relationships, and transformational love. We are held by the calling of God, given to one another by the Spirit, and united in Christ who is the head of the whole body. We are gifted in many diverse ways, and brought together to share those gifts for the sake of the world.
