HISTORY

We call ourselves “Immanuel Lutheran Church of Frankentrost.” You won’t find any place on a map anywhere with that name, but it is a real place. In fact, it’s even more than real. Frankentrost means “The Consolation of the Franks (Germans).” And it is both a place and a promise.

Two hundred years ago there were many German people emigrating to America. Europe was in turmoil and prospects were poor, especially for those who did not have a noble name or inheritance. Many of these German immigrants did well in the new world. But even while they prospered financially, they often did poorly in spiritual terms.

Far from home, separated by language, often living in remote areas, many of the German people who came here did not worship. Their children were brought up without a knowledge of God or his Word. Only a few German pastors were available to serve as missionaries to provide spiritual care for them. But one of the most faithful of them, Friedrich Wyneken, began a movement that changed many lives.

Wyneken wrote an article about the spiritual plight of the people in America and sent it to his friends back home. It was picked up and published, and one pastor who read the article felt led to do something about it. Pastor Wilhelm Loehe of Neuendettelsau trained men to be “emergency pastors,” and raised money to send them to America. More than that, Pastor Loehe came up with the idea of sending entire congregations over the sea to provide a base of support for mission work.

The first such congregation was sent in 1845 under the leadership of Pastor August Craemer. Brave men and women volunteered to sell their homes in Germany and emigrate to Michigan. They founded the little town of Frankenmuth (The Courage of the Franks) just to the east of Saginaw, Michigan. But life in the wilderness was still a struggle. These people were far from their families and friends. A second congregation was organized and sent over in the Spring of 1847 under Pastor Johann Philip Graebner. The little town they were to establish was to be called Frankentrost, and it was to serve as a source of encouragement and comfort to the others.

This is how our little burg began. It never became a center of industry or tourism, but we believe that is has served as an encouragement and a comfort to many. Even in its first planning it was designed to create a warm community. The first farms were laid out in long, thin strips so that all of the farmhouses, gathered at one end, could be near one another. The church was placed in the center of the community, and the school with the church. (Later two more schools would be built to the north and to the west in order to serve students who lived further from the church.)

When Immanuel first began the members gathered for worship every morning and every evening. Because the congregation was too poor to have a church bell, the pastor would blow on a tin horn and parishioners down the line would repeat the call for those further away until everyone had heard. (Now, of course, we use the internet to broadcast the gospel to people beyond our little borders.)

Immanuel grew steadily, adding teachers and schools as the number of children increased. The log cabin churches were outgrown and a large frame church was built in 1869. When this church burned to the ground in 1951, the congregation built again with brick. Today the church and school provide a spiritual home for over 730 believers. More than 90% of the congregation’s eligible children attend the day school from pre-school through the eighth grade. And adult members serve and grow in a variety of ministries. Perhaps the most significant event in recent years has been the addition of an annual Living Nativity. This event, which allows our guests to walk the path to Bethlehem and experience the events of Jesus’ birth, involved almost half the adults of our congregation as volunteers in 1997. Over 2,000 guests were reminded of God’s greatest gift for them.

Immanuel has had a long and blessed history. For over 150 years God has blessed our ministry of consolation. The Consolation of the Franks has been seen in the love and mercy of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who has comforted us in grief and encouraged us in trial. We pray that Frankentrost will be more than just a place for you - that you will find God’s consolation wherever you may be.