History of Immanuel

 
In 1975 our Charter Members named the new church "Immanuel" which means "God With Us". This certainly has been true throughout the history of Immanuel Lutheran Church of Waukee! In 1977 the original building was dedicated, and in 1992 a new education wing was added. The continued growth of the community and the church dictated that another expansion was needed.
The Building Committee for the new sanctuary used the theme of "Building on Living Stones", and they were constantly reminded that "God was still with us"! After some delays because of rain, we had a record-warm winter, and the interest rates were the lowest in many years. Top that with many people stepping forward with help when needed and the many who helped every week with clean-up, and we felt the God was right beside us. Here is a short history of the progress:

In November 1998, the congregation took part in a "needs" assessment, and it was determined that our most pressing need was a new worship space. A committee was formed to investigate and interview architects, and in December of 1999 Design Alliance was selected. Design Alliance held charrettes to get congregational input on the design of the addition. In April and May of 2000 informal meetings were held in members' homes and at church for the fund-raising campaign and pledges were made with commitment of over $525,000. In August 2000, Tom Gratias was named as General Contractor and on June 11 the congregation approved proceeding with the construction of the new sanctuary. In February of 2001 Waukee State Bank was selected to provide financing for the project, and on a beautiful Easter Sunday, April 15, 2001 the ground-breaking ceremony was held. Today we see the culmination of our vision, to the Glory of God.

We have gone from one service to three. Sunday services are held at 8 A.M. and 10:30 A.M. with Sunday School at 9:15. WOW - Worship on Wednesday is held at 6:30.