Our Story

Christ the King Lutheran Church was first envisioned in 1958, by the Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELC) and Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Mankato. At that time, both groups pledged their financial support for a new mission congregation in Mankato, Minnesota.


On July 21, 1959, the Reverend Harry L. Anderson was called as the first pastor of the future congregation. He accepted the call in the fall of that year and began his work at CTK on July 15, 1960. In August of the same year, Miss Annette Femrite, of the ELC, assisted the new pastor with a home-to-home canvas of the hilltop area of Mankato to recruit members. The congregation was officially organized, and Pastor Anderson was installed on November 16, 1960.

 

CTK was the last congregation organized by the ELC, which merged with other Lutheran bodies to form The American Lutheran Church. A subsequent merger created the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Over the last 60+ years, CTK has continued to “make Christ known” through its ongoing mission and ministry. The congregation has grown in both it’s membership and impact in the community. As a congregation, CTK supports parents and families in their baptismal promises and seeks to equip its members throughout their life of faith. We gather to pray, sing and hear God word and leave worship to serve God in our homes and in the world. 

What We Believe

We are a church that belongs to Christ. There is a place for you here. We believe God calls each of us by name. Christ’s church is not ours to control, nor is it our job to sort, divide, categorize or exclude. Whenever we feel compelled to “draw the line” in our lives, we must acknowledge as Lutherans that Jesus always stands on both sides of that line.

 

We are a church whose unity is in Jesus Christ, who gathers us around word and water, wine and bread. Because we are grounded in God’s love and forgiveness, we are equipped to live and serve here and now, in the world, with all its complexities, tensions and ambiguities. We have the courage to explore the world as saints and sinners, knowing we will never take God somewhere God has not already been.

 

We are a church that rolls up our sleeves and gets to work. We do God’s work in the world. We seek to serve one another and our neighbors in a similar way that Christ served both his disciples and those he encountered in ministry. Ministries where we “get to work” include ministries beyond our congregation such as Connections Shelter, Shelter Church, Crossroads Campus Ministry, and The Reach.

 

We are a church that is energized by lively engagement in our faith and life.  “Our faith is a living, busy, active, mighty thing,” said Martin Luther. We continually strive for a deeper understanding of what the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ means for us and the world. Doing so puts us right where God wants us to be: in the thick of life. Lively engagement in faith and life includes opportunities for faith formation for children and youth and faith continuum opportunities for adults. We have a variety of small groups, classes, and retreat opportunities.  

 

We are a church that is deeply rooted — and always being made new. Our roots are in Scripture, tradition and the Lutheran Confessions, as well as in the vibrant community we share as we gather together. These roots are an ongoing source of nourishment; they enable us to be a church guided by the Holy Spirit that is both resilient and always being reformed.

We believe that the Church should claim and express the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8-10).