A Place to Worship, to learn and to serve

Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church is a warm caring fellowship of Faith. Our congregation, which has grown to over 300, strives to communicate God's awesome gift of love to our ever changing world. We are a collection of natives of East Tennessee and transplants from other parts of the country who now call East Tennessee our home. We share a common faith in Jesus Christ Our Lord and Savior.

  • Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church - a brief History

    Our Beginnings:
    • 1996 A group of people, led by the Holy Spirit sought to plant a new Lutheran Church in East Tennessee.
    • 1997 We worshipped in a store front while purchasing 7 acres on Highway 72 and Wade Road.
    • 1998 A building committee was established as Rev. Bob Torgler served as worship leader.
    • 1999 Dedicated members paid for the property
    • 2000 In May the construction of the new worship facility was begun.
    • 2001 The first worship Service in the new church was held on January 7th. On August 26th our first permanent pastor, Rev. Jim Kirk, was installed.
    • 2009 The church membership has now grown to over 300. We have added a Christian Ministry Center that will expand our worship and fellowship facilities.


    Who we are:
    • We are a people who share a common faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
    • We are natives of East Tennessee and transplants from other parts of the country.
    • We live in Blount, Loudon, Knox, Monroe, and Roane counties.
    • We worship with different styles in order to meet people's needs
    • We are a growing church with over 200 in worship on a regular basis

  • Pastor Brian Truog

      Pastor Truog graduated from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis in 1983 with a Master’s of Divinity and a Sacred Theology Masters.  He served at Hope Lutheran in Aurora, Illinois from 1983-1987.  His next church was Cross Lutheran in Yorkville, Illinois where he served from 1987-2011.  In 2011 he accepted the Call to Christ Our Savior Lutheran in Loudon, Tennessee.

       “My greatest joy in ministry is seeing the “light bulb” go on for someone when the Holy Spirit enables them to grasp the free gift of God’s grace for salvation.  At Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church we have an opportunity to nurture and share this gift of God with people from all over the country who have chosen to retire in East Tennessee as well as with those who have had the privilege of living here all their lives.  We are a congregation that stands squarely on the Bible as the very Word of God.  We are known for our friendliness and our desire to serve our community.  We welcome you to get to know us and to discover a place to worship, a place to learn, and a place to serve with your Christian brothers and sisters at Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church.”


    Pastor's Message


    SPRING HAS SPRUNG!

    I’m not much for blooming flowers or spring cleaning, but warm golf weather and more daylight hours sure get my attention. I don’t care much for winter. This winter was a historic one in East Tennessee. I’ve heard many “newbies” to the area claim: “They told me the snow would melt in a day! I wish I would have brought my snow shovel from up North.”


    We go through some rough “seasons” in our lives. During our Lenten worship we will be focusing on the rough road Jesus had on His way to the cross. As we contemplate “rough times,” springtime and Easter can be a reminder to us of the promise of new life we have through Jesus Christ and His resurrection.


    God’s resurrection/springtime promise tells us that He is with us through the rough times, and new life is on the way. Ultimately, our whole life here on earth is a “rough season,” but God’s resurrection/springtime promise to us is that He has overcome the rough seasons and brings us new life that will last forever.

    Look for opportunities you may have to invite your neighbors to our Easter breakfast and worship services so that they can share with us in the joy we have through our Savior’s victory over sin and death.
    “Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” John 11:25,26

    P.S. It looks like we will be temporarily housing Our Place (a daycare program for those with mild de-mentia) while their facility goes through remodeling, most likely April 15 – May 15. They will be in the fellowship hall Monday-Friday from 8:30-4:30. A big thanks to all the people from COS who are making
    adjustments so that we can help out our neighbor.


    Pastor Brian                                                 

  • Pastor Mark Rhoads

      Pastor Rhoads graduated from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis  with a Master’s of Divinity degree in 2008. He has served as Associate Pastor at Christ Our Savior since his graduation. Before entering the seminary, he served as a Director of Christian Education at LCMS churches in Florida, Alabama, and Texas.

     

      Pastor Rhoads enjoys teaching the faith and providing opportunities for people to live out their faith in daily life. “My greatest joy in ministry is helping people grow in their knowledge and appreciation of the grace of God as revealed in the Bible.” In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family and hiking the many trails in our area.


    Pastor's Message



     

    Promised Treasures

    “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the

    propitiation of our sins.” 1 John 4:10


    February 14 is commonly known as Valentine’s Day. It is a day when the promised treasure of love is celebrated in many and various ways. This year, February 14 is also Ash Wednesday- a day when Christians celebrate the promised treasure of God’s love for us in Jesus Christ. 


    Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent. Like the children of Israel who spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness, we spend 40 days recognizing we are set apart and distinguished from the world. We spend time intentionally repenting of our tendency to get off track and recommitting ourselves to walk in the light of Christ. 


    When Christians regularly recount God’s gracious, saving acts in the past for His people, they are empowered to repent and live holy lives with renewed hope and joy. Israel did this annually with feasts such as Passover, in the same way, Lent and Easter are celebrated annually by Christians. 


    This year the theme of our midweek Lenten worship services is “Promised Treasures.” While we usu-ally talk about giving something up for Lent, this year you are invited to receive something from God. Each week an “object lesson” will help us see, touch, smell, and/or taste as we hear the love of God pro-claimed in worship. Our hope is that the Word of God will help us recognize that God is nearer to His people than often realized. By highlighting the promised treasures for baptized Christians, their eternal hope and joy will increase as they wander through the wilderness of this world toward the Promised Land. 


    You are a promised treasure of God. Take time this month to remember, recognize, and rejoice in the promised treasures that God gives you. 


    Pastor Mark

  • What Does a Pastor Do?

    Here’s an interesting comparison by Rev. Dr. James Baneck of the LCMS that might answer that question. The lambs and sheep our Savior sent Peter to feed and tend were not the wooly kind residing on a beautiful hillside. There are, however, rich parallels between shepherding sheep and shepherding God's people.


    James Rebanks watches over real four-legged sheep in the United Kingdom. He writes about the parallels in his article, “Are You Hard Enough to Survive as a Shepherd?”
    "The romance wears off after a few weeks, believe me, and you will be left standing cold and lonely on a mountain. It is all about endurance. Digging in. Holding on. You will also need to be emotionally. tough … Carrion crows hang over our lambing fields waiting to steal the eyes out of anything sick or dead that cannot resist … You’ll need the patience of a saint, too, because sheep test you to the limit with a million ways to escape, ail, or die … It requires a body of knowledge and skills that shepherds devote decades to learning."


    How this applies to our pastors! There is nothing romantic about being a pastor; it is hard work and often lonely. It demands an endurance that comes only from God. Like carrion crows, Satan seeks to devour God’s people. The pastor stands guard. protecting and feeding God’s sheep with Christ in the preached Word and blessed Sacraments. The formation of men for the Holy Ministry begins at Baptism. And while pastoral formation is intensified during seminary, “it requires a body of knowledge and skills that [pastors] devote decades to learning."


    Pastors are to be clothed with the humility of Christ, “who humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8). Pastors must be equipped to lead Gods people to the waters of Holy Baptism, where God gives new birth to sinners and opens the kingdom of heaven for them. Pastors are formed to be stewards of the mysteries of God. Pastors feed God’s sheep the Word of God in preaching and teaching and with the body and blood of our Lord at His table. Pastors listen, love and seek the lost.


    Looking at all that a Pastor does, how is he prepared for this role at the Seminars’? Can you help with this preparation? Could you sponsor a seminarian? Could you help COS in their sponsoring of eight seminary students? Please help with your gift! ‘For more information, contact John W. Smith. God bless your help.

  • Worship Director Candace Sutter

    Candace is a composer, recording and performing artist, an instrumental music teacher, an accompanist and choir director.  She operates a private piano and percussion teaching studio and manages a small publishing company for her music compositions.  She has directed church and private choir concerts for nearly 30 years, and accompanied school and church choirs for 35 years, most recently was the Music Director at Timothy Lutheran and Faith Lutheran in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

    Candace studied music at Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska and additional Music studies in Theory and Conducting with Professors at Nebraska Wesleyan and Columbus Central Community College. She also has an Associates Degree of Applied Science from Columbus Central Community College.

    “Sharing the love of music is such a blessing to me and using it to enhance worship in my music ministry is what I feel called to do.”


    Learn more about Candace on her website at www.musicbycandacesutter.com

    or contact her on her Church email at

    worshipdirector260@outlook.com


    March 2024 News