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
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 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
Celebrate Freedom!
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” Galatians 5:1
Americans set aside the fourth day in July to celebrate the freedom we enjoy in this
country. Every patriotic celebration reminds us that freedom is not free. It comes with a great price. The freedom we enjoy in America came by the death of
countless lives of young men and women. The American flag we display in our yards, on our mailboxes and outside many buildings is a beautiful reminder of this truth. The red stripes remind us of the blood which has been spilled by our courageous military. The white stripes remind us of the purity in justice we continually strive towards. The stars on a field of blue serve two purposes. They remind us of our current union of fifty states. They also point us to the dream of a bright and better future for all citizens of this country.
With such freedom comes great responsibility. Each and every citizen of this country is called to live their life dedicated to preserving the freedom we have been given. We live our life in such a way that the principles of liberty and justice for all are evident in every aspect of our life.
Christians set aside every month, indeed every day, to celebrate the freedom we enjoy in Christ. We know this freedom came at a great price. The colors of the American flag remind us this beautiful truth as well. The red stripes remind us of His blood shed on the cross. The white stripes remind us the purity we have both now and forever as a result of His death and resurrection. The stars on a field of blue remind us of our place in His Kingdom and the home we have in heaven, a bright and glorious future indeed!
With such freedom comes great responsibility. Each and every Christian is called to
live their life dedicated to preserving the freedom we have been given. We live our life in joyful service to the God who has secured our freedom. We preserve and maintain this freedom by spending time with God in worship, and Bible study and in faithful service to our fellowman.
God bless your freedom celebrations on July 4 and every other day as well!
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
