ABOUT US
OUR STORY
Immanuel Lutheran Ministries (ILM) exists to reveal the beauty of the Kingdom of God by sharing the goodness of Jesus with all people. In 2012 Immanuel Lutheran Church in Temple and Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Belton merged to become Immanuel Lutheran Ministries, one church in two locations so that we could share that good news of Jesus to the Eastern portion of Bell County (Temple, Belton, and Salado).
No matter who you are or where you’ve been, strangers are family at ILM. We believe God wants to share the beauty of His Kingdom with you through the goodness of His Son Jesus. Come as you are. You will only find forgiven sinners in our church: Forgiven sinners who are loved by God. Forgiven sinners who have a restored relationship with the Father. Forgiven sinners who are still on their journey of faith. We invite you to join us on that journey!
WHAT WE BELIEVE
We believe in ONE God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit
We believe the Father created a perfect universe in 6, 24 hour days and rested on the 7th day
We believe the Son came down from Heaven, was born of the Virgin Mary, named Jesus and lived among us in order to save the world from sin by suffering, dying and rising from the dead
We believe the Holy Spirit is God’s gift to people who creates and sustains saving faith through the gospel of Jesus Christ
We believe faith in Jesus is the only way to be saved and that faith is a gracious and free gift from God for all people
MEET THE TEAM
Pastor Dana Wilhelmsen
It is my great joy to welcome you to Immanuel Lutheran Ministries. I’m Pastor Dana and I wanted to take a moment and thank you for visiting our website. Immanuel Lutheran Ministries exists to reveal the beauty of God’s Kingdom to people, neighborhoods and cultures by sharing the goodness of Jesus with all people by what we say and what we do. Nothing would please me more than for you to join us on the journey. I’d like to personally invite you to visit one our five worship services at either of our two locations and share with us your story so that we can get to know you and your family a bit better. Even if ILM isn’t the best fit for you, our prayer is that you join Jesus on His mission in some way, somewhere. After all, Jesus has poured out His life for you in such a powerful and personal way and invites you and your family to take the next step of joining Him on His mission. Thanks you so much for stopping by our website. Don’t be a stranger, we’d love to get to know you better!
Pastor Dana has served ILM as Sr. Pastor for over 8 years. He is married to Vera where they began their ministry planting churches in Arizona and working to bring people to Jesus from out of life in the cults. Dana and Vera have 3 girls, grand kids and a great grand baby too!
Pastor Grayson Albers
Temple Campus Pastor
Pastor Grayson Albers (PG) is our Temple Campus Pastor, is Married to Kim and has 2 boys and a girl. PG is a graduate of Concordia University Wisconsin with a focus on biblical languages and pre seminary studies and went to Concordia Seminary St. Louis, MO for his pastoral studies. PG likes to hunt and is an avid Green Bay Packer fan. Our Dallas fans pray for him a lot. :-)
Nikki Hernandez
Business Manager
Nikki serves as the business manager for Immanuel Lutheran Ministries and helps to make sure the books are balanced and the bills are paid. She and her husband have three sweet daughters and a host of farm animals they love to care for. In her spare time, Nikki enjoys camping, boating, and all things “outdoorsy” with her family. (Yes, outdoorsy is a word. You should add it to your vocabulary!)
Pastor Luke Madsen
Belton Campus Pastor
Pastor Luke is our Belton Campus Pastor, is married to Darcy and has four teenage girls. So we pray for him a lot :-) Pastor Luke is a graduate of Concordia University Texas with a focus on biblical languages and church music and went to Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne, IN for his pastoral studies. Pastor Luke loves to fish and is an avid Texas Longhorn football fan.
Malinda Averil
Office Administrator
Malinda serves Immanuel as our Administrative Assistant and has been a member here at ILM for many years. Malinda has served as a leader on many of our boards, including the Board of Directors and in her free time, Malinda loves great music, a good book and the outdoors.
Marca Scott
Minister of Family Life
Marca is our Children’s Minister and has served at Immanuel for over ten years. She is married to Jerry and has 3 grown children and grandchildren. In her spare time she loves watching The Voice with her daughter. Marca recently served as our Children’s Minister and is currently transitioning to our Minister of Family Life.
Robin Smith
Director of Worship
Robin is our Director of Worship, is married to Karen, and has seven adult children, two of which are still in college. Robin has a Bachelors Degree of Music Education from Baylor University and a Masters in Organizational Development from Abilene Christian University. He is passionate about heart-felt worship, expressing the beauty of Christ, and leadership development. In his spare time he loves music, reading, and sports.