ABout Emmanuel Church
Overview
Emmanuel Church exists to faithfully worship the triune God, to glorify Him in all we do, and to see His kingdom spread into every corner of the world. We do this by gathering on the Lord’s Day in covenant renewal worship, sharing the good news of Jesus’ life, death burial, and resurrection with others, showing hospitality to strangers and friends, applying the gospel to create thriving marriages and families, raising our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and pursuing all of our callings in love for God and our neighbor.
We are a Reformed and Evangelical church, meaning we embrace the ancient Christian faith as proclaimed by the apostles, church fathers, and Protestant Reformers. With the historic and Evangelical church, we confess the life-changing power of the gospel, and are a member of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches.
HOW IT STARTED
Converted reading the New Testament and Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis in seventh grade, it wasn’t until high school that my (Pastor Jerry Owen, here in the first person) faith broadened and flourished as a result of weekly worship and preaching at Trinity Church (then Eastside Evangelical Fellowship) in Bellevue, WA.
After completing ministerial training at Greyfriars Ministerial Hall, I returned to Trinity Church in 2007 to serve as an Associate Pastor. In 2013, as an outgrowth of our desire to see the church grow and the great commission fulfilled, the elders commissioned me, two other officers and a small group of like-minded families to start Emmanuel Church on the north end of Lake Washington.
Our desire is to see people reconciled to Christ, families put back together, and the Word of God applied to everything–all of Christ for all of life–for His glory and our joy. God has continually opened doors and blessed our work, and we invite you to join us.
FORGIVENESS, JOY & GOSPEL LIFE
The good news of the gospel is that God the Father so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to become a man– Emmanuel, God with us-–in order to live a sinless life, suffer and die for our sin on the cross, and rise from the dead with the power of everlasting life. Just as sin and death entered the world through one man, Adam, so through Christ, the new Adam, righteousness and salvation have come to all who call upon Him.
The call of the gospel is to believe it–to confess that we have broken God’s law of love as revealed in His commandments, and that only through Christ can we be reconciled to Him.
When we believe the good news that Jesus lived and died for us, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to walk in the newness of life, forsaking sin, and growing in grace. As we walk in the light as He is in the light, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from sin. Nothing can separate from His love–not even death itself–and so the Christian life is one of humble joy even in suffering.
MISSION
The mission of Emmanuel Church is to see the earth filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14). We do this through worship, discipleship, and service.
WORSHIP
The earth is the Lord’s and all its fulness, and therefore in one sense all of life is an act of worship: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).
But not every part of life has equal significance, and our Maker gathers us to a unique and wonderful meeting every week to renew, celebrate, confess, sing, learn, give, pray, eat, drink and be blessed along with all of his people.
The Bible teaches you become like what you worship (Ps. 115:8) which is why the Christian life centers on worshiping the triune God. We come to the Father, through the Son, by the power of the Spirit, and in doing so we learn to reflect his love, mercy, power, humility, creativity, kindness, justice and holiness.
We worship the living God who made heaven and earth, and so our worship is joyful, lively and reverent.
DISCIPLESHIP
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
–Matthew 28:18-20
The mission of the church is twofold: birth and growth. These begin in worship but flow from there into the rest of life. Birth happens in the proclamation of the gospel as people hear, believe and are baptized, so we are committed to sharing the good news and our own lives with those outside the church.
Growth happens as Christians enter into close fellowship with other believers, so we encourage small groups for prayer, study, support and accountability.
SERVICE
Jesus didn’t come to be served, but to serve. He was the anointed King and God incarnate who astonishingly took the lowest task of washing his disciples’ feet. He then told them to do the same for one another (Jn. 13:1-20). To feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome strangers, clothe the naked and visit the sick and imprisoned is to serve Christ: ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Mat. 25:40).
This call to love one another begins in the church and extends to our neighbors, communities and cities. Like any family, we have countless opportunities to serve from making worship happen on Sundays to hospitality and life in the community throughout the week.
Emmanuel Church seeks to function as the body of Christ and use our time, talent and treasure to meet the needs of every member.
LEAD PASTOR
Jerry Owen earned a B.A. in Classical Studies from University of Idaho, M.Litt from University of St. Andrews, and G.L. from Greyfriars Ministerial Hall. He met Jennie, his wife-to-be, in 2003 at the beginning of his ministerial training which made the whole thing even more fun. They have five kids (George, Cecilia, Helen, Molly and Lucy) who make for a constant adventure.