Our Story

The story of our congregation is one of faithfulness – not ours, but His. While we may always be striving to be faithful, the narrative which gets highlighted in the end is that our Lord has been and continues to be faithful to us, from our start in 1888 all the way to the present day. And our confidence rests in His continued faithfulness for generations to come.

The real “story of Emmanuel” would best be found in the actual lives of the people who over the years have been part of the family of Christ here. Nonetheless, what follows is a brief history which focuses mostly on our pastors and buildings.

In 1887, a small group of members of well-established German-speaking Missouri Synod Lutheran churches saw an urgent need to form an English-speaking congregation here in Baltimore.

January 19, 1888, Emmanuel English Evangelical Lutheran Church of Baltimore was organized with ten charter members. The first English-speaking mission of the Missouri Synod, pioneered by a handful of worshippers with limited financial resources, set out to serve the Lord under the capable leadership of its first pastor, the Reverend William Dallmann.

In 1889 the old Brantly Baptist Church building at Pierce and Schroeder Streets, became the congregation’s first worship facility and was used until 1914.

Prior to World War I, a building site was acquired at the corner of Warwick and Edmondson Avenues in West Baltimore. On February 8, 1914, a new church structure was dedicated at this site.

In 1921 The Reverend Rudolph S. Ressmeyer came to Emmanuel Congregation and served as pastor until 1956. In 1940, under his leadership, a new constitution was adopted which eliminated the word “English” from our corporate name.

On October 23, 1955 a ground-breaking service took place under a new pastor, the Reverend George Loose, at our present location. The dedication of the present church building and the first wing of the school building were celebrated on April 7, 1957. The second wing of the school building was dedicated in 1962.

In 1957 the congregation began the first radio broadcast of its Sunday service at its new site, a ministry which continued uninterrupted until 2014.

In 1990, recognizing the need for an enlarged gathering space to supplement the narthex, more classroom, office and meeting space, and improved handicap accessibility, planning was begun for renovations and additions to the existing church and school building. These new and renovated facilities, having been completed in two phases, were dedicated on Sunday, January 27, 2002, in a festival service that also celebrated our 114th anniversary under the leadership of Rev. Robert Mordhorst.

In 2004, Rev. Martin Schultheis became pastor of Emmanuel and continues to serve to this day. In 2016, Assistant Pastor, Rev. Falak Robson, was called to pastor an Urdu-speaking worship service that became part of Emmanuel’s ministry.

With the help of God, we strive to venture forth with the same dedication, faith, and commitment as those who founded the congregation over a century ago.

Pastors of Emmanuel

Associate & Assistant Pastors