Services :: Beliefs :: History :: Schools :: Affiliations
Welcome to Bethlehem Lutheran Church. We invite you to join us for worship, look around, ask questions, and get to know us. We are here to serve and proclaim the gifts of our Lord Jesus Christ to all. These gifts are given through the Word of God, Holy Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. The weekly reaffirmation of repentance and receiving Christ’s gifts in Word and Sacrament is the beating heart of our congregational life.
We are a congregation of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Our mission is to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ through witness, mercy, and Christian education. Our day school proudly proclaims Christ and His gifts while educating over 200 children in our community with the skills and knowledge necessary for further education and life.
It is also our blessed responsibility to share Christ through Christian Education. We provide opportunities for this through Bible Classes, preschool and daycare programs, and a full K-8th grade Lutheran school.
Divine Service ⇑
- Sunday 9:30 a.m.
- Sunday School and Bible Study 8:30 a.m.
- 2024 Lent Easter Schedule
“After all, the chief purpose of all ceremonies to teach the people what they need to know about Christ.” (AC xxiv:3)
So often Christian worship is thought of as our service to God and what we can do for him. The beating heart of Christian worship comes in receiving the gifts of our Lord in His Word and Sacraments, as He comes to us to give us Himself for the forgiveness of sins.
Our services follow the liturgies and use the hymns found in the Lutheran Service Book. The Lord’s Supper is offered at each Divine Service.
The Lord’s Supper is celebrated at this congregation in the confession and glad confidence that, as He says, our Lord gives into our mouths not only bread and wine but His very body and blood to eat and to drink for the forgiveness of sins and to strengthen our union with Him and with one another. Our Lord invites to His table those who trust in His words, repent of all sin, and set aside any refusal to forgive and love as He forgives and loves us, that they may show forth His death until He comes. Because those who eat and drink our Lord’s body and blood unworthily do so to their great harm and because Holy Communion is a confession of the faith which is confessed at this altar, any who are not yet instructed, in doubt, or who hold a confession differing from that of this congregation and The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, and yet desire to receive the Sacrament, are asked first to speak with the Pastor or an usher. For further study, see Matt. 5:23ff; 10:32ff; 18:15–35; 26:26–29; 1 Cor. 11:17–34. We also ask that those who have not been instructed concerning Holy Communion cross their arms across their body as they kneel at the altar rail to show that they would like a blessing instead of the sacrament.
Our Beliefs ⇑
We believe, teach, and confess…
- in one God, the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as confessed in the three ecumenical creeds;
- that all Scriptures are inerrant and inspired Word of God;
- that all people are in bondage to sin, death, and the devil, and are unable to free themselves or make themselves right before God by their own reason or strength;
- that man is made right before God (justified) freely for Christ’s sake, through faith, and that sins are forgiven by His death and life given in His resurrection;
- that the Holy Spirit delivers the gifts of Christ’s through the preaching of the Word, proclamation of Absolution, in the waters of Holy Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper.
- We believe, teach, and confess the Lutheran faith as confessed in the Book of Concord 1580 to be a faithful and true exposition of the Holy Scriptures.
We invite you to contact us and visit us for more details on the Christian faith!
History ⇑
In December 1956, regular worship services and Sunday School started being held under the leadership of Pastor Emil Leising at the small mortuary on South Carson Street. Trinity Lutheran Church in Gardnerville supported the congregation as a mission outreach in Carson City with hopes for further outreach in Reno. Three years later, in 1959, Bethlehem Lutheran Church was formally organized; and in 1960 the church joined the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS).
In 1960, the congregation also called Rev. Rodney Jensen to serve as pastor, who served until 1965. In 1963 the property on Mountain Street was purchased and ground was broken for Bethlehem’s first building. The building was completed and the dedication was held on July 14, 1964. A large fellowship hall was added in 1964-1967, and a four bedroom parsonage was constructed on the site.
In 1965 Rev. Fred Rutkowski was called to serve the congregation, serving until 1969. In 1969 Rev. Douglas Thunder was called and served until he resigned in 1978. There was a vacancy in the congregation, but the Lord provided and the congregation was served by a vacancy pastor, Pastor Norman Ellerman until Rev. William Reese accepted the call to serve Bethlehem in 1980.
As congregational membership increased, plans were made to construct a new sanctuary on the north end of the Fellowship Hall. The new sanctuary was completed and dedicated in May 1985, along with a J. P. Mӧller pipe organ and chimes. That same year, a morning pre-school for three and four-year-olds was established. Plans for a Lutheran school were also initiated.
In 1987 Pastor Reese accepted a call to serve another congregation, and Rev. Mark Demel accepted the call to Bethlehem. During this time, a Lutheran school was constructed on site. The three-classroom school opened in September 1988 with L. Joe Fichtner as principal and 1st-4th grade teacher and with Kim Kintz as kindergarten teacher. From 1990-93 John Gamble served as principal on a part-time basis. Marvin Laurente succeeded him as principal and teacher. By this time the school had expanded through 8 grades. The first 8th grade class graduated in 1993.
As the church and school continued to grow, the congregation voted to begin participation in the vicarage program for seminarians. In December 1989 Kene Whybrew served his vicarage year at Bethlehem, followed by Harold Bender, Jr. and Fred Page III. In the spring of 1993, former Vicar Harold Bender, Jr. accepted Bethlehem’s call to serve as Assistant Pastor, a position he held until November 1996.
In 1999 Pastor Demel accepted a call from another church. In March, 2000 Rev. Dr. Paul Deterding accepted the call to Bethlehem and served the congregation until 2008. In 2001 Bethlehem Lutheran School called Lonnie Karges, previously a teacher at the school, to serve as principal. In August 2010 Bethlehem called Rev. Christopher Amen as pastor. Pastor Amen served faithfully for five years, until receiving a call to a different parish in the spring of 2015.
In 2016, members of Bethlehem voted to call Pastor Jedidiah Maschke, who accepted the call and was installed in May of that year. Bethlehem continues to serve the community of Carson City in faithfully proclaiming the gifts of Christ in Word and Sacrament and serving the community. Christian Education and fellowship are available to all ages through Little Lambs Pre-School, Bethlehem Lutheran School, Sunday School, youth groups, and various Bible Studies.
- 2016-present: Rev. Jedidiah Maschke
- 2010-2015: Rev. Christopher Amen
- 2000-2008: Rev. Dr. Paul Deterding
- 1993-1996, Associate: Rev. Harold Bender
- 1987-1999: Rev. Mark Demel
- 1980-1987: Rev. William Reese
- 1969-1978: Rev. Douglas Thunder
- 1965-1969: Rev. Fred Rutkowski
- 1960-1965: Rev. Rodney Jensen
- 1959-1960: Rev. Emil Leising