ILS History
History of Immanuel Lutheran Grade School
Immanuel Lutheran School began when the church organized on September 13, 1866. Although the congregation wanted to open a school immediately, a shortage of available preachers delayed the start of classes until September 14, 1867. Almost twenty years later, the congregation built a school building on Third Avenue near the railroad crossing.
In 1903, the congregation dedicated a new four-room school. This building (now called the Wesley Building) is located on the corner of North Broad Street and Washington. In 1969, the congregation dedicated a new elementary school building, which was built as an attachment to Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church, on the corner of Second and Spring.
History of Immanuel Lutheran High School
When the Immanuel congregation withdrew from the Wisconsin Synod, some doubted that a congregation independ- ent of a synod could exist. On May 25, 1959, God permitted the congregation to do another seemingly impossible thing–start a high school, college and a seminary, all scheduled to open the following September. Three teachers and 41 students, including boarding students from several states, started the school year in the North Chapel at the intersection of Third and Harper.
On January 6, 1961, the Immanuel congregation voted to join the Church of the Lutheran Confession (CLC). Three days later the congregation passed a resolution stating that the congregation stood ready to transfer the function of supervision of their school to the newly formed CLC synod.
In 1963, the CLC purchased land in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and the school, which had originated in Immanuel congregation, was taken out of Mankato. Recognizing that it would be financially impossible for many of Immanuel’s young people to attend (if they had to board in Eau Claire), the Immanuel congregation voted early that summer to continue operating a high school. It would use the same building at Third and Harper that Immanuel Lutheran College had been using.
In 1979, the high school was moved to its present location on the church grounds of Immanuel at Second and Spring. An addition, consisting of three high school classrooms and a gymnasium, was constructed in 1991.
Over the years, Immanuel Lutheran High School, as well as, Immanuel Lutheran Grade School, has served the church and the community by providing a Christian education to many students who are ready to be faithful stewards of God. It is by His grace that we continue to be Immanuel–God With Us.