Founded in 1998, Hope Lutheran has grown from a small core group of people meeting in rented space into what it is today, all by the grace and goodness of God. Times change, people come and go, facilities change, but in such an atmosphere of change, Hope's commitment to preach the unconditional gospel of Christ hasn't changed a bit. It's our sincere desire and corporate mission to share the gospel with our neighbors and serve them in love. That good news message of Christ crucified and risen isn't just for Manhattan, Wamego, St. George, and Fort Riley - it's for the world! Through Hope's partnership with our national church body (Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod), we can help spread the gospel throughout the world.

Our synod operates four ministerial education schools, which give focused training for future church workers in the preaching and teaching ministry. The two college prep schools are Luther Preparatory School in Watertown, Wisconsin and Michigan Lutheran Seminary in Saginaw, Michigan. Our WELS college of ministry is Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minnesota. Finally, future pastors complete their training at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon, Wisconsin.

Here in Manhattan, a little group that used to meet once a month for Bible study asked our national church body (the WELS) for help to try to serve all the kinds of people in the Manhattan area.

"Aren't there other churches?" we were asked hundreds of times as we reached out to our community.

And we answered, "Yes, and if you're hearing the gospel of Jesus proclaimed, we're grateful. But we know that there are so many who aren't being served in the gospel of Jesus, and we want to try to serve them, too."

How did we grow to include an Early Learning Center? We listened to many, many individuals. We talked to city leaders. We noted that, at the time, there was a huge need in town for high-quality child care. Our church body has a long and rich history of serving children in and with the gospel. Offering worship to serve the community and a child care program to serve the children seemed like a natural fit.

So, we decided to build a facility that could work for Sunday School on Sunday and for serving children during the week. We planned. We worked. We prayed. We were blessed by the faithful efforts of so many people to build in 2005. We began by serving three kids. Soon, our efforts were blessed as more parents asked for care like we were providing. We leased another campus so that we could serve more children and their families. A couple years ago, we decided to combine the two-campuses into a new facility. In 2017, we were blessed to finish our expansion.

We're proud and thankful for the building and its playgrounds. We're very thankful for the quality teachers and assistant teachers who continue to help us help the families in the Manhattan/St. George/Wamego area. Most of all we're thankful that we are actually able to help parents with the most important task they are ever going to face — guide their kids and raise them in love.

​At Hope, we know that some things are difficult in life. But we also know the certainty of the love of our God for each child in Jesus; we do our faithful best to give such no-strings-attached love to each and every child. Of course, that's a daunting task. And so we're thankful for each day of grace that God gives us.