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Shepherd Seeks To Expand Flock

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By SUZANNE M. SCHMIDT

In The Loop In The Loop

Published: December 13, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - Shepherd of the Lakes Lutheran Church is ready to introduce itself to the community. The Land O' Lakes congregation will hold an open house at 11 a.m. Sunday at the Land O' Lakes Senior Center, 6801 Wisteria Loop.

The Rev. John Huebner said he is hoping the thousands of postcards the church sent out about the grand opening will bring in more members so the congregation can grow.

"When I started here a year ago, there were only three members," Huebner said.

"Now we have numbers in the teens and sometimes up to 20. We want people to come out and check out the church. We have a Bible-based worship service, which some people might think means we have a lot of rules and regulations but that is not true.

"Since we are still a new church, we are much more flexible. It is more of a blended service with a blend of traditional and contemporary songs. It is not a very loud church though because we have no band."

Although the church is small and relatively new, members are hopeful it will grow over time.

"I grew up with large churches where there are so many people that you feel like you are just a number," said David Mosakowski, a congregant. "With this church, I have more of an opportunity to have an active role. I have more input and I think it will be neat to see it grow."

Mosakowski attends the church's worship services Sundays at 11 a.m. at the senior center because he likes Huebner and the outreach the church does.

"I love him, he is a model Christian man," Mosakowski said. "He is receptive to people's opinions and his services are Bible-based. With the outreach, you can really see it is working. We like to go out and share the Gospel with people who wouldn't normally hear it."

The church is a satellite mission of Peace Lutheran Church in Holiday. Until about a year ago, there were only a few members who gathered for Bible studies, but in March, Huebner started having worship services.

Outreach also has been a big focus. So far, the church has had Easter and Christmas events as well as a Moms and Tots group that recently ended.

The Moms and Tots program was an eight-week series for mothers with children ages 2 to 4. Huebner said he liked the outreach because it taught the mothers how to work with their children and gave everyone some social time, as well. This program should start again in February.

The church will have a Christmas for Kids program from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dec. 20 at the senior center. Last year, the program helped 35 children, but this year the church is hoping about 50 children will attend. The event is free but parents interested in attending must register with the church at its Web site.

"The event will include an iPod giveaway, crafts, activities, games and a pizza lunch," Huebner said. "We will also have Christmas cookies for the children and we are going to teach them about the real story of Christmas through a child-oriented video, activity sheets and crafts."

On Christmas Eve, the church will have a candlelight worship service at 7:30 p.m. Huebner said the focus of the sermon will be on the birth of Jesus.

For information, visit www.shepherdoflakes.com or call (813) 401-9135.

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