ESM Mission

Emmanuel - St. Michael exists to nurture children in Christian faith within the context of sound academic instruction and to reflect Christ in all relationships.

We believe excellence in education occurs through:

• Christ-Centered Community - Following Christ's example of intentional inclusion, forgiveness, encouragement, growth, and faith is central to every day.
• Lifetime Preparation - A strong academic program strives to produce tomorrow's Christian leaders.
• Dynamic Partnerships - Each family is nurtured with individual attention and care.
• Excellent Instruction - Professional educators serve in a state and nationally accredited program.

Emmanuel – St. Michael is an accredited school of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the Indiana Department of Education. We are a Christ-centered community that teaches and responds to the love of the Triune God. Our school accepts and teaches the Bible-based teachings of the LCMS that can be summarized in three phrases: Grace alone, Faith alone, Scripture alone. To learn more about the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod and its’ teachings visit www.lcms.org.

What is a Lutheran education?

A Message From Our Principal

Pastor John H.C. Fritz authored an essay under the title “Why a Christian School for My Children” more than 60 years ago. The paragraph below captures the essence of his thesis.

“Our Lutheran Church has never underestimated the great value of a good all-around education. Of the right kind of knowledge, we cannot acquire too much.  The foundation of a man’s life is laid in his youth. The years of childhood make up the formative period of life. Our boys and girls are our men and women of the coming years. Our future generation will be what our children are today: physically, mentally, morally, spiritually. The purpose of the Christian parochial school in our Lutheran Church is to provide our children with a proper and well-balanced “diet,” to give them what they need for a proper healthy development of the intellect and the soul. To fit them for life.”

Pastor Fritz articulates a mission that helped establish the LCMS as a leader in parochial education decades ago. Today, that same purpose exists. A Lutheran education is one that establishes Christ firmly in the center of life and seeks to connect children and families to the grace freely offered by our Savior. This is done within the context of excellent academic instruction.

Families may identify many and varied reasons for their participation in our school. However, regardless of their reason for attendance, we must not be varied in our purpose for existing. More than at any other time in our nation’s history we need Christian leaders who confidently and consistently are able to go into the world fulfilling the commission of Matthew 28:16-20. This requires a unified commitment to the mission and ministry of ESM and to that end Lutheran education must not water-down, compromise, or waver in our teaching of Christ crucified at all times.