WORSHIP BELIEFS
We Believe That ...
The God Whom we worship has known the weakness of our mortal flesh in Jesus Christ. He has lived life under the constraints of a world at odds with its Creator. He has endured the pain of loss to illness and death of those whom He has loved. He has suffered in our place the greatest agony the body can endure. He has died the inconceivable death of the Lord of life whose body hangs lifeless on a cross. He was laid in the grave even as we still commend the body to the ground, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. But, after three days, He was raised to life. He cannot die anymore or ever again. Death has no power over Him. The life He lives, He lives for us. We find our comfort in His incarnation, His holy life, His suffering and death, His resting in the tomb, and His rising to life again. He has been like us in every way except sin, so that we might be made like Him in life. In His resurrection is our hope to eternal life, where we live with our King forevermore.
We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God who has come into the world to save us from sin, death and the power of the devil. Having been crucified for our transgressions, Christ was raised from the dead for our justification. Having been given all power in heaven and on earth, and ascended to the Right Hand of God, Christ continues to be present with us through His Word and Spirit, and will return on the Last Day visibly to take us to be with Him in heaven.
Jesus is the center of what we teach and what we believe. For those who want more detail, here are two excellent summaries of what the bible teaches concerning the Christian faith to which our pastor subscribes without reservation:
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http://www.lcms.org/doctrine/doctrinalposition
http://www.lcms.org/doctrine/scripturalprinciples
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GOOD SHEPHERD'S HISTORY
In May of 1968, the South Wisconsin District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod extended a Divine Call to Reverend T.J. Schneider to serve as Missionary-at-Large to the Southwest section of Oshkosh. On September 1,1968, 85 people participated in the initial service. January 1969, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church was officially organized. By May 1970 its new church home at 1760 West 7th Avenue was dedicated. Reverend Schneider served Good Shepherd until June of 1973. During the following 22 years, the congregation continued to grow and on January 1, 1991 Good Shepherd was no longer a mission church but gained independence from synodical support. As membership at Good Shepherd increased a larger worship and fellowship building was needed. In 1992, the congregation began the purchase of the St. Raphael facility. The original Good Shepherd church building was sold in July 1993 and members walked though the doors of their new home at 2450 West 9th Avenue.
MEET OUR PASTOR
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in
righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work"
-2 Timothy 3:16-17
The verse above is my confirmation verse, spoken to me in in the spring of 1987 at my confirmation service. After the church service my pastor (the late Rev. Keith Lonsberry) poked me in the chest and said, “Someday you’ll be a good pastor.” I never thought about that incident again until I gave in to the Divine whisper in my clouded head my senior year at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay that kept saying, “You should be a pastor.”…
Here’s a little biography about me so you know where I’m coming from, where I’ve been and some other stuff you may find interesting…or not. I was born in Beaver Dam, WI in October of 1973 to Norbert & Lorraine Koepsell. Raised in Horicon, the youngest of seven children…3 boys, 3 girls and then the “great oops”: me. After High School, I enlisted in the Army and served as a paratrooper in the elite 82nd Airborne Division. After that, I moved home and enrolled in college at The University of Wisconsin-Washington County center (West Bend, WI). After obtaining my Associate of Arts degree, I moved to Green Bay to attend the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay to obtain a Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational Communication.
After I finally gave in to that Divine whisper in my clouded noggin, I began studying for the Master of Divinity Degree at Concordia Theological Seminary (Fort Wayne, IN) in the fall of 2000. I was ordained as a Lutheran Pastor in August, 2006 and from there worked to develop a new church start, Alive! Lutheran Church (Monticello, MN). In the fall of 2015 I received and accepted a call to serve at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Oshkosh, WI.
Our Good Lord blessed me with a wonderful wife, Kimberly (Price) when we were married on July 22nd, 2000. God has also richly blessed us with four children: Brody, Samuel, Jace and Kinsey Lorraine.
To this day I am still striving to live out my confirmation verse (above) with God’s people at Good Shepherd and the Oshkosh community…and I am committed to heeding Pastor Lonsberry’s finger poke and being a “good pastor.”
Pastor Koepsell
Preaching, teaching, learning, listening, leading, baptizing, marrying and burying God’s people since 2006
JOIN OUR FAITH FAMILY
We welcome you to become a part of our faith family at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. It's a place where you can grow in faith, build relationships, and serve alongside others. Come and experience the warmth of our community.
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SERVICE TIMES
SUNDAY SERVICES
Join us for worship every Sunday at 8:00 am and 10:30 am
MIDWEEK GATHERING
Gather with us every Thursday at 6:30 pm for midweek worship