Sterling Heights church forms partnership with Lutheran school

Pastor Jeff Forester, left, of Heritage Church in Sterling Heights sits with Pastor Greg Griffith of Immanuel Lutheran.

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Two Macomb County churches have joined forces in an effort to make a private, Christian education available to more families.

Immanuel Lutheran School in Macomb Township will offer a $500 tuition discount to regular attendees of Heritage Church in Sterling Heights.

The partnership was officially announced in January, however talks between church leaders have been ongoing since November.

Immanuel Lutheran provides private preschool through eighth-grade classes at its campus, located on Romeo Plank Road near 21 Mile Road. The school serves anyone interested in a Christian education, including members of the adjoining Immanuel Lutheran Church.

Heritage Church is a non-denomination Christian church located in the former AMC movie theater on Schoenherr Road in Sterling Heights. Prior to moving to that location in 2010, Heritage Church gathered at Lutheran High School North in Macomb Township. Approximately one-third of Heritage's attendees live in Macomb Township, according to Pastor Jeff Forester.

Most children attending Heritage Church are students in the Utica Community Schools, Chippewa Valley Schools and L'Anse Creuse Public Schools districts. Others are home-schooled or attend other Christian schools.

"A solid, private, Christian education, like the one Immanuel offers, is now one more great option for the families of Heritage Church," Forester said. "We're excited about having this opportunity open up for our people."

Immanuel Lutheran Pastor Greg Griffith said the decision to join with Heritage Church was not about increasing enrollment numbers, but rather about offering faith-based learning to more families. "Our enrollment is steady as one of the largest Christian schools in our area, and we explored this partnership not for growth - though we do expect that - but because we constantly are asking the question: 'How do we continue to be a blessing to others?' This became an opportunity for us and Heritage to stand together and bless our communities we serve," he said.

Griffith added that it doesn't matter that Immanuel Lutheran is a Lutheran-based institution while Heritage is non-denominational.

"At Immanuel our philosophy is to be a service in our ministry areas to our community around us, and one of our priorities here at Immanuel is to educate the community around us. We see all our ministries as benefits to the community we are a part of. We invest serious dollars each year to offer an excellent private Christian education to anyone who desires this for their children," Griffith said. Continued...

Two Macomb County churches have joined forces in an effort to make a private, Christian education available to more families.

Immanuel Lutheran School in Macomb Township will offer a $500 tuition discount to regular attendees of Heritage Church in Sterling Heights.

The partnership was officially announced in January, however talks between church leaders have been ongoing since November.

Immanuel Lutheran provides private preschool through eighth-grade classes at its campus, located on Romeo Plank Road near 21 Mile Road. The school serves anyone interested in a Christian education, including members of the adjoining Immanuel Lutheran Church.

Heritage Church is a non-denomination Christian church located in the former AMC movie theater on Schoenherr Road in Sterling Heights. Prior to moving to that location in 2010, Heritage Church gathered at Lutheran High School North in Macomb Township. Approximately one-third of Heritage's attendees live in Macomb Township, according to Pastor Jeff Forester.

Most children attending Heritage Church are students in the Utica Community Schools, Chippewa Valley Schools and L'Anse Creuse Public Schools districts. Others are home-schooled or attend other Christian schools.

"A solid, private, Christian education, like the one Immanuel offers, is now one more great option for the families of Heritage Church," Forester said. "We're excited about having this opportunity open up for our people."

Immanuel Lutheran Pastor Greg Griffith said the decision to join with Heritage Church was not about increasing enrollment numbers, but rather about offering faith-based learning to more families. "Our enrollment is steady as one of the largest Christian schools in our area, and we explored this partnership not for growth - though we do expect that - but because we constantly are asking the question: 'How do we continue to be a blessing to others?' This became an opportunity for us and Heritage to stand together and bless our communities we serve," he said.

Griffith added that it doesn't matter that Immanuel Lutheran is a Lutheran-based institution while Heritage is non-denominational.

"At Immanuel our philosophy is to be a service in our ministry areas to our community around us, and one of our priorities here at Immanuel is to educate the community around us. We see all our ministries as benefits to the community we are a part of. We invest serious dollars each year to offer an excellent private Christian education to anyone who desires this for their children," Griffith said.

Griffith added that Heritage Church's founding pastor Bob Harvey is an alumnus of Immanuel, and many of the school's alumni are actively engaged at Heritage.

Immanuel Lutheran is offering a community open house for its preschool, grade school and all its ministries on Feb. 24 from noon to 3 p.m. View a video announcement at www.experienceheritage.org or www.immlutheran.org

Source: http://www.sourcenewspapers.com/articles/2013/02/15//news/doc511e44a0bf6be347584769.txt

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