Pastor Dar in 2013!
It all started when…
Praise & Worship was founded by Pastor Dar Karsten in July of 2007. A mission group, consisting of a team from Faith Lutheran Church in Branson, gathered at the Bart Rocket theater in Branson.
Key to the vision of this group: serve the un-churched and de-churched people in the Branson and Tri-Lakes area.
Later moving to the Golden Corral theater where people would see the “praise and worship service” sign, this core group continued to grow. Soon, additional “house church” gatherings sprang up and a congregation began to form, taking on the name: “Praise and Worship Ministries”.
As the group grew, so did the vision: Real Church, Deeper Discipleship and Mission & Outreach, leading to planting more churches!
A Church is Born!
By late 2013, this Christ-Centered, Disciple-Making Community incorporated in the State of Missouri and completed the chartering process to become a congregation with the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. After completing a move to the Lindwedel Winery it became official on December 15, 2013: Praise and Worship Lutheran Church was born!
A key question was on the table: how could the congregation build upon the work of Pastor Dar, who in the midst of retirement, was on a part-time status? He began reaching out into various groups looking for a like-minded worker to join the team!
On June 28, 2015, Mark Hunsaker was installed as Pastor of Praise & Worship, seeking to partner with this team of Jesus followers who desire for more and more people to receive the gifts of Jesus, which is to say: make more disciples!
Our Youth Discipleship group serving the grown-ups during one of our Family Dinners!
A Season of Growth
After 2015, Praise & Worship launched our Youth Discipleship group and have had the joy of baptizing and confirming both kids and adults! No longer quite fitting at Lindwedel Winery, the need for a larger space for the congregation in which to gather arose even as the Winery itself was growing and needed more use of the worship space for wine-making tasks.
In late 2019, Praise & Worship, in partnership with the Missouri District of the LCMS, constructed a new Home Base for our ministry. Always remembering that “the church” is the people, this will be a new facility where we will Gather to Grow in Christ, and then be SENT out to Encourage and Share with others what Jesus has freely given to us! On May 24, 2020, we worshiped for the first time in our new Praise & Worship Center!
A Vision for the Future
In 2022, a team from Praise & Worship set out to plant a new church in Hollister! Named restore, this new church is already reaching people who do not know Jesus, connecting the disconnected, serving in a whole new neighborhood!
Praise & Worship will continue to be a Christ-focused body of believers; making disciples and sharing the Good News of Jesus with all of southwest Missouri and beyond. As part of His family, we will continually reach out to the lost. We will warmly invite all to belong and help everyone learn His story. We will strive to share the experience of His love and power and embody His promises in every aspect of our daily lives.
In 2023, Pastor Mark Hunsaker accepted a call to plant churches in the Austin, TX area. Pastor Dar will serve as interim pastor as we seek to discover what the Lord has in store for us next!