About Us
Shelter Church was created to meet people where they are with dignity, spiritual shelter, and community. At the core of that is no expectations and no strings. Whether you are here once or every week... whether you're just here for the meal, or church, or both... you are invited to bring your whole self with you. At Shelter Church, you don't have to hide any parts of your identity or lived experience.
Shelter Church first began in 2021, when the congregations that had partnered together to form Connections Ministry (now known as Connections Shelter) noticed a need for low-barrier access to worship and faith community. Our early services took place in a parking lot near downtown Mankato, so that anyone who walked by in the busy neighborhood could be welcomed into the meal and service. The very first service took place on Easter Sunday 2021 in the parking lot of Bethlehem Lutheran Church. Eventually, we moved to the parking lot of Grace Lutheran Church, and for the last few years we have been meeting inside in Grace's fellowship hall twice a month (1st and 3rd Sundays). We are excited to be expanding back to meeting weekly during the summer months of 2026!
"All the unwritten rules and social expectations that go along with traditional church services can add stress and anxiety to people who expend so much energy just trying to survive day by day... [At Shelter Church] there are no rules about how you should dress, or when you should show up or if you wander in and out or just stand on the fringes — just a general acceptance of where people are and then literally having everything out in the open. If you want to get up and leave at any point, nobody is going to say anything or look at you funny." -2021 Article in the FreePress
Shelter Church is a Synodically Authorized Outreach Ministry (SAOM) of the Southeastern Minnesota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Why an olive branch in our logo? The olive branch was a sign to Noah that the storm was passing and there would soon be a safe place to land. The olive branches surround our name because we trust that God is with us, providing welcome & shelter when we need a soft place to land after life's storms.