By Karen Vance
Enquirer Contributor

AMELIA - On Christmas Eve, Christians across the world will celebrate the birth of Jesus. At Friendship Lutheran Church, it will be celebrated with the birth of a new congregation.

"Christ was born to give us hope and in some ways, this is the birth of a new congregation," said Pastor Mark Daniels. "It gives us all sorts of possibilities and that's what God does best - gives us possibilities."

Friendship Lutheran opens its doors at 1300 White Oak Drive for a 7 p.m. Christmas Eve service. It's the culmination of not 12 days of Christmas, but 12 years.

That's when Pastor Daniels, his wife and their two children began the congregation. Services were held at a school and, in time, the congregation grew to 160 members, affiliated with Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and squeezed its Christmas Eve service in at 9 p.m. between two services at its holiday host, nearby Lutheran Church of the Resurrection in Anderson Township.

"This year you can just sense the excitement in the congregation," he said.

And, even though it's a long time coming, it's coming down to the last minute.

The chairs - the church will not have pews - and the altar and pulpit are to be delivered today.

Steve Snoke of Union Township has been a member of the congregation for 10 years and chaired the building committee for the last three.

"We've really put our prayers and our hopes into it," Mr. Snoke said.

The building, with a 275-seat sanctuary, will cost about $400,000 and is financed by a capital campaign among members, donations from other churches and a bank loan. Member involvement didn't stop with money. They've installed the roof and the siding. Members have painted and installed tiles.

At least 40 people from the congregation contributed sweat equity to get the church ready for Tuesday. Member Aaron Hauke of Amelia built the altar and the pulpit. Andrew Wood of Batavia painted cartoon figures on the walls of the nursery and his parents, Don and Lisa Wood, wallpapered the restrooms.

"We look at the new church as a tool to help us reach the community and spread the word of Jesus Christ," Mr. Snoke said. "Not having a permanent residence really limits what you can do."

Still facing a tight budget to cover their building and transition from a mission to a permanent church, the congregation is reaching out.

Friendship Lutheran has already begun sending donations to Celebration Lutheran Church, a mission church in Mason.

"It's really an important thing to support new churches. They are an effective way to reach new people, and in my opinion, there aren't enough churches in the United States," Pastor Daniels said.

Its ministry also goes beyond the church to the community. Pastor Daniels is planning a community Super Bowl party and intends for the church to maintain its "relaxed reverence" style of worship.

"We take seriously the teachings of Martin Luther in breaking down the barriers and walls that churches sometimes put between God and people," he said.

Pastor Daniels explains "relaxed reverence" - "Jesus was not hung up on ritual." As Martin Luther explained, the focus should be on man's relationship to God and "not on proscribed steps."