About Us

The many new communities arising across the United States need the presence and influence of God's Word, as proclaimed and lived out by a Christian congregation. Yet church planting has become a costly endeavor, often beyond the resources available. The Open Arms concept provides a solution to this dilemma. Childcare ministry brings a congregation in touch with its community. It meets a need that cuts across the growing population. Many of those new homes house young families with both parents working. When they ask us to join them in caring for their child, we have opportunity for both nurture and outreach.

A well-founded childcare ministry nurtures not only the children but also the parents, and brings those children and parents into the open arms of the Church on a daily basis, often over several years. This provides opportunity for the Church, the body of Christ, to develop a relationship with the family. We can offer the warmth of a caring community, and minister to their various needs as occasions arise.

Childcare Ministry

Girl on Playground Childcare ministry tends to be self-supporting. Managed well, the program not only covers the cost of staff and materials but contributes to the cost of a facility. Thus a childcare program can help to house the newly founded congregation even while it enables that congregation to expand its ministry to the community. And the congregation can grow from the families it touches with the love of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Open Arms Concept is effective for establishing ministry in the OUTER CITY. It has also been successful for establishing satellite ministries.

The History of Open Arms

Ascension Lutheran Church in Atlanta, Georgia, pastored by Rev. Philip Kuehnert, began the first Open Arms Child Ministry Center in 1989. Simultaneously, they sponsored a new mission, Christ the Shepherd in Alpharetta, Georgia, with an Open Arms Center. The first worship in this new center was held in October of 1990. More Open Arms centers followed, in Georgia and elsewhere. Four ministries in the Atlanta area joined to register the name and the logo with the U. S. Patent and Trademark office. This enables the development of a network of quality, Christian childcare ministries under the banner of Open Arms.

Rev. Dr. Robert Scudieri, LCMS director for North America Mission, and Rev. Dr. Philip Kuehnert foresaw the need for promoting and supporting this model of church planting. They began a pattern of semiannual conferences for this purpose. Judy Christian and the LCMS Department of Child Ministry joined the effort, contributing greatly to the content and direction of the conferences. The Lutheran Church Extension Fund adds expertise in finance, market analysis, and business plan preparation.

The Open Arms Institute was chartered to sustain and expand upon the cause of church planting with childcare ministry. We have seen God's hand of blessing, and we feel privileged to offer our services to those on the forefront of Gospel proclamation.