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WHO ARE WE ? . . . THE GIFT The greatest gift we have ever received or will ever receive is the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ's death on the cross and His resurrection..."The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23). We at St. John's invite you to share this gift with us. Jesus Christ has made a great difference in our lives. Our objective is to be a caring church where Christ is the center of every part and person in our church family. The three-dimensional heart and cross is our church logo. Since our church is named for John, the Evangelist, and John is the disciple that Jesus loved dearly, the symbol for love is a heart. The symbol for John, the Evangelist, is a heart in conjunction with a cross. The symbol for the LCMS is a three dimensional cross which reminds us of the Trinity, the Holy three-in-one. We added a three dimensional heart in conjunction with the three dimensional cross to not only reflect St. John's union with that cross, but to also reflect the Trinity's involvement in and maintenance of that love. "FOR BY GRACE YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED THROUGH FAITH...IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD" [EPH 2:8] . . . SHARING THE GIFT THROUGH SERVICE Our family members are active in serving their community; we support SHARE as well as other agencies like women's shelters, disaster relief, missions, and the like. Our Boards and congregational officers are constantly at work maintaining, improving, and expanding our overall ministry. We are very thankful for God's blessings and seek to be careful stewards of the gifts and offerings of our members in support of this ministry. We see every member of our congregation as a servant of Jesus Christ, and seek to enable them to serve as his ambassadors to the community. "Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ..." (2 Corinthians 5:20) "and he gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ " (Eph 4:11-12) . . . SHARING THE GIFT THROUGH WORSHIP "I was glad when they said unto me, 'Come, let us go into the house of the Lord." Psalm 122:1 Sunday morning worship services are at 10:00 AM with Sunday School and Adult Bible Class beginning at 9:00 AM. Holy Communion is celebrated on the first and third Sundays of each month. Special festival services and midweek services are held during Advent, Lent, Christmas, Holy Week, and Easter. Our worship services are grounded firmly in the Means of Grace... God's Word and the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion. Our worship is liturgical in nature; that is, worship is active and dynamic... we hear God's Word of grace and forgiveness in the Gospel, and respond with hymns, prayers, responsive readings, and other elements of liturgy. You will quickly notice that much of our worship service is taken directly from Scripture. The repetitive nature of this liturgical service rooted in God's Word serves to reinforce the faith created by God's Word. In worship we recognize God's real presence to forgive sin and equip and empower His people for faithful service. While this form of worship may be unfamiliar to you, we invite you to follow along in the worship folder (bulletin) and hymnal... you'll be surprised just how fast you catch on! ...SHARING THE GIFT THROUGH OUR HERITAGE The St. John's Congregation enjoys a long heritage of celebrating God's gift of salvation. Organized in 1898, the congregation celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1998. St. John's is a member of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. We live in a grasping world, a world so often marked by the absence of love. So many people are enduring the burdens of loneliness, frustrations, emotional and spiritual starvation. The answer lies in understanding God's love in Jesus Christ. We need to hear and share the affection and encouragement of God's love with one another. At St. John's, we enjoy a congregation where love is fluently spoken. We support traditional family values and provide a caring community where distinctively Christian friendships can be built. "We love because He [Christ] first loved us." [I John 4:19] . . . STATEMENT OF MISSION AND MINISTRY We at St. John's understand our purpose or mission to be: AS A FAMILY OF BAPTIZED BELIEVERS IN JESUS CHRIST AND AS HIS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES, WE AT ST. JOHN'S LUTHERAN CHURCH, THROUGH THE POWER OF GOD'S WORD AND SACRAMENTS, SHARE THE GOSPEL LOCALLY AND GLOBALLY WHILE TEACHING AND CARING FOR EACH OTHER. . . . SHARING THE GIFT BY FAITH We believe that the Bible is God's Word, without error or contradiction. In the 16th Century, Martin Luther, a German Monk, made his stand on the Word, rejecting human traditions and requirements that had drawn attention away from God's truth. The Lutheran confessional writings in the Book of Concord explain what Lutherans believe based upon the Scriptures . From the Word, we know that there is one God, who exists in three persons -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each person is of the same essence -- equal in power, in eternity, and in majesty. We believe that the Father created and sustains the world. The Scriptures tell us that humans chose to follow their own way and fell into sin -- in direct disobedience to God. We believe that Jesus Christ, true God and true man, suffered and died on the cross as punishment for that sin. Jesus lived in perfect obedience to God. He was without sin. It is only because of Jesus -- not because of anything we do -- that our relationship with God is restored through the forgiveness of sin. God counts the righteous life of Jesus as if we lived it. We believe that the Holy Spirit inspired the writers of the Bible. We believe that the Holy Spirit uses the truth of God's Word to create faith in us. Through the Word and the Sacraments -- Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper -- God also keeps us in faith and strengthens us in faith. Three principles under gird our belief: Scripture alone, faith alone, and grace alone. Holy Scripture is the only true source of knowledge about God and His will for us. As sinful human beings, we cannot earn nor do we deserve God's love or forgiveness. Grace is God's good and gracious will to give us love and forgiveness for the sake of Jesus' death and resurrection for us. Only by faith in God's gracious will to convey His love and forgiveness to us for the sake of Jesus, are we able to receive the love and forgiveness God provides in Jesus. . . . SHARING THE GIFT THROUGH OUR SYNOD The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS) consists of 6,100 congregations and 2.6 million Baptized members. Emphasis is placed on the local congregation because that is where people are touched one-on-one. The local congregation is where God's Word is taught and where the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper create, sustain, and grow our new life in relationship with God. The Synod -- the national organization -- serves in support of and on behalf of its local member congregations. Synodical support focuses on the development of Sunday School lessons, hymn books, resources for ministry, and worship material. Local churches also receive help from the Synod for special areas of ministry to serve people in both the congregation and the community. As a Synod, congregations are able to combine their strengths and resources to do things that individual congregations can't do. The Synod sends missionaries to other countries, maintains colleges and seminaries, provides loan funds for building churches, and operates a health and retirement system for full-time church workers. The word synod comes from two Greek words: syn, meaning "a meeting or assembly", and hodos, meaning a "way or journey". The Lutheran Church Missouri-Synod is a group of congregations "walking together", because they all confess and practice the same teachings of God's Word. The Synod was formed in 1847 by 16 congregations, representing German Lutheran settlements in several U.S. locations. It was first known as the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States. While our forefathers were German, today we are a church body composed of people from every continent. . . . SHARING THE GIFT THROUGH GROUP ACTIVITIES
CHILDREN CHOIR
ADULT CHOIR
MEN'S DEVOTIONAL BREAKFAST LUTHERAN WOMEN'S MISSIONARY LEAGUE LADIES AID (Morning & Afternoon Meetings) ERGONIANS (Evening Meetings) PRAYER CHAIN VARIOUS FELLOWSHIP EVENTS SEWING GROUP YOUTH GROUP
. . . SHARING THE GIFT THROUGH PEOPLE "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a Holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." I Peter 2:9 Every Christian has been called and gifted by God to share the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ with those at work, in school, in the community, and through support of missions . . . the world! We are blessed with a dedicated and gifted staff of church professionals who are here to serve you, as well as our elected church officers and board chairmen. . . . SHARING THE GIFT THROUGH MUSIC Music has been called "the living voice of the
Gospel." Lutherans enjoy a rich heritage of beautiful and uplifting music. Our
worship services are filled with wonderful hymns, musical responses, choral and
instrumental music. Among special opportunities to become involved in our music
ministry are the following choirs: Small children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pre-K thru 2nd grade Youth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3rd grade thru 8th grade Adult . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . Sr. High thru Adult . . . SHARING THE GIFT THROUGH FELLOWSHIP Our church enjoys fellowship with annual events throughout the year: Congregational picnic, Ladies' Aid chili luncheon, Sunday School Easter Egg Hunt, Fall Festival (Youth), Christmas Caroling, Vacation Bible School, July 4th Caroling.
Other events include Friendship luncheons, Youth trips, special fund raisers, monthly morning and evening Bible Study, Men's Devotional breakfasts, and Wednesday Family Nights (include a light meal) with Bible study for all ages plus Confirmation classes for Youth and Adult Information classes. . . . SHARING THE GIFT THROUGH EDUCATION Christian Education is a vital ministry in our church family. Our Sunday School begins at 9:am and is designed to offer individual classes for everyone. Children age 2 through kindergarten age meet in the Parish Hall. First graders through Sophomores in High School meet in the Educational Building. High School juniors, seniors, and college students meet in the Parsonage across the street from the church. Adults have a choice between two Bible studies and related topics classes. One meets in the Parish Hall and one in the Educational Building. 2. On Wednesday nights (during the fall, winter and early spring) after a light supper in the Parish Hall (5:45-6:30), individual classes begin for all ages (6:30-7:30). We have LifeLight Bible Study, Christian videos and films on various topics, discussion groups on topics pertinent to teenagers and Bible stories for younger children. Confirmation classes for seventh and eighth grade youth are held throughout the year on Wednesday night (6:30-7:30). Confirmation classes for adults coming from a non Lutheran background or Lutherans wanting to review the fundamentals of their beliefs are scheduled at various times throughout the year. 3. Two different Bible Study groups meet monthly. The morning Bible study group meets the third Tuesday of each month at 9:AM in the Parish Hall. The evening group meets the second Thursday of each month in individual homes or the Education Building. 4. Every summer we offer an excellent Vacation Bible School and invite you to inquire about this or any other education ministry in our congregation. |
