St. Paul’s Vision and Discipleship Process

Whether you have been following Jesus for years, or you have just begun to find out who Jesus is (or you’re somewhere in between!), you might be looking for a church to call home. Here at St. Paul, we are always reflecting on the question “How can I follow Jesus here?” Below is the way God has led us to answer that question!

Vision Statement

The Lord Jesus Christ has called us, His disciples at St. Paul Lutheran Church and School, to gather regularly for worship, to grow in our relationship with God, to give our time, talents, and treasures for the sake of others, and to go and make more disciples who will follow Jesus.

Discipleship Process

As disciples of Jesus at St. Paul, we:

Gather together regularly for worship to receive God’s gifts.

Grow in our relationship with God and with fellow disciples of Jesus through the study of His Word, prayer, and community.

Give of our time, talents, and treasures to serve the needs of others in our church, our surrounding community, and our world.

Go throughout our everyday lives to make more disciples who will follow Jesus. 

What does Gathering look like at St. Paul?

We believe that disciples of Jesus need to gather for worship together with fellow disciples. In worship, we receive the gifts of God–His Word and Sacraments. We hear God’s Word read and preached each week in worship. We remember our identity as baptized children of God. We receive the Lord’s Supper together. We grow in the unity of faith that we have in Jesus. At St. Paul, we prioritize gathering every week. It is a spiritual habit that will deepen your relationship with God and with others who follow Him.

What does Growing look like at St. Paul?

As important and wonderful as gathering for worship is, we need to dedicate more than just one hour a week to our relationship with God and fellow believers. It can also be difficult to form close relationships with others by only attending the worship gathering. 

This is why at St. Paul we offer other opportunities to grow in relationship with God and others. One of the best ways to do this is to attend one of our Discipleship Hour classes on Sunday mornings from 9:45am-10:45am. There are classes for everyone ages 3 years and up (we also have childcare available for children under 3 years old). During the Discipleship Hour we grow in our relationship with God by studying His Word, and we grow in community with fellow disciples. 

Growing also happens in the home. God has designed spiritual growth and Christian teaching to mainly take place within our families, and the church exists to support the mission of forming us all as disciples.

What does Giving look like at St. Paul?

Everything that we have is a gift from God. As we continue to grow as His disciples, the Holy Spirit leads us to want to give back from the blessings we have in order to glorify God and bless our neighbors around us. At St. Paul, we emphasize giving of ourselves in the areas of our time, our talents, and our treasures. 

For more information on how to give of your “passion, talent and time”, check out our list of ministries and volunteer opportunities here.

For more information on how to give of your “treasure” to support the work God is doing at St. Paul, check out our financial giving page here.

What does Going look like at St. Paul?

Jesus says these words in Matthew 28:19-20: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

We believe that Jesus disciples us so that we will then go back out and make more disciples to follow Jesus. At St. Paul, our mission is to make disciples who will make more disciples. 

In order to do this, we share with others what we have learned about Jesus ourselves. We speak about the hope we have in Him–that by His death and resurrection He has taken away our sins and that even though we will die one day, He will raise us up to eternal life. Jesus sends us out to share this good news–not necessarily preaching on the streets or moving to a different part of the world, but He sends us out where He has already placed us, to lead people we already know to Jesus. We focus on making disciples as we go through the places where we live, study, work, play, volunteer, etc. 

Also check out the book Joining Jesus on His Mission by Greg Finke for lots of great teaching that has influenced our concept of Going to make disciples at St. Paul.