St. Paul's Lutheran Church

About St. Paul's Lutheran Church

Growing together as God’s family in worship, fellowship, outreach, education, and service.

This is our focus, our mission.  We seek to grow together.  We are all individuals, but God’s holy church is one body with our Lord Christ as the head.  We first seek to be unified in worship.  This means that we not only gather as the body of Christ before Word and Sacrament, but we recognize the centuries of tradition and our connection to the past.  When we are unified in worship, we are also unified in fellowship.

We believe, teach, and confess the Christian faith as taught in the ancient creeds and the doctrines of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.  With our unity of doctrine and practice, we are then able to reach out to others with a bold proclamation of the Gospel.  As people gather with us and grow with us, we faithfully educate our members so that they might develop a heart to serve God and neighbor with faith and love.

Our History

The German Lutheran Immigrants of the Late 1800's

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church was planted by German Lutherans over 100 years ago as they made their way along the old Soo railway line which crossed central Minnesota.  The church was originally built in town.  Over time it became evident that a larger facility was needed, and St. Paul’s moved into the old Trinity Lutheran Church building a block or so away.

 

Again, a new facility with more space and seating was soon necessary.  Around the start of the 21st century, a new building was erected just west of town which is the building still used today.

 

Throughout the years St. Paul’s has called many pastors and been blessed with many faithful men and women who have offered their service in many ways.

Doctrine & Practice

It's All About Jesus

St. Paul’s is a congregation of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.  The LCMS is a confessional, sacramental, and evangelical church body who holds the Sacred Scripture in high esteem, believing it to be the infallible, inspired, and inerrant Word of God for us.  The following is a brief summary of our doctrine.  To read more, visit the Beliefs page.

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
The one and only true God chooses to reveal Himself in three co-equal persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  All three Persons of the Godhead exist in eternity, undivided and of the same Divine Essence.  One God - Three Persons - Trinity in unity and unity in Trinity!
Men cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works, but are freely justified for Christ’s sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor, and that their sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake, who, by His death, has made satisfaction for our sins.  This faith God imputes for righteousness in His sight. Romans 3 and Romans 4.
Salvation is given by God for the sake of Christ our Lord through the Means of Grace (hearing of the Word and the Sacraments) as a gift without charge.  No one can choose God, but God has chosen us before time began in Christ our savior.  Further, God desires that all people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth and that no one be condemned.  Those who reject the gift of salvation do so by their own stubborn hearts and unwillingness to believe.  This is a paradox, but we believe it because it is what the Scripture teaches.
True faith is bound to bring forth good fruits, and that it is necessary to do good works commanded by God, because of God’s will, but that we should not rely on those works to merit justification before God. For remission of sins and justification is received by faith, as also the voice of Christ attests in Luke 17:10.
We accept what the Scripture clearly teaches concerning Holy Baptism, that in baptism, disciples are made (Matthew 28:19-20), sins are forgiven (Acts 2:38), the Holy Spirit is given (Acts 2:38-39), and God’s gift of salvation is bestowed (1 Peter 3:21).  Baptism is for adults and children alike (including infants) as the Scripture teaches.
We believe the words of our Lord when He says, “take and eat, this (bread) is my body…take and drink, this (cup/wine) is my blood of the New Testament.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).  While this is a mystery, it is our Lord’s own words.  Thus in the Lord’s Supper we receive the true body and blood of our Lord under the bread and wine.
Communion Policy
The one, true, and only Catholic (Universal/Christain) Church exists outside of time and space and includes all believers of past, present, and future who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Local congregations (churches) consist of both Christians and non-Christians (Matthew 13:24-30) and on the Last Day, the Lord will separate between them (Matthew 25:31-46) and only those who believed and trusted in Christ shall be saved.
On the Last Day the Lord will return to judge the living and the dead and all who trusted in Him will enter into eternal paradise while all who rejected Him will be condemned to eternal hell.  Fanciful teachings such as pre or post millennialism or dispensationalism are not taught in the Scripture and we reject any such doctrines or traditions of men.

The Lord's Supper

As a congregation of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church practices Scriptural and historic Closed Communion.  Simply put, only those members who have been taught the Christian faith according to this congregation’s confession, have pledged to remain faithful to this congregation’s confession, have been accepted as members of this congregation, who exhibit true, godly repentance and firmly believe in the forgiveness of sins given in Christ may commune at our altar.  This includes any Christian who is in fellowship with our congregation (members of other LCMS congregations or congregations in full fellowship with the LCMS) and who has spoken to the pastor prior to the Service of the Sacrament (if the pastor is not available you may speak to an elder).

 

Those who are not members, have not been taught the Christian faith, or who do not confess the faith in common union with this congregation, but who still wish to receive the Sacrament, must first speak to the pastor (or an elder if the pastor is unavailable).  A time of catechesis and instruction will likely need to take place before you can share in the Sacrament of Common Union with us.

 

This historic and biblical practice is out of true, loving care and concern for all our members and visitors.  Please see our Beliefs & Doctrine pages for more details.

Beliefs & Doctrine
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