Saint Johns Lutheran Church's Missions
Prairieview
St. John’s is one of the 28 Lutheran congregations that make up the Lutheran Home for the Aged Development Corporation that oversees the operation of Prairieview Lutheran Home and their other facilities. Prairieview is a 5-star not-for-profit Christian home. We not only give financial support to Prairieview, but also serve as volunteers through the Prairieview Auxiliary and the Activity Department of the Home. We provide activities and refreshments for the residents on the first Friday of every month with games, seasonal programs, and other activities. Our minister conducts Sunday afternoon worship services on a regular basis, and also provides a service of Holy Communion each month. Our church choir sponsors caroling during the Christmas season. Many of our parishioners are employed there, as well.
The Prairieview Fall Festival, begun in 1977, is a popular 2-day fundraiser for the Home each September. All the activities are held in a huge tent on the Prairieview grounds. Meals are prepared and served, and booths have many items for sale—produce, baked goods, many types of craft items, jewelry, books, ice cream, etc. There is also a silent auction and a very popular quilt auction. Many beautiful quilts, many hand-quilted, are made by members of corporation churches and donated to the auction. St. John’s is very much involved in this event.
For more information about Prairieview, go to their website: http://prairieviewlutheran.com
Missionary in Ranchi, India
Pastor Nijhar Minz-Ekka serves in North Central India with her family. She is married to Pastor Neeraj Ekka, and their four children have joined them in service. The Ekkas have lived in this part of India most of their lives and feel blessed to return to minister there. Together they serve in the North Western Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church, primarily at Navin Doman Theological College.
Pastor Nijhar’s assignment is leadership development. She teaches at the college, participates in the visioning and administration for the college, guides area pastors and lay leaders of North Western Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church, and ministers to local youth and women.
At the college, Pastor Nijhar and staff train evangelists and send them out to build relationships with non-Christian neighbors. The college saw its first graduates in 2010. Graduates are assigned ministry responsibilities in multi-point parishes, with some having as many as ten congregations. They have even had opportunities to go into villages previously unreached and have brought Christ to them and baptized them.
The vision and mission of the Navin Doman Theological College is holistic ministry, modeled after the ministry of Jesus. Students study and are given hands-on training as servant leaders in the community. This involves serving at the college’s after-school program for village children, where students learn to be mentors and friends, and to show God’s love to children who have not heard the name of Jesus. In the future, Pastor Nijhar would like to expand the program to include an adult literacy program and health care for mothers and children.
Pastor Nijhar is also involved in the North Western Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church’s mission agency. With them she encourages and mobilizes young people and lay leaders for mission. The church and college also developed a leadership training program for new believers. The event helped young adults seek God’s will in their lives and take up the responsibility of mission around them.
Pastor Nijhar and family feel blessed and enjoy getting cards and letters from partner churches and prayer partners. If you would like to find out how you can partner with Pastor Nijhar and family, please contact either the North American Lutheran Church mission office or World Mission Prayer League.
Lutheran World Relief
Over the years, St. John’s has partnered with Lutheran World Relief, a non-profit organization founded in 1945, to give humanitarian aid to countries around the world, especially in times of disaster. We at St. John’s sew quilts and assemble kits that are sent to LWR every fall to be distributed wherever they are needed. In 2015, we sent 182 Quilts, 124 Personal Care Kits, 167 Baby Care Kits, and 147 School Kits. To learn how you can help, call the church office at 815-269-2162. To learn more about Lutheran World Relief, go to their website: http://lwr.org
Women of The NALC
Women of St. John's support the national womens' organization. We have monthly Bible Studies plus activities to encourage spiritual growth in women of St Johns. We support missions in the USA and internationally.
You can visit the WNALC website to learn more about what is happening on a regular basis.
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Men's Ministry
"Men are like steel. When they lose their temper, they lose their worth." - Chuck Norris
Man up!
There's no doubt that todays society lacks men of integrity. At St John's Lutheran Church we understand that men are not born with an innate sense of what a real man should be. Manhood must be taught.
Learn more >>
Women's Ministry
"Taking joy in living is a woman’s best cosmetic."
-Rosalind Russell
God's Girl
Femininity is defined not in what the latest pop culture says about what a women should be, but in the great worth her Heavenly Father has placed on her. When women start to see themselves as God sees them her value is extended beyond human imagination. Learn more >>
Youth Ministry
"Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Growing up
What we lack as adults is often what we could not find in our youth. The teen years have never been easy, but the man who builds his house on the rock comes out of the storm with a solid foundation.
Learn more >>
Education Ministry
"Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil." C. S. Lewis
Check out the latest sermon from St Johns Lutheran Church
Our Core Values as part of the North American Lutheran Church
Christ-Centered
We confess the apostolic faith in Jesus Christ according to the Holy Scriptures. We affirm the authority of the Scriptures as the authoritative source and norm, “according to which all doctrines should and must be judged” (Formula of Concord). We accept the ecumenical creeds and the Lutheran Confessions as true witnesses to the Word of God.
Mission-Driven
We believe that the mission of the Church is to preach the Gospel and to make disciples for Christ. We believe that making disciples — in our congregations, in our communities and nations, and around the world — must be a priority of the Church in the present age.
Traditionally-Grounded
We affirm the ecumenical creeds and the faithful witness of the Church across time and space. We endorse the form and practices of the universal Church that are consistent with Scripture, particularly the office of the ministry and the tradition of worship under Word and Sacrament. We seek dialogue and fellowship with other Lutheran churches and with faithful Christians of other confessions.
Congregationally-Focused
We strive to be a church that is organized to facilitate the ministries of local congregations in a posture of servant-hood and a spirit of partnership, through the provision of resources, connections and information.
Sign up for the Newsletter
Would you like to know about upcoming events or hear news about our ministries? The best way to keep up to date is through our signing up for the church newsletter right in your inbox.
Sign up today!
Thanks for subscribing! Please check your email for the latest newsletter.
Men's Ministry
"Men are like steel. When they lose their temper, they lose their worth." - Chuck Norris
Man up!
There's no doubt that todays society lacks men of integrity. At St John's Lutheran Church we understand that men are not born with an innate sense of what a real man should be. Manhood must be taught.
Learn more >>
Women's Ministry
"Taking joy in living is a woman’s best cosmetic."
-Rosalind Russell
God's Girl
Femininity is defined not in what the latest pop culture says about what a women should be, but in the great worth her Heavenly Father has placed on her. When women start to see themselves as God sees them her value is extended beyond human imagination. Learn more >>
Youth Ministry
"Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Growing up
What we lack as adults is often what we could not find in our youth. The teen years have never been easy, but the man who builds his house on the rock comes out of the storm with a solid foundation.
Learn more >>
Education Ministry
"Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil." C. S. Lewis