welcome to our church family

St. Paul Church has been serving the community of Spring Grove in the Name of Jesus since 1880, though our roots go back further, into the Civil War era. We are a place where faith and tradition meet the challenges of this age, that we may bear witness to the truth of Christ.

What is St. Paul Church?

First, we are a church that is both evangelical and catholic. We are evangelical: we are centered on the Gospel of Jesus Christ as witnessed to in Holy Scripture. And we are catholic: rooted in the consensus of Scripture, Creed, authoritative teaching, and liturgy that emerged in the first six centuries of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.

Second, worship is the center of our life. Psalm 29.2 speaks of worshipping the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Sacred worship lifts us to a vision of heaven, of God’s beauty and holiness. The sanctuary of St. Paul is a place of sacred beauty. Our services are centered in the means of grace God has given His Church to nurture faith: His holy Word and Sacraments.

Third, we strive to be a place of welcome. The ethic of welcoming the stranger is rooted in the biblical tradition, extending back into Israel’s experience of the Exodus from Egypt. As they had experienced what it was like to be unwelcome in a strange land, God had commanded His people to do the opposite: to show hospitality to the stranger and sojourner in their midst.

At St. Paul, we strive to welcome all to the life the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We do not define ourselves by what we are against, but seek to lift up Christ, trusting His promise that when Christ is lifted up, He will draw all people to Himself and His way of truth and life.

And last, we are a church that seeks to follow Jesus’ example of servant ministry. Growth in ministry to others — local, national, and worldwide — has been a mark of St. Paul in this new century. These efforts include our shelter house ministry, our mission trips, a food bank, and more. In all our servant ministries we seek to be the arms of Christ reaching out to the world, especially the suffering, to open them to the hope and light that Christ brings to the world.