Greetings!

What a joy it is to greet you in the name of Jesus Christ! We, the community of faith at St. Stephen Lutheran Church extend an invitation for you to come and see how we worship and serve God. If you are already participating and serving God through another congregation, we rejoice with you. If you are searching for a deeper meaning of life and want to grow together in faith, please join us for worship, Bible study, fellowship and friendship. The journey of life, while never easy, is more manageable when lived in community and in the awareness that God loves, forgives and saves us from our sins. At St. Stephen we find strength, encouragement, and purpose in serving Christ while growing together through our worship of God and serving others. We echo Jesus' words to his first followers when he said, "Come, follow me."

Yours in Christ,
Pastor James W. Wicker

St. Stephen Vision Statement: St. Stephen is an active Christian community seeking to glorify God by serving others. We foster an open and loving environment where people grow closer to Christ and are inspired to share His love with everyone.

St. Stephens Guiding Principles:

• All are welcomed and embraced
• Worship and prayer are the foundations of our ministry
• We support each other through the strength of our fellowship
• Christ centered activities ensure spiritual growth
• Using our God given gifts, we serve others

Who are Lutherans?
Lutherans are Evangelical, and, as forgiven people, reach out to share the message of God's grace. Lutherans try to look beyond themselves to bring the gospel, or Good News, to community life with people of other faiths and those of no faith.

Lutherans, like other Christians, baptize infants, believing that God works grace in them. We believe that every day and in every act of serious return to God, we are returning to our baptism. Therefore, we are "born again" - and again and again.

Lutherans worship, not as a pastor's performance, but as a people's service. We are sacramental. Along with Baptism, we celebrate the Eucharist (or Lord's Supper or Holy Communion) frequently. At St. Stephen we celebrate Holy Communion weekly at all services. We believe that Christ is truly present when we gather in faith for this sacred meal.

Lutherans believe that all of life and health, possessions and capabilities are on loan from God. We are merely stewards of His gifts. We keep on learning how to return on God's investment to us.

Lutherans believe that we are a priesthood of all believers". Each one of us is a minister. Lay people, in teamwork with pastors, take the initiative to help see that Christ is represented among us and in our communities.

Our Logo... What does it mean?
As we look at the logo, we see arms thrown open wide in welcome. St. Stephen Lutheran Church is a welcoming community. The same arms and hands are extended in invitation. St. Stephen people are meant to be disciples &inviting others to come in and hear the Good News. "Simon Peter answered him, 'Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe that you are the Holy One of God.' " (John 6:68-69)

In the corner above the welcoming figure is an indication of the Spirit, coming to us, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments, and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever." (John 14:15-16) The Spirit is also being released into the community, "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." (Matthew 28:19) This same portion of the logo represents the Light, "The Lord is my light and my salvation" (Psalm 27:1), "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." (John 9:5) We have the gift of Light bringing us enlightenment (knowing God's Word), delight (joy in serving Christ), and lightness (His abiding presence.)

The colors are fresh, new and contemporary with the yellow emphasizes the Spirit and Light.

We at St. Stephen are a community of faith, empowered by the Holy Spirit to reflect the light of Christ in our lives. Doing so will attract the lost in our community so that we may welcome them to hear the Good News and lead them to a life of discipleship.