About Us
St. Stephanus Lutheran Church is a congregation of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod with over 500 communicant members located in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Our Mission
...to proclaim the gospel through word and sacrament to our membership, our communities and our world.

Our Vision
...connecting people with Jesus Christ and each other through worship, learning, and service.

Our Beliefs
A creed is a statement of what we believe, teach, and confess. One of our creeds is the "Unaltered Augsburg Confession" found in the Book of Concord. The initials "U.A.C." are found in one of the cornerstones of our church, visible from the Lafond and Grotto corner sidewalk.
 

All of our creeds teach that humankind is saved from sin, death, and the power of the devil by the love and good favor of God. This was accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Having once been dead in our sin but now made alive in Christ Jesus, we spend the rest of our lives living to his glory!

This Good News is simply given to us. We don't earn it. We simply cling to it as if all eternity was at stake, and so it is! We find this Good News described and promised in the Word of God, our Bible.

God has promised that we would be saved through Jesus. We are connected to that saving event of Jesus' death and resurrection through things that we can see, touch, taste, smell, and hear; namely the sacraments of Holy Baptism, Holy Communion, and the "Office of the Keys" (Confession and Absolution). In these events, God attaches his Word to physical elements of water (baptism), bread and wine (holy communion), and human touch and voice (confession and absolution). By thus receiving the water, bread, wine, and human touch and voice, we are receiving his Word which rescues us through its proclamation of forgiveness.

Jesus Christ, true God, was born to the Virgin Mary as true Man. While living on this earth to save it, he preached, healed, and forgave sin. After the sacrifice of his death, he was accepted by God the Father through his resurrection; he ascended into heaven at which place he continues to pray for his people and continues to rule the world and his church. Before ascending to heaven, however, he promised that he would come again and commissioned us to go and preach the Good News, baptize, and make disciples.

So the church waits for the last Biblical promise to be fulfilled. We wait for his return! But as we wait, we are confident in the promise of his continual presence and care in our lives. Also, we are confident that he uses us as the very body of Christ that his ministry might still be visible for the world.