The Story of Peace

We started this thing from an idea - an idea that God would have us plant a new Lutheran congregation in the south part of O'Fallon to follow the growth of the County. Well...on second thought...actually he was leading us to minister to those who did not have a meaningful relationship

with their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He was leading us to be intentionally missional, to reach out to our friends and neighbors in the name of Jesus. He was leading us to become an important and critical part of this community. He was leading us to be the place where people can come to grow in faith, family, and friendship. He was leading us not to become another church of introspective, self-serving, Lutheran Christians. No! He was leading us to look outwards, to care for the needs of the community, to care for the needs of one another...a "one another" that is continually expanding and growing as we introduce (or reintroduce) others to Christ and make disciples of all neighborhoods. Make no mistake about it. He has called us to be "Ablaze" with our faith and to light others with the Spirit of the Living God. We are on fire because the Lord's Holy Spirit has made us ablaze through baptism. He continues to stoke that fire in us as he fuels us with his word and his sacraments. We are a church on the move who will reach out to the community around us in any way God makes available to us. Remember the song many of us learned in Sunday School as kids, "This Little Light of Mine"? Remember the words to one of the verses? "Hide it under a bushel. No! I'm gonna let it shine!"

Three congregations (Chapel of the Cross, St. Peters; Messiah, Weldon Spring; and Holy Cross, O'Fallon) partnered together to help get this new mission congregation under way. Several months of planning and discussing finally culminated in a launch.

On September 11, 2005 we held our first worship service in the Hilton Garden Inn conference room in O'Fallon. We had 144 people attend. Many were well-wishers from nearby congregations. Some came with an active interest. Although we had no pastor we began to build relationships with one another. We began to discover who God, in His wisdom, had collected to be the start of this new congregation. We began to love one another. We began to be friends. That's a feature of this congregation that we have learned to value...our friendliness. We understand how hard it is for someone to decide to come check this church out. We hope that they will be warmly greeted and feel comfortable and walk away thinking, "I think my family and I could really fit in here!"

In the Spring of 2006 we were ready for some consistent pastoral leadership. We requested that Concordia Seminary send us someone with the heart and the training to lead brand new congregations. In June, Jim Prince began his ministry with us. We soon developed a mutual love for one another and called him to be our full-time pastor. He was ordained and installed as Pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in June, 2007.

Early in 2006, as we began to meet new families, we came to the realization that a small hotel conference room just wasn't an ideal place to offer a family-centered ministry. We had to have room for the kids to spread out! So we started looking for other options. We looked at strip malls galore! None of them seemed to be right. Finally, God led us to the facility we would soon call our new home. Located in the heart of WingHaven, we found a 5,100 sq. ft. "spec building." It was a brand new white box (empty shell) just waiting for someone to finish it and move in. We bought the building in the Fall of 2006 and hired a contractor to make our vision for the facility come to life. It was finally finished! There was a brand new sanctuary with capacity to worship almost 200 and an educational/administrative wing with classrooms, a common gathering place, a reception area, a Pastor's office, and even a small kitchen! We moved in on Thursday, April 5, 2007 and celebrated Maundy Thursday Services that night. Good Friday and Easter were especially meaningful in our new home.

During our the summer of 2007 we had a chance to meet a lot of new friends who have come to visit us. We also started to get to know the community as we serve through various servant and outreach projects. If the truth be known, we really didn't expect to continue growing that first summer. In fact, after our wonderful opening services during holy week in our new building, we honestly were prepared for a typical summer slow down. Hah! Shows what we know! During the summer of 2006 we averaged about 45-50 in weekly worship. During the summer of 2007, though, we grew to 75 each Sunday. Thankfully, God has a plan far greater than ours and we're continuing to reach people who have no meaningful connection with a family of faith.

Of course connecting all people to Christ and a church family is important to us. The most exciting stories, though, are about those families who come to us who are just meeting Jesus for the first time - or getting reunited with Him after a long "time away". When they hear the good news of Jesus' love for them and their children it's fun to see their faces and their hearts light up with the love of Christ! There is no more exciting scene in all of life to announce life changing good news to them by introducing them to their Savior and welcoming them to the life-giving waters of Holy Baptism! It doesn't get any better than that!

Someone once challenged us with this thought. "If your congregation were to close in the next 30 days would anybody in the community notice? Would they miss you?" We want to continue to ask ourselves that question as we boldly grow this ministry for Christ's sake. It is our prayer that the answer will always be an emphatic "Yes! They would miss us deeply. The community is not the same without Peace!" May the Lord guide and direct our ways so that in all our efforts His name is glorified!

What an exciting place to be! If God is calling you to make a difference for Christ in this community, won't you consider joining us at Peace Lutheran? Come check us out this Sunday. Our worship service begins at 9:00 am. The educational hour runs from 10:30-11:30 am. Friendship time is from 10:00-10:30 am. Catch the excitement of God's love on the move at Peace Lutheran Church!