St. John’s Lutheran Church has been serving the Napa community since 1907.  Our mission is “Leading people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ, His followers, and His world.”

 

This is how we express that in our Vision Statement:

Leading People Up

Growing intimacy with Jesus Christ

  • Knowing God more deeply through His Word, Worship, and Prayer
  • Serving God as we use His gifts to His glory

Christianity is all about relationships. And the most important relationship is with Jesus Christ.

 

Our prayer and hope is the fulfillment of the Mission of God, that all come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We pray that if you do not yet believe in Jesus as your Savior, that He lived, died and rose again for you, that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you would come to such a faith. 

 

Our prayer and hope for those who do know Jesus as Savior is that they grow in their discipleship and their following after Jesus. Discipleship is the process of being conformed to the image of Christ for the sake of others.

 

To be sure, discipleship is the work of the Holy Spirit. We can’t make ourselves grow. But at St. John’s we strive to provide opportunities, encouragement, and empowerment as we place ourselves where the Holy Spirit can do His work in our hearts and lives.

Leading People In

Growing community with His followers

  • Connecting to one another in meaningful relationships
  • Loving one another by providing care, encouragement, and accountability

Discipleship is growing in imitating Christ.  It means growing in the character of Christ (becoming more like Him), and the competency of Christ (doing what He did).  One helpful way to pursue growth is to focus on these seven basic marks of discipleship:

  • Constant in Prayer A disciple has an active prayer life, and is growing in praying with and for others.
  • Grounded in the Word A disciple is constantly in the Word – reading, studying, memorizing, following and applying the Word for daily life.
  • Faithful in Worship A disciple is dedicated to faithful worship, worshiping with others weekly, and cultivating a personal/family devotion life.
  • Spiritual Friendships A disciple lives his or her faith in relationship, participating in a discipling group or study group.
  • Loving Service A disciple seeks to love all people, and strives to serve people inside and outside the St. John’s family.
  • Intentional Generosity A disciple is growing in generosity, giving time, talent and treasure to be a blessing to others and to serve God’s mission.
  • Compassionate Witness A disciple shares the love of Jesus in word and deed, and so seeks to make more disciples.

It is God who grows us as disciples as we place ourselves where He can work on us by the power of the Holy Spirit, through His Word and Sacraments.

 

Leading People Out

Growing priestly relationships with the people of the World

  • Serving the real needs of people in our community
  • Sharing the life-giving Gospel of Jesus Christ with those who don’t know Him
  • Supporting the growth of the Kingdom of God throughout the world

Our community of faith exists not just for ourselves, but also to be a blessing to the world. Christ calls us as His own, bring us into community, strengthens and feeds us by His Holy Spirit, and then sends us out into the world.

 

The main way we do this is in living our lives each day as disciples of Christ.   We do this through the kindness we show others, the service we give others, the love we extend even to those who do not love us.  We strive to be a blessing to our families, our neighborhoods and our community.  In our jobs, we seek to be faithful to whatever vocation we may have, serving our employers, customers, clients and community. 

 

And when the Holy Spirit leads us into an opportunity to share our faith by word and deed, we do so with respect and kindness.

 

There are also several ways that the St. John’s community works together to be a blessing to our community and beyond:

  • LCC Comfort Dog Ministry
  • St. John’s Mission Farm
  • Large Print Ministry
  • Mission India