Get to Know St. Barnabas, part of the ELCA

Our Beleifs

GOD’S WORK. OUR HANDS.

Generosity. Respect. Empathy. Encouragement. Creativity. These are just some of the values important to the people at St. Barnabas Lutheran Church. These are the values through which we see the world around us and the values we try to live out.

How do we do that? “Together building community through worship, service, education, and fellowship.” We live out our values and we live out being a Christian on Sundays when we gather together to worship, care for each other, deepen our faith, and support each other. Then we take that into the world and live it the rest of the days of the week.

Our vision is to welcome all to God’s love because we believe that love changes us and changes the world, makes us better people, and makes the world a better place to live. We know we’ll fail at this, which is why we need each other for support and accountability. It’s also why we need God’s forgiveness and grace.

St. Barnabas is a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), a denomination started in 1988 when several Lutheran denominations came together to pool their resources. Lutherans love grace, God’s unearned, undeserved, and unconditional love. When Martin Luther discovered what grace was all about some 500 years ago, it changed his life and encouraged him to change the church. That’s just how powerful God’s love is. You can find out more about the ELCA here: https://www.elca.org/About. 

St. Barnabas Lutheran Church is named after one of the earliest Christians. Barnabas first appears in the Bible toward the end of Acts chapter 4. He was so moved by the story of Jesus’ life, he sold what he owned and gave it to the church. Then he and Paul and other new Christians traveled hundreds of miles around the Mediterranean spreading the good news about the new life we receive in Christ. Barnabas’ name means “son of encouragement,” and being encouraging is something we strive to live into at church and in the world.