Who We Are

A framework for our mission and ministry

Reach out to all God’s people.

Proclaim God’s word at every opportunity.

Inspire people to do God’s will.

Faithful

Anchored in God’s gift of grace, we seek to be partners in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and loyal witnesses of our Lutheran tradition. As we follow the example of Saint Philip the Deacon, we reach out to our neighbors both locally and globally to proclaim the good news of the Gospel and inspire people to do God’s will.

Hospitable

We are a caring, compassionate community that welcomes all. We seek to provide a positive and supportive environment where we joyfully act on our faith to inspire one another.

Generous

Because we recognize the goodness we receive from God, we continuously seek ways to give back and to be Christ to our neighbor. We share our time, talents and treasures to put our faith into action and to ensure that all can share in God’s blessings.

Capable

We seek to anticipate and address the changing needs of our community and the world and to meet these needs in an efficient, decisive manner. With high expectations for excellence, we are leaders of faith development in our community, and mentors to each other as well as the church at large.

Creative

As we look to the future, we challenge one another to continually explore new ways to improve our ministry. We deepen and share our faith through a rich variety of worship, educational, and service opportunities.

Engaging

We provide opportunities for each person to utilize God’s gifts and encourage participation in our mission. Our inviting, warm style is based on being accessible and authentic.

Over the course of 60-plus years, St. Philip the Deacon has grown from a mission church with a handful of members to one of the largest churches in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

April 1958

First organizational service with 51 members, led by Mission Pastor Ralph Loges. A partnership was formed with Mount Olivet Lutheran Church at Medicine Lake benefitting both congregations by sharing a pastor.

October 1960

St. Philip the Deacon became a single congregation under the continuing leadership of Pastor Ralph Loges.

June 1961

The Rev. David Lindblom accepted the call to become the second pastor in St. Philip’s history. The next 10 years witnessed steady growth as the present church site was purchased in September of 1961 followed by construction of the worship sanctuary in January of 1967.

December 1970

The Rev. Charles Claus was installed as St. Philip’s third pastor, enthusiastically serving the community for fourteen years. The pipe organ was installed and dedicated in February of 1977 followed by the construction of the new educational area.

April 1985

The congregation called The Rev. Tim Westermeyer, who had served at St. Philip the Deacon as Executive Pastor since 2007, as the congregation’s next Senior Pastor. Pastor Westermeyer assumed this role on June 1, 2014, when Pastor Hoffman retired after nearly 30 years of ministry. Pastor Westermeyer initiated a strategic planning process within his first year, which has helped position the congregation for continued health and vitality.

As we give thanks for the past and anticipate the future, we give thanks for everyone who has made St. Philip the Deacon their church home, and has helped us Reach Out, Proclaim, Inspire.

Someone chosen to look after the poor in the early Christian church.

St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church takes its name from St. Philip the Deacon, who was selected as a deacon—someone chosen to look after the poor in the early Christian church—with six others in Acts 6.

St. Philip also appears in Acts 8, where he interprets and explains the prophet Isaiah to the Holy Ethiopian, a high-ranking official for the Queen of Ethiopia. This is depicted to the right in a detail from an Icon of St. Philip the Deacon by artist Ann Chapin, commissioned in celebration of the church’s 50th anniversary in 2008.

This story about St. Philip from Acts 8 is, in part, where St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church gets its mission statement—to Reach Out, Proclaim, Inspire—since St. Philip reached out to the Ethiopian eunuch when he didn’t understand the prophet Isaiah; proclaimed to the eunuch what the passage meant; and inspired him to go and serve God himself by baptizing him.

St. Philip is also mentioned in Acts 21, where we are told he lived in Caesarea with his prophetically gifted daughters.

There is a stained glass window in our sanctuary that stylistically represents St. Philip the Deacon. The entire St. Philip icon is displayed near the entrance of the St. Philip the Deacon Sanctuary on the west wall. In our chapel, the church also houses an original bronze statue of St. Philip the Deacon by sculptor Alexander Tylevich.

St. Philip the Deacon is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America—the largest Lutheran denomination in North America. A summary of our basic beliefs follows.

We believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

Out of love, God created all that exists. God is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness toward this good creation.

We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son.

We come to know the complete love of God through Jesus’ life and teaching, and in his death on the cross which frees us from the power of sin and death.

Jesus calls us to follow him—to learn from him, to walk with him, and to join him in the work of peace, justice and love that reveals God’s kingdom all around us.

We believe in the Holy Spirit.

This is the presence of God with us here and now, which enlivens each follower of Jesus and empowers the church, joining in the work of God’s redemption of all creation.

As Lutherans, we embody these beliefs in particular ways:

• In our sacraments—Baptism and Holy Communion—we experience the presence of God, Jesus and Holy Spirit, uniting us with God and one another.
• The Holy Bible, the written story of God’s love for humankind and the world, is available to each of us and we can come to know God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit more fully through regular reading, teaching, and study of Scripture.
• We do not live a life of faith on our own, but through the community of believers—the Church—which encourages, supports and serves one another and the world.
• Our faith journey takes our entire lives, and we are committed to ongoing formation in relationship with Jesus. This, in turn, gives us the strength and love to serve the world.