About Us

St. John Lutheran Church & Early Learning Center is a Lutheran Church & Preschool that has been serving the community in and around Darien, IL for over 150 years!  We are part of a voluntary association of churches known as the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod(LCMS). These independent congregations share a common confession of faith in what we “believe, teach and confess.” St. John, as well as all Missouri Synod Lutheran churches, is committed to solid biblical teaching consistent with the historic confessions of the Lutheran Church. For more information concerning the teachings of the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church and our common mission in the world please visit www.lcms.org.

As an individual congregation, we believe:

• all people are born into a broken relationship with God as a result of sin and are in need of forgiveness
• by grace alone, God sent His Son to be our Savior
• through the life of Christ, His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead God has forgiven the sins of all people, everywhere
• by faith alone, this gift of mercy is received into the hearts of those who believe in the name of Christ alone by the work and power of the Holy Spirit
• Christ is the only way by which we possess the hope and sure promise of eternal life

God shares His love with us in an unending fountain of grace and mercy.  He has called us out of sin and darkness into a new relationship with Him.  As forgiven people we are daily being transformed into disciples of Jesus Christ, sent out to share God’s love with a broken world. St. John has captured this in our three fold vision which revolves around the Cross of Christ

4 Him:  Connecting people to God through Word and Sacrament.  Throughout history God’s people have been identified by their worship. Here God comes to us through Word and Sacrament to share His love.  We gather as a people in need of forgiveness.  In this community people are free to be themselves.  We lay all our burdens at the foot of the cross and allow the grace of God to wash them away.

 

4 Us:  Caring for one another in meaningful relationships.  Our God is a relational God and He created us to be relational people.  We believe the care of people is not principally the job of the pastor but as brothers and sisters in Christ we are to care for one another in authentic, meaningful relationships.  We seek to build relationships that also deepen our relationship with Christ, lift each other up in prayer, and touch lives in times of need.

4 Them:  Sharing our gifts in service and outreach.  Christ does not gather us into private community, but into public ministry.  Scripture promises that the Holy Spirit endows all believers with certain spiritual gifts.  We seek to utilize those God given gifts faithfully to do the work of God’s kingdom on earth, reaching the lost and serving the needy.

Dave Bottorff, Senior Pastor
Email: Pastor.Dave@sjlcdarien.org
Phone: 630-969-7987

Cindy Baumann, Staff Secretary
Email: Cindy.Baumann@sjlcdarien.org
Phone: 630-969-7987

Holly Singer, Administrative Assistant
Email: Holly.Singer@sjlcdarien.org
Phone: 630-969-7987

Jan Hardy, Early Learning Center Director
Email: elc@sjlcdarien.org
Phone: 630-964-6022