Vintage

St. Andrews has served the community of Stockton for over 65 years. We began when a group of people from historic Trinity Lutheran Church in downtown Stockton broke off from Trinity to begin a new ministry in Stockton. From very humble beginnings in the 1940s and 50s we have grown into a worshipping community of several hundred. Our current worship facility was purchased in the early 1950s, surrounded at that time by rice fields and sheep. We are now considered to be in the heart of Stockton, located directly east of Weberstown Mall a block east of San Joaquin Delta College and northeast of the University of the Pacific.

 While we are proud of our history, we are especially excited about our future. As we move further into the 21st century, we seek to become, more and more, a church for all nations, to all nations. This means we desire to reflect the diverse nature of our community and show God’s love toward all people in our community and world.

At St. Andrews, we recognize the brokenness and hurt that is in all of our lives as a result of our rebellion against a loving God (we usually call this sin). We also know that God’s goal for this world is restoring all things back to the beautiful nature He created them to be. This was the purpose of His son Jesus’ life, work, death, and resurrection from the dead. This work of restoration-whether it is an individual person, a family, a neighborhood, or an entire city community-has become our goal as well.

We feel this work of restoration and reconciliation occurs when we:

• Grow in God’s word

o This occurs through not only being in and studying the word of God, the Bible, but also by intimately knowing the person the Bible calls the Word of God, Jesus Christ. We see in Jesus the exact representation of who God is and what God is like. As we come to know Jesus and become more like Him, we become who God wants us to be.

• Grow in community with each other

o This means real relationships that are not only encouraging and strengthening, but that also challenge us to become the people God would have us become.
o This means that we also seek to be a community that praises God for how awesome He is in our worship together and in our daily living with each other and the community.

• Show God’s love to others

o In real and practical ways, we desire to serve each other and the community, demonstrating the unstoppable love of God to a world that far too often lacks true love.

You won’t find perfect people at St. Andrews. You won’t find people who have got it all together. You will find people who love their God, each other, and their community and want to make a lasting, loving difference in this world. You are welcome to join us. May God’s love, joy, and peace be with you today.

God’s people at St. Andrews