Family of God Lutheran Church is an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America congregation rooted in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, where it has carried out ministry since 1970. The church is known for liturgical worship centered on Holy Communion, a wide welcome, learning that crosses generations, and service reaching into the surrounding neighborhood. Its sanctuary is at 8625 Zane Ave N, and Sunday worship begins at 9:30 a.m. both in person and on YouTube.
A Brooklyn Park Congregation Since 1970
Family of God is a community of faith whose membership brings together individuals and families, longtime members and newer members, and people of all ages. Worship, learning, outreach, service, hospitality, friendship events, and youth and family programs all belong to the life of the congregation. Its mission statement is Children By Grace, Extending Christ's Embrace, and its vision is to build a growing, engaged faith community committed to proclaiming the love of Christ.
Five core values shape that shared life:
- Welcoming: The church embraces people who come for worship and community and seeks a pleasant, hospitable environment in which everyone feels welcome.
- Caring: Compassion for God's children is expressed through open hands and hearts in service to those in need.
- Joyful: The congregation embraces relationships with Jesus Christ with gratitude, enthusiasm, and a spirit of fellowship.
- Selfless Service: Led by the Holy Spirit, members undertake humble service without concern for reward and with confidence in God's grace.
- Intergenerational Learning: People of every generation seek to teach and learn from one another, honoring the different insights and experiences they bring.
That welcome is explicit. Family of God welcomes people without regard to race or culture, sexual orientation, gender identity, relationship status, physical or mental health, addictions, past mistakes, socioeconomic circumstances, or political opinions. The congregation names unity in Christ as its common ground and celebrates every person as a child of God.
New member groups form at least twice each year. The church welcomes people seeking a church home as well as visitors, and it also celebrates friends and guests who are not ready to join.
Sunday Worship, Communion, and the Whole Congregation
Sunday worship begins at 9:30 a.m. throughout the year, both in person and livestreamed. The same Sunday time is used during the June-August months and from September through May. Visitors may watch through the Family of God YouTube channel, where the church livestream appears under Live. The congregation also encourages people to turn on channel notifications so they can be alerted when Family of God goes live.
Holy Communion is central to worship. All baptized persons are welcome who believe Christ comes in the bread and wine to bring forgiveness, life, and salvation. The congregation receives the sacrament standing, and grape juice is available. Children who are not yet communing come forward for a blessing, while children usually make First Communion in fifth grade after receiving instruction.
The service has a clear liturgical character. Acolytes carry the cross, light the altar and standing candles, and snuff them at the end, while crucifers lead the opening procession. Lectors and communion assistants share in reading and distributing the cup, ushers guide people forward, and the choir leads the congregation in song. The worship helpers serve as hosts at the front entrance, answer questions, and help visitors find the sanctuary, classrooms, nursery, and restrooms. Hearing devices are available, and ushers assist anyone who wants to use one.
Ushers close the sanctuary doors as the prelude begins so the room can settle into worship. During services and special events, the rear door is unlocked, while regular business hours call for it to remain locked.
The Lighted Globe beside the sanctuary entrance belongs to the worship experience as well. Visitors may light a votive candle for a prayer or hope, leaving the candle burning after the service as a visible sign of the community's prayers.
Children Are Full Members of the Congregation
Family of God welcomes children of every age as integral members of the body of Christ, including their sounds and movement during worship. Families can choose what works for them on any given Sunday. The church recognizes that children learn worship by participating, and it encourages families to greet one another, read or color with a young child, help children follow the liturgy and hymns, and consider serving as greeters or ushers.
A staffed nursery is available from 15 minutes before worship through 15 minutes after it. The nursery policy covers children through second grade and opens only when designated nursery staff are present, with all safety procedures followed. Sunday School is free and open to children from preschool through fifth grade, whether or not their families are members. Children begin with their families for the children's sermon, then move to classes for the rest of the service.
Busy bags near the back of the sanctuary contain books, crayons, toys, and figures. Children's Bibles, Bible story coloring sheets, and Scribble cards are also available for children who want to participate in worship in different ways. The congregation also recognizes that some conditions and disabilities are not physically visible and that children's worship is naturally more vocal and physical than adult worship.
Confirmation meets at 8:30 a.m. Sundays in the Youth Room for students in grades five through nine. Pre-confirmation serves grades five and six, and confirmation serves grades seven through nine. The program is intended to build understanding of Christian faith and spiritual growth through relationships with volunteers and staff, with attention to grace, forgiveness, love, choices, decision-making, and each person's place in the world. Confirmation students also serve as acolytes and crucifers. Vacation Bible School is another established family program, offered free with a daily snack.
Learning Across Generations
Bible study and adult learning are woven through the week. Tuesday Bible Study meets at 9:30 to 11 a.m. and again from 7 to 8 p.m. On Sundays at 11 a.m., Crossways Bible Study offers adults and mature youth a comprehensive two-year walk through all 66 books of the Bible and the Apocrypha.
A grief and dying class also meets after worship, using The Grief Lectionary and adding sessions on end-of-life decisions led by Sue Arens, a retired ELCA deacon and nurse. The class approaches death and loss as realities that can be discussed with care, preparation, and honesty.
Young adults ages 18 to 35 meet for Bible study and fellowship at 6:30 p.m. Fridays. The location changes each week, and snacks are provided. This mix of study, conversation, food, and service makes learning a shared activity rather than a single program for children or adults.
Other recurring gatherings give members and friends regular ways to connect. The Men's Breakfast Group meets at 8:30 a.m. on the third Saturday for breakfast, fellowship, and occasional property projects. Men and friends are invited to bring a companion. Book Club meets at 1 p.m. on the third Monday. Ruth Circle, focused on fellowship, a short Bible study, and service to church and community, meets at 9:30 a.m. on the second Thursday. Connie's Quilters gathers Wednesdays at 11 a.m., while Linus Quilters meets on the third Monday at 10 a.m. The crafters typically gather on the second Friday from 5 to 9 p.m. and continue on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Cornerstone Room.
That variety reflects one of Family of God's core values: intergenerational learning. Members freely seek to teach and learn from one another, drawing on the experiences of different generations and sharing knowledge through worship, study, meals, service, and conversation.
A Sanctuary Built Around Baptism, Light, and Mission
The sanctuary's artwork makes the congregation's worship visible. Near the entrance, the prayer wall, sometimes called the Waiting Wall, follows a tradition of writing prayers in Jerusalem. Family of God covers the prayers in prayer each day. The baptismal font stands inside the sanctuary doors, marking baptism as the beginning of Christian life, while the Christ candle recalls being baptized into Christ's death and resurrection.
The Lighted Globe, given by Mary Anna Larson in 1995 and created by Simeon's Studio in St. Louis Park, stands inside the sanctuary doors. Its votive candles symbolize particular prayers and hopes and remain lit after everyone leaves. Across the sanctuary, the six-panel fiber artwork The Body, Nourished and Sent, given by Donn Escher in 1999 and created by Marjorie Ford of Cantraip Studio, moves from manna in the wilderness and the feeding of the five thousand to the Last Supper, the road to Emmaus, Holy Communion, and nourishment for mission.
The panels of The Body, Nourished and Sent draw on biblical accounts of manna, Jesus feeding the five thousand, the Last Supper, the travelers at Emmaus, and the Great Commission. The fifth panel uses words from Luther's Small Catechism for Holy Communion, while the final panel connects worship at the table with going into the world to proclaim the good news.
A second six-panel work, Into the Shining Brightness, was given by Cathryn Frankenberg and her family in memory of Patrick D. Frankenberg in 1996. Its panels connect baptism, the Spirit descending at Christ's baptism, death and resurrection, blessed hope, and the radiance of those who are wise. The Adorn This House baptismal banner, a 2000 gift from the Ruth Circle, uses water, a descending dove, and a cross in aqua and teal.
Two sets of stained glass deepen that visual story. New Creation, made by David Hetland and StudioWorks, uses seven windows for the upper south sanctuary openings. Its imagery moves from God's hand bringing forth life through the waters, plants, stars, sun, moon, and creatures to the cross, resurrection, and the golden city of the New Jerusalem. Children By Grace, Extending Christ's Embrace, also by Hetland and StudioWorks, uses Galatians 3 and Romans 12 to show a community made one in Christ, with each member carrying a distinct gift into the body.
Food for Students, Meals for Neighbors, and Books to Share
Social Ministry organizes several forms of practical support. A monthly food drive with North Hennepin Community College gathers items such as granola bars, oatmeal cups, rice, pasta, canned fruit and vegetables, peanut butter, school supplies, and hygiene products. At Christmas, the ministry gathers gifts for families.
Every Meal's Backpack Program provides another regular way to address hunger. Every Meal packs and delivers food to Edinbrook Elementary, just north of Family of God, and church volunteers put the weekend bags into students' lockers on Friday afternoons. The work usually takes about an hour and follows the school schedule.
Volunteers can also help with CEAP's Meals on Wheels program by picking up meals at 10 a.m. and delivering in pairs, usually finishing by noon. Deliveries reach Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, Crystal, Robbinsdale, New Hope, Golden Valley, and Plymouth.
Family of God's annual garage sale also directs unsold books, clothing, toys, housewares, tools, and other goods to organizations including Goodwill, the Salvation Army, Unique thrift shop, the YMCA, Good in the Hood, the Minnesota Animal Rescue Society, and the Animal Humane Society. Volunteers of many ages take part in pricing, organizing, staffing, and cleaning up the sale, while leftover items are recycled or passed on to others.
Family of God's Little Library accepts gently used children's and adult books to keep its shelves filled. Recovery meetings also meet regularly: No Bull AA on Tuesday evenings and Riverlyn AA on Thursday evenings. These efforts reflect the congregation's values of caring and selfless service, connecting worship and community life with needs that extend beyond the church building.
Faith Believed and Faith Practiced
Family of God believes in the Triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, with the Gospel as God's power for salvation for all who believe. The congregation affirms the Old and New Testaments as the written Word of God, inspired by the Spirit and centered in Jesus Christ. It understands the Church as a people created by God in Christ and sustained by the Holy Spirit, called and sent to communicate God's creative, redeeming, and sanctifying activity in the world.
That faith is also practiced through the congregation's Faith Practices and Neighboring Practices work, connected with the Minneapolis Area Synod. The group has explored prayer walks that bring awareness to the body, surroundings, and God's presence; silent prayer coloring with mandala sheets; and the Daily Examen, a prayer that reviews the day with gratitude, honestly remembers difficulty, and looks toward tomorrow.
In the Daily Examen, participants begin with stillness and breathing, name a moment for which they are most grateful, remember a difficult moment and receive it within God's love, and consider how they might meet the next day as the person God has created them to be. These practices extend the congregation's learning and neighbor engagement into shared spiritual habits.
The same emphasis on formation and engagement shapes new-member preparation. New members are received on New Member Sundays, typically in spring or fall, after a series of Sunday noon get-acquainted sessions. Individuals and families can also meet separately with a pastor or staff member about faith or involvement in church life.
Music, Drama, and Ways to Serve
Music has a central place in worship and in the life of the congregation. Choir practice is Wednesday at 7 p.m., and all are welcome. Soloists and ensembles are invited to offer their gifts, while Judy Blomgren leads the music ministry. The music ministry also welcomes people who want to sing, play, or serve in other ways.
The drama ministry's production history includes Godspell in 2007, followed by plays, musicals, and comedy across later productions. The drama and hospitality committees work together on rehearsals, ushers, concessions, and treats, making theater another way that members share time and talent.
Service opportunities extend throughout worship and church life. The church welcomes people to serve as lectors, communion assistants, acolytes, crucifers, ushers, greeters, hosts, altar care, and livestream camera or audio-video operators. Sunday School leaders, confirmation guides, newsletter assembly, sanctuary cleanup, Vacation Bible School, church plays, funeral meals, and property projects also draw on volunteers. Committees support these efforts and the practical work of the church, including worship and music, youth and education, social ministry, evangelism, hospitality, property, finance, audit, stewardship, and staff support.
Rev. Paul Burow serves as senior pastor, Rev. Erin Koster serves as associate pastor and pastor of children and youth, and Judy Blomgren serves as director of music. The Church Council meets at 7 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month unless otherwise noted.
Giving is another form of participation. Donations can be brought during church hours, mailed to 8625 Zane Ave N, or made through the Vanco mobile app, PayPal, text, or the church's giving options. The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Family of God continues to gather at 9:30 a.m. for worship with Holy Communion, to learn across generations, and to practice faith through music, hospitality, art, service, and care for neighbors. Its welcome begins with children in the sanctuary and extends to the adults, families, young people, and friends who share its life in Brooklyn Park.