For nearly a century, St. James Lutheran Church has stood at 2040 Oakwood Avenue NE in Grand Rapids' Creston neighborhood, a congregation of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod that has grown up alongside the same streets it has served since 1929. The church gathers every Sunday morning for traditional worship marked by classic liturgy, a mix of traditional hymns and contemporary songs, and Holy Communion on the first, third, and fifth Sundays of the month. Around that weekly rhythm, St. James has built a family of ministries that reach from preschoolers to adults, from the Creston block to the hills of Rwanda.
Sunday Morning Worship and the Lord's Supper
Sunday worship runs from 9:30 am to 10:45 am, followed by a Bible study at 11:00 am that continues the morning's conversation. The service is built around historic Christian liturgy that the congregation describes as drawing on hundreds of years of worship practice, filled with traditional hymns alongside newer songs. The Lord's Supper is celebrated at least twice a month, and the church invites people who have been instructed in the Christian faith to receive it.
The service is livestreamed on Facebook Live, so members who are traveling, sick, or otherwise away can still follow along with the songs, readings, and sermon. Each week the service also makes room for children: activity bags with books and games that reinforce the message, a children's bulletin, a blessing for young worshippers on Communion Sundays, and a cry room at the back of the sanctuary for nursing mothers or restless toddlers, with the service piped in so parents do not miss a word. The dress code is come-as-you-are; jeans, business clothes, and Sunday best all show up at St. James.
At most services the children are visited by Gizmo, an inquisitive and rather humorous monkey puppet who shares his own take on the day's Bible passage. Gizmo appears in a long-running video series with the pastor, and a steady library of those devotions goes back through 2020 for families to watch at home.
ISJ Academy: A Lutheran Day School on Site
St. James partners with neighboring Immanuel Lutheran Church to operate ISJ Academy, a preschool, pre-kindergarten, and K-8 day school housed in the same campus as the church. The school's stated mission is developing Christ-centered students and families for life and eternity, weaving a faith-based curriculum with the academic skills students need to thrive. ISJ Academy welcomes families to learn more by phone at 616-363-0505 or through the school's own online presence at mychristianschool.com.
For a parish founded in 1929, the school is a way of keeping the congregation rooted in the daily life of the neighborhood, not just on Sundays. Children of the wider Creston community and beyond attend class alongside children of the church, and the school has its own board, faculty, and family life that runs through the week.
What the Church Believes
St. James teaches that there is one God who reveals Himself as three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is the Creator of all things, and every human being is created in His image, unique and gifted, with a life that the church believes is to be honored from conception to natural death. The congregation confesses that creation has been corrupted by sin, an inherited condition that separates people from God and leaves them unable to believe on their own.
God's answer is to send His Son, Jesus, to live the perfect life humanity cannot, to suffer and die on the cross in the place of sinners, and to rise again on the third day. Everyone who trusts in Jesus is forgiven and promised life with Him forever. The Holy Spirit forms a personal relationship with each believer at Baptism, when the pastor pours water and speaks the Trinitarian formula, and the church teaches that at that moment the Father adopts the baptized, sins are forgiven, and the Spirit takes up residence in the heart. The Bible is received as the place where God reveals Himself in story, poetry, and song, especially in the person and work of Jesus.
Anyone wanting to dig deeper is invited to take a Discovery Class, the congregation's introduction to the Christian faith, or to chat with the pastor over a cup of coffee.
Children's Ministry: SJ-KIDZ and KidzTime
Children are central to life at St. James. The church runs SJ-KIDZ, a children's Sunday school for ages 3 to 8 that meets during the sermon portion of the Sunday service from September through early June. Children are dismissed before the sermon for an age-appropriate Bible lesson in the church basement led by two volunteers each week, using a rotating team so that adult volunteers miss only one Sunday every six to eight weeks. Kids return to the sanctuary in time for the offering.
For at-home learning, KidzTime offers a downloadable library of lessons that walk through Bible stories with a craft and family devotions, and a long-running video series pairs the pastor with Gizmo the monkey for kid-friendly explanations of each week's Gospel. Recent episodes have looked at the Transfiguration, the calming of the storm, the raising of Lazarus, Palm Sunday, the resurrection, and the meaning of the candles on the Advent wreath.
The church's children's ministry contact, Carol Bifulco, welcomes new volunteers willing to lead using a provided curriculum.
Youth Ministry for Third Grade Through High School
The Youth Ministry at St. James serves students from third grade through high school, mixing social and service events throughout the school year with a regular Bible study. Junior and high school youth meet on the second and fourth Sunday of each month, after church, for Bible study and discussion. Past mission trips have taken the youth ministry beyond Michigan, including a 2025 trip to Rwanda that the children's video series prayed over. Kelsey Butler coordinates the youth ministry and is the contact for parents and students who want to get involved.
Family Ministry, C.I.A., and Small Groups
Family Ministry at St. James is built around connection. The congregation runs Small Group Family Devotional Community Groups, home-based groups for individuals and families that meet around Grand Rapids. C.I.A. (Christians in Action) is the church's small-group network that meets weekly either on or off campus, sharing a meal or snack, studying the Word, praying together, and then putting faith into action in the neighborhood. Family events are scheduled monthly and can take place at church or somewhere else, ranging from sporting outings to movie nights to roasting marshmallows. Kim Urbanski is the point person for families wanting to join a group, start a new one, or help plan an event.
Adult Ministry: Women and Men
For women, the Lutheran Women's Missionary League (LWML) chapter at St. James meets monthly to study the Bible, support the church and school, and aid mission work locally and around the world. For men, a monthly breakfast and Bible study meets on the second Saturday of every month from 8:30 to 10:00 am. Both groups are open to new members and serve as a steady, low-key entry point for adults who want to deepen their roots at St. James.
Bible Study, Discovery Class, and Confirmation
Mid-morning Bible study follows the Sunday service at 11:00 am, and additional small-group Bible studies meet in homes around Grand Rapids. For those exploring the Christian faith, the Discovery Class is the church's introductory course. Confirmation is offered for students who want to affirm the vows made at their baptism, and the church runs a Bible Study page that lists current groups, including the C.I.A. circles and the family devotional groups. Devotional content is also available through the Noontime Devotions page and an audio sermon archive, and a sermon podcast is available on Apple Podcasts under St. James Lutheran Podcast.
Music at St. James
Music is led by Music Director Beth McKay, who oversees a music program that supports the congregation's blended worship: traditional Lutheran hymns alongside newer songs, all carried by the voices of the congregation. The service is designed so that worshipers sing, pray, and encourage one another, with music serving as a key way the church does that together each week.
Serving Creston, Michigan, and Rwanda
St. James challenges every member to find a place to serve. Within the church, that includes musicians, camera operators, acolytes, and ushers, along with Sunday school teachers and small-group leaders. Within the city, the congregation partners with several local non-profit organizations to be the hands and feet of Jesus in Grand Rapids, with regular opportunities to serve together as a community.
The church's mission work reaches beyond Michigan. St. James has a sustained partnership with Christian churches in Rwanda, working to teach God's Word to pastors there and providing financial assistance to help a Rwandan Lutheran pastor care for unwed mothers and their infants. The congregation also partners with the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod and other Lutheran organizations to share the love of Jesus in word and deed around the world. Midweek Advent and Lent services through the years have also been livestreamed and are still accessible through the service video archives.
Leadership and Staff
Rev. Joseph Fremer serves as Interim Pastor. A retired LCMS pastor who previously served at Good Shepherd in Lowell and St. John in Ionia until 2022, Pastor Fremer was born and raised in Chicago, spent his teen years in Florida, and attended Concordia College in Ann Arbor and Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. He and his wife, who have two grown sons and two grandchildren, live in Saranac in Ionia County. The church's secretary, Ashley Beffrey, keeps bulletins, newsletters, and appointments running smoothly. Beth McKay directs the music program. Kim Urbanski leads Family Ministry, Kelsey Butler coordinates the Youth Ministry, and Carol Bifulco oversees the Children's Ministry.
The church office is open during the week at 2040 Oakwood Ave NE, and the church phone (616-363-7718) reaches both the office and the pastor. Online giving is available through a secure giving portal, and the weekly bulletin is posted online for anyone who wants to follow along with the readings and hymns before arriving.
Getting Involved
Visitors who want to learn more can fill out a confidential plan-a-visit form online or email the office or the pastor directly. Anyone with a question for the pastor can use the Ask Pastor form, and prayer requests are taken online as well. The church posts a downloadable Sunday bulletin, an audio sermon archive, a podcast, and a long-running video archive of services stretching back to 2020, so newcomers can get a feel for the preaching and worship before they walk through the door.
For nearly a hundred years, St. James has been a steady Lutheran presence on Oakwood Avenue, rooted in a small Creston corner of Grand Rapids and reaching, through its school, its small groups, and its mission partnerships, well beyond it.