160 Years on Morganford Road
St. Johns Lutheran Church stands at 3738 Morganford Road in St. Louis, near the intersection of Morganford and Chippewa Streets. The congregation was organized in the summer of 1865, when eight German Lutheran charter members asked Concordia Seminary in St. Louis to send a pastor to serve the German-speaking families who had settled around the coal mines near Morganford and Chippewa - a community then known as Minerstown.
From that first worship on July 9, 1865, the church has grown through three sanctuary buildings and a long succession of ministries, today gathering in the brick sanctuary dedicated on October 30, 1949. A school, a parish hall, and a fellowship hall share the property, and the church now runs a Saturday food pantry, an after-school program called Compass, and a unique partnership with a Nepali Lutheran congregation that makes St. Johns one of the most distinctive LCMS congregations in the city.
Saved to Share, Called to Care
The congregation's stated vision is to be "many voices planting and growing the footprint of God's love in our church, neighborhood, city, and world," and to fulfill the Great Commission to disciple, baptize, and teach all nations through every ministry. The mission statement describes St. Johns as "a diverse family of saved sinners, walking together in forgiveness," motivated by Christ's love to share the Gospel and care for the needs of all people.
St. Johns belongs to The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), and the LCMS logo appears alongside the church's name on its printed materials. Members are expected to worship regularly, study the Bible and pray, support the work of the congregation financially, raise their children in the Christian faith, and live a Christian life that avoids organizations in conflict with Scripture.
Worship in English and Nepalese
Sunday worship at St. Johns begins at 9:00 AM and is led in English by Pastor Ben Wescoatt. A separate Nepali worship service is held at 10:30 AM, served by Associate Pastors Nabin Samal and Ratna Mangar. On the last Sunday of each month the two congregations join for a combined service at 9:00 AM in which worship is shared in English and Nepalese; these joint services typically run 70 to 80 minutes.
Holy Communion is celebrated on the second and fourth (or fifth) Sundays of each month. Communion services generally last 60 to 75 minutes; non-communion Sundays run 50 to 60 minutes. Most music comes from the Lutheran Service Book and is led by Organist and Choir Director Suzanne Mannelli at the pipe organ, though during joint services with the Nepali congregation guitar, piano, and more contemporary songs are also used.
Worship is also offered online. Sunday services are livestreamed on YouTube, and recent services are available for viewing online. Midweek services during Lent and Advent are typically held on Wednesdays at 6:30 PM, with a soup supper beforehand at 5:30 PM.
What Visitors Can Expect
St. Johns welcomes first-time visitors at any service. Dress ranges from casual to business casual; members come in everything from jeans to suits, and the only request is to avoid clothing that depicts foul language, tobacco, or alcohol. There is a children's message during every service, and a video is posted each Sunday for children at home.
Parking is available in the lot on the north side of the building, with additional street parking on Morganford Road in front of the church. Visitors enter through either of the two red doors on the west (Morganford) side of the building; an elevator serves those who need it, and the church is fully handicap accessible. All restrooms are located downstairs.
Offerings are collected by ushers walking the aisles with handled collection plates - they are not passed down the pews. Visitors are not expected to give.
Bible Study, Sunday School, and Compass
Sunday morning Bible study meets at 10:30 AM in the Fellowship Hall and is open to anyone; no registration is required. Resources on Martin Luther's Small and Large Catechisms and his Table Talk are available online for those who want to dig deeper between meetings.
Children are welcomed through a children's message each Sunday and through the Nepalese Sunday School that meets during the Nepali service and Bible study hour. The church has also produced a long-running series of monthly Children's Corner videos since 2020, available online.
Compass, the church's after-school program, is led by Director Jaylynn Mennel. Compass Educational Programs operates as a faith-based program that grounds its teaching in the Word of God and educates the whole child - spiritually, emotionally and socially, intellectually, and physically. Children of all backgrounds attend Compass, and the program is open to families in the wider neighborhood.
The Saturday Food Pantry
St. Johns runs a community food pantry every Saturday from 8:30 to 10:00 AM, with the exception of the occasional fifth Saturday of a month or holidays. The pantry serves families in St. Louis and the surrounding neighborhoods; guests are asked to come no more than twice a month and to bring identification if they have it, though ID is not required.
On pantry mornings, the line forms at the gate between the upper and lower parking lots next to the playground. Numbers are handed out once the gate is opened, and guests are seated in the cafeteria until their number is called. Volunteers are always welcome.
The Nepalese Ministry
One of the most distinctive features of St. Johns is its partnership with the Nepali Lutheran community. In August 2024 the church ordained and installed Nabin Samal and Ratna Mangar as the first Lutheran Nepali pastors in the world. Both pastors had completed their vicarage and seminary classes and now serve as associate pastors alongside Pastor Wescoatt, with Pastor Samal and Pastor Mangar leading the 10:30 AM Nepali worship and shared ministry in the congregation.
The Nepali pastors came to St. Louis from Bhutan, where they were part of a refugee community that resettled in the United States. In addition to their Sunday work, they help lead the Nepali children's Sunday School that meets during Bible study hour. The relationship between the English-speaking and Nepali-speaking members has shaped the joint services on the last Sunday of each month, in which liturgy and music in both languages are shared.
Women of the Word and Other Lay Groups
The Women of the Word (WOW) group has met since 1996, growing out of the older Women's Guild (itself descended from the Ladies' Aid Society). WOW gathers on the second Monday of each month at 7:00 PM for Bible study, fellowship, and planning service projects. Visitors and new members are always welcome.
St. Johns is also served by an active Board of Elders, currently chaired by Head Elder Earl Welch; a Board of Trustees; a Board of Stewardship; a Board of Education; a Board of Social Ministry that oversees the food pantry; and a Board of Evangelism. Ushers John Benwell, Patrick Benwell, William Gebhart, and Roger Schmidt help lead each Sunday service, and a Community Evangelist, Pastor Idonis King, extends the church's outreach beyond its walls.
Beliefs and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
St. Johns teaches, in summary, that all people are sinners and are condemned by the Law of God, that God loves the world so much that He sent His Son Jesus to be the Savior, that whoever believes in Him receives the free gift of forgiveness of all sins and everlasting life in heaven, and that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and the only authority for the Christian life.
The congregation observes the two sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper (Holy Communion), uses Luther's Small Catechism in its teaching, follows the historic church year (Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and the seasons around them), and gathers for midweek services during Advent and Lent. Members who wish to join the church take a series of instruction classes led by the pastors that covers the central teachings of the LCMS and the differences between it and other Lutheran and Protestant traditions.
Online giving supports a variety of funds, including the General Fund and memorial gifts. Sunday services are livestreamed on YouTube, and recent bulletins along with a long-running monthly Messenger newsletter are archived online. The Compass after-school program, the Saturday food pantry, and the Nepali and English worship services all continue to grow out of the same conviction the charter members of 1865 carried: that the church is saved to share and called to care.