St. Paul's Lutheran Church & School has anchored the religious life of the Kankakee-Bourbonnais corridor since 1859, when a small community of believers came together around the Lutheran confession in this stretch of northern Illinois. Today the ministry lives in two places: a historic downtown sanctuary in Kankakee and a school campus in Bourbonnais, where most of the life of the congregation and its preschool-through-eighth-grade school unfolds.
The motto Changing Lives through Worship, Compassion and Christian Education captures the dual identity of St. Paul's. It is both a church and a school, and the two have grown together for more than 165 years. With Scripture and Sacraments at the center of its faith, the congregation is part of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
Two Locations, One Congregation
St. Paul's worships in two different places, a fact that newcomers sometimes find surprising until they arrive.
In Kankakee, the historic downtown sanctuary at 348 East Merchant Street hosts the Saturday evening service at 5:00 PM. The worship is traditional, drawing on the liturgical heritage of the Lutheran tradition and held in the older building that has served the congregation since its earliest days.
On Sundays, all worship, Sunday School, and Bible Study happen at the Bourbonnais campus, 1780 Career Center Road. The morning unfolds in three movements: a traditional service at 8:30 AM, an education hour at 9:50 AM with Sunday School for children and Bible Study for adults, and a blended service at 11:05 AM that weaves together the historic liturgy with more contemporary musical expressions.
For those who cannot make it in person, Sunday services are livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel, beginning shortly before 8:30 AM Central time. A complete archive of past services is available there. Audio sermons are also posted online.
What St. Paul's Believes
The teaching of St. Paul's follows historic Lutheran Christianity. The congregation affirms one God in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and teaches that Jesus Christ is true God and true man, who lived a sinless human existence, died on the cross as the sacrifice for sin, rose again on the third day, and will return again to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Holy Spirit, equal with the Father and the Son, works through the Word and the Sacraments to create saving faith, give spiritual understanding, and guide the believer in righteous living.
Salvation is understood as a gift received through faith in Jesus Christ alone, never earned by human effort or self-improvement. The Bible is taught as God's inspired Word, the supreme source of truth for Christian belief and living, written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. Heaven and hell are places of eternal existence, with all people destined to exist forever either separated from God by sin or united with Him through forgiveness and salvation.
Three principles uphold the congregation's teaching: Scripture alone as the source of knowledge about God, grace as the undeserved character of God's love and forgiveness, and faith as the means by which that forgiveness is received. Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper are the two Sacraments instituted by Christ, and the Board of Lay Ministry assists with communion distribution during services. Members and visitors are invited to sign an attendance card each time they attend worship and communion.
Six Days of Bible Study
The congregation takes seriously the call to "let us not give up meeting together" from Hebrews 10, and the Bible Study calendar shows it. St. Paul's offers adult Bible studies six days a week, in a rotation of formats and topics.
Sunday evenings bring "Defending the Christian Faith" on the third Sunday of the month at 6:30 PM, led by Bill and Kim Balgeman. On the second and fourth Mondays at 6:30 PM, Deb Turrell leads "Come and Be Filled." Tuesday mornings at 9:45 AM feature "Is the Devil Real?" with Roy W. Cordes, and on the fourth Tuesday at 7:00 PM (skipping June, July, August, and December), Pastor Bottorff leads "Seven Principles of Prayer." Wednesday mornings at 9:30 AM (the second and fourth Wednesday), Pastor Drinnon leads "Joseph: A Study of Forgiveness." Friday evenings (the second Friday at 7:00 PM) and Saturday mornings (the fourth Saturday at 7:30 AM), Pastor Koeppen walks through "Jesus: A Study on the Words of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John."
Studies meet in various locations, and some occasionally meet on alternate weeks. Those interested are invited to contact the leader in advance.
St. Paul's Lutheran School
St. Paul's Lutheran School has been educating students since the late nineteenth century and remains a cornerstone of the congregation's identity. The school, located on the Bourbonnais site, serves preschool through eighth grade and is accredited by the National Lutheran School Association and recognized by the State of Illinois at the highest possible ranking for nonpublic schools.
The school offers 3-year-old preschool two, three, or five days a week, and 4-year-old preschool three or five days a week, with both half-day and full-day options. Kindergarten is full-day only. Class sizes are intentionally kept small, with student-to-teacher ratios typically in the 17:1 to 22:1 range, allowing teachers to know each child by name.
Curriculum is organized so that preschool through fourth grade students work in self-contained classrooms while fifth through eighth grade students move between departmentalized classrooms staffed by subject-area teachers. Classrooms are equipped with Promethean boards and document cameras, and students in third through eighth grade either bring their own device or are provided a laptop for a 1:1 ratio. Younger students work with class sets of iPads and Chromebooks. The MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) test is administered twice a year in kindergarten through eighth grade.
Chapel is held weekly, with all K-8 students gathering for worship. Extracurricular offerings include cross country, co-ed soccer, basketball for boys and girls, volleyball, track and field, baseball and softball in co-op with St. George, choirs, band, Christmas and spring concerts, art fair, drama, spelling bee, geography bee, science fair, math competition, Battle of the Books, and a gardening club. The Tigers compete against Lutheran, Christian, and other area schools in Illinois and Indiana.
Before-school care begins at 6:00 AM and after-school care runs until 6:00 PM, with structured play, study hall, snack, and outdoor play. Hot lunch is offered daily. Tuition assistance is available through the FACTS financial aid system, and the RaiseRight program lets families earn tuition rebates by purchasing gift cards for everyday shopping. Members of St. Paul's Lutheran Church and other Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod congregations receive a discounted tuition rate.
Confirmation and Youth Ministry
For older students, St. Paul's offers a structured path of instruction. All seventh and eighth graders attending St. Paul's Lutheran School study the catechism as part of their weekly curriculum. Seventh and eighth graders who do not attend the school can participate in an evening catechism class that meets twice a month on Tuesdays at 4:30 PM at the Bourbonnais campus. Public affirmation of baptismal faith comes through the rite of Confirmation.
Youth Bible Class meets Sunday mornings at 9:45 AM for all sixth through twelfth graders at the Bourbonnais campus. Youth Night gathers seventh through twelfth graders for events at the school throughout the year, including bonfires, cookie decorating, and seasonal gatherings.
Mission and Compassion
The congregation's vision statement identifies it as "a compassionate community seeking local and global opportunities to share Christ's love." That calling shows up in ongoing partnerships, including Phil's Friends, a Christian outreach that supports those facing cancer, with the church regularly compiling wish lists for care packages. Operation Christmas Child also appears on the church calendar, with a published wish list for shoebox gifts.
A ministry called Gabriel's Callers offers a way for members to extend care through phone calls, reaching out to those who might be isolated or in need of pastoral connection. Members can give online, by mail to the church office, or by texting an amount to 815-205-1213 to support the work of the church and school.
Pastors and Staff
Karl Koeppen serves as Senior Pastor and Roger Drinnon serves as Associate Pastor. Brian Porter is the principal of St. Paul's Lutheran School. The church office can be reached at 815-932-0312.
The Board of Lay Ministry exercises general supervision over matters pertaining to worship and the church office, assists with communion distribution, and assigns each member a section of the congregation for particular pastoral care.
Visiting St. Paul's
A first-time visitor can find St. Paul's at either of its two locations: 348 East Merchant Street in downtown Kankakee for the Saturday 5:00 PM service, or 1780 Career Center Road in Bourbonnais for Sundays at 8:30 AM, 9:50 AM, and 11:05 AM.
St. Paul's Lutheran Church & School is a community rooted in Word and Sacrament, anchored in Christian education, and reaching out in service throughout the Kankakee-Bourbonnais corridor.