Our Congregation:
Shepherd of the Hills is a place to find and know God and his amazing love. Who is God? Is he a stern law giver? Is he an impersonal life force? Is he mysterious and distant? Is he the unfeeling operator behind the control panel of life? Does he care about us? Does he even know about our struggles and our suffering?
At Shepherd of the Hills we let God himself tell us about himself- and what he has to say is wonderful! We gather to hear God assure us in his Word that he loves us in spite of all that we’ve done wrong, that he forgives us for all our sins, that he is not distant, but with us to help us, and that he will stick with us until he finally brings us to the perfect life of heaven.
So if you long to know a God of love and forgiveness, if you long for the peace of knowing God is with you and your future in heaven is guaranteed, come join us. In Jesus Christ we find the God of our dreams made real.
Shepherd of the Hills is a group of friendly and down-to-earth people of all ages. If you visit, you can expect to be warmly welcomed, but we will not call unnecessary attention to you or pressure you in any way. Our philosophy is that, if the message you hear is real and relevant, and if the people you meet are genuine, that chances are good that you will want to come back without being pestered. We do, on the other hand, look forward to getting together with you if you want to find out more about us.
Our worship services are offered every Sunday at both 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. and also on Monday evenings at 7:00 p.m. (Except during the six week Lenten season preceding Holy Week, when we conduct Wednesday evening Lenten services at 7:00 p.m.).
Our worship services are both reverent and relevant. They center on Jesus Christ, who reveals God and his love to us as the Savior of the world. There is a logical pattern to what we do in the services. The songs, the Scripture readings, the confession of our sins together and assurance of forgiveness, the confession of what we believe, the prayers, and the sermon all fit together and focus on a theme for the day. A worship service guide and instructions from the pastor make the service easy to follow. You will find that the messages deal with real-life issues, make use of helpful illustrations and stories, and yet are simple enough for even children to understand. Because they are based on the very Word of God- the Bible- and the good news of God’s saving love in Jesus Christ, we are sure that you will find them uplifting and inspiring.
We offer Bible Classes for children as young as 2 ½ and for youth and adults of all ages. Whether you are an curious inquirer with little or no Bible knowledge or a veteran Christian, you will find that there is a class for you. See “Classes” under “Events And News” for more details.
We provide lots of opportunities for fun, fellowship, and service. We plan fun events and outings and also do things together informally. We provide many opportunities for people to use their God-given gifts in service to others, here at church and in ministries outside the church. You can find more information about this under “Groups And Ministries.”
We help each other in times of special need – by praying for each other; by providing meals for folks recovering from illness or caring for a new baby or grieving the loss of loved one; by offering food through our food bank and monetary assistance through our “Stephen Fund”, and simply by being listening, supportive friends in times of need.
We believe that God is love and that his love is for everyone. For that reason, we invite the people in our lives to come and learn more about God. We also do a lot of things to reach out to people in our community with the message of God’s love in Jesus, and we support Christian mission work abroad.
Shepherd of the Hills is a member of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). That’s a long name that simply means that:
1. Our denomination’s roots are in Wisconsin, where the WELS was established in 1850.
2. We are NOT about controlling people with church laws or motivating by guilt. Rather, we are all about sharing the good news of God’s love and forgiveness for all people in Jesus Christ. Evangelical means “proclaiming good news”.
3. Our beliefs are the same as Martin Luther, the German pastor whose reforms in the early 1500s brought the church back to a truly Biblical foundation. We are a Lutheran church because we agree with Martin Luther that a church should follow God’s Word instead of man-made rules, and that the church’s mission is to give people peace and security in God’s love us, the forgiveness of all our sins, and the gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.
4. We are members of a synod, because a synod is “a gathering of people who share the same beliefs.”