Welcome to St. Paul's!

Preaching Christ crucified, devoted to Holy Scripture, reverent in worship, and firmly grounded in the Lutheran confession.

St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church and School, established in 1837, is one of the founding congregations of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, a conservative Christian body that traces its theology and practice through the sixteenth century Reformation to the faith of the ancient apostolic Church as recorded once for all in Holy Scripture.

Located in the heart of downtown Fort Wayne, St. Paul's is the "Mother Church" for many of the area Lutheran congregations, ideally located for those who live in the greater Fort Wayne area and are hungry for a Bible-teaching, Christ-preaching church.

For details regarding upcoming services at St. Paul's, follow the "Worship" link.  To hear the Word of God, select the "Listen to This Week's Message" tab.  Learn more about upcoming events in the box at right.

From the Pastor's Desk

If you want to live an unfulfilled and empty life, hold on to everything you have. That is what Solomon teaches in the book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon writes, “I gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces…all was vanity and a striving after wind…” (Eccl. 2:8, 11). It’s quite common to go through life tallying up everything that is “ours” and keep it all. Our culture is filled with people who desperately want to find fulfillment and are seeking it in their day-to-day struggles. Yet, such a life, according to Scripture, leads to a downward spiral that leads to emptiness.
Read full article in the link below...

A Living Gift
Pastor Chad Smith

East Central Neighborhood Housing Initiative

The Laborers for Christ and many volunteers worked steadily through June and July bringing life changing construction to families homes and hearts. Extensive plumbing, electrical work and remodeling have fulfilled basic home needs and more importantly brought hope for families and neighborhoods witnessing the love of Christ through the labors of these volunteers. Laborers for Christ (LCF) is a service provided by Lutheran Church Extension Fund to help LCMS ministries save money on their building projects. Your prayers, volunteer efforts and financial support helped make our East Central Neighborhood project a success!

Check out the much appreciated work that was done as posted on this blog by the Laborers for Christ project director, Mike Vandercar.
East Central Housing Project

For more information about the project, contact Doug Schwartz, Initiative Coordinator, at (260) 437-8682 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Nicole Ridley, Chief Executive of Lutheran Housing Support at (314) 996-1376 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. To learn more about Lutheran Housing Support and this important work, please visit the website www.nationalhousingsupport.org and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lutheranhousingsupport. 

40 Days for Life

From Sep 26 through Nov 4, our community will take part in 40 Days for Life - a groundbreaking, coordinated international mobilization. We pray that, with God's help, this will mark the end of abortion in our city - and beyond.

A cross display representing the deaths of Allen County babies due to abortion has been placed on St. Paul’s lawn at the corner of Barr and Lewis Street. It includes 60 crosses, each one representing 500 babies lost to abortion. From 1978-2013 there were 30,246 babies aborted in Allen County. Also displayed is a sign encouraging women who are facing a crisis pregnancy or who have experienced an abortion to visit the website Optionline.org. Through Christ’s mercy may we protect all citizens, and speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.  

Statement on the Supreme Court's Same-Sex Marriage Ruling

Same-Sex Marriage Statement
Pastor Peter Cage; June 28, 2015

Being a Witness for Christ

"Interpreting the contemporary world from a Lutheran Christian perspective." That's what the Lutheran Witness is all about.

Pastor Peter Gregory boldly proclaims the light of Christ in a world darkened by sin in each of these three articles submitted to the Lutheran Witness online...

Come to Bethlehem
The Other Side of Marriage
Praying for Life

Religious Liberty

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has mandated that all health plans include coverage of "certain preventive health services." These "services" include contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs. This new rule violates the consciences and beliefs of many Christians and the teachings of many Christian churches.

The Rev. Matthew Harrison, LCMS President, testified before the U.S. Congress in mid-February and has issued two letters to the church regarding this mandate. His statements about this issue, along with more information, can be found here. In addition to asking congregations to pray for the preservation of our religious liberty, President Harrison writes, "I encourage the members of the LCMS to join with me in supporting efforts to preserve our essential right to exercise our religious beliefs."

In response, St. Paul's and some sister congregations are taking part in a local effort to stand for and support religious liberty. For more information, visit "Support Religious Liberty".

The Coram Deo Moment

The Rev. Steven K. Gjerde captured the true essence of the Hymn Festival hosted by St. Paul's as part of the Good Shepherd Institute Conference held in November 2012.  His wonderful article from 'A Coram Deo' Magazine is published with his permission here.