The five members making up

the first worship service of St. Paul Lutheran Church and

School have grown into 200 members.

In June 1995 they were

meeting in a small office in Willowbend Center in

Peachtree City. It was agreed by all of those first five

people, none of whom had school aged children, that

establishing a Christian school should be accomplished

before building a sanctuary for worship. The church has

written, "God, as it turns out, agreed with that

plan."

In November 1996, Gordon S.

Stuckert was installed as the principal of the school,

which finally came into being 11 months later. At this

time the students were housed in seven trailers.

As the student enrollment

increased, so did church membership. A strong belief in

the importance of the school is shown by students and

teachers who have just moved into a new $5 million

complex. By the beginning of the 1999-2000 school year in

just one month, it is expected to have 200 students, and

13 members will comprise the faculty.

On Sundays, the

congregation will conduct its worship services in the

cafeteria and the students will have lunch there during

the week.

Pastor the Rev. Ron Janssen

has been with the congregation since its inception.

He was born and reared in

Illinois and was graduated from the University of

Illinois with a B.A. in psychology. It was during his

senior year at college that he felt the pull into

ministry, and was graduated from Concordia Seminary, now

in Ft. Wayne, Ind. He holds a master of divinity from

there, as well as an honorary doctorate of divinity. He

is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

His honorary degree came as

a result of his idea while serving at Holy Cross Lutheran

Church in Riverdale. Half of the congregation were

Laotian and one of the pastors, who was Laotian, was

simply unable to leave and attend seminary for four

years. Janssen, along with Lutheran officials,

established the Distance Education Leading to Ordination,

a program allowing persons to stay where they are and

complete the necessary work allowing for ordination.

He has served in Illinois

for 12 years and in Riverdale for 12 years. He is married

to his childhood sweetheart, Rita, and they are the

parents of two children: Angela was a STAR student at

Jonesboro High School, has a B.A. in mathematics from

Valparaiso University and a masters of divinity from the

University of Chicago. Matthew is a graduate of the

University of Georgia with a B.A. in history and

philosophy and is currently attending Georgia State

University pursing a B.B.A. in business and finance.

St. Paul Lutheran Church

and School is at 700 Ardenlee Parkway, at the corner of

Ga. Highway 74. It is across from the Kedron Kroger

shopping center.

Services are each Sunday at

8:30 a.m. for Sunday School and adult Bible studies, with

worship services at 9:30 a.m. An adult Bible study is

each Monday at 7 p.m.

The church can be reached

at 770-487-0339 and the school can be reached at

770-486-3545.

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