Jacksonville, FL

(Top photo)Sunday services as well as community events are held at the Lakeshore property. (Bottom photo) Sal Palmeri and Francine Cianflone, students at Florida Coastal School of Law, talk in the Lakeshore chapel after participating as volunteers in a community event.

I visited the Lakeshore property for Shepherd of the Woods Lutheran Church recently. My family and I sometimes visit the original church at 7860 Southside Blvd. The Christmas Eve service is our favorite because the music is amazing and the members always extend a warm welcome. I wanted to see what the 40-acre site on Columbia Park Court off Greenland Road looks like; it’s close to our Mandarin home and there’s a 9:45 a.m. service every Sunday. The Lakeshore service is nontraditional contemporary.

Shepherd of the Woods is a big congregation—the Southside sanctuary offers several choices for Sunday worship as well as a Saturday worship.

If you visit either facility and talk to the members or Pastor George L. Johnson, you’ll find yourself welcomed warmly. During my recent visit, Pastor Johnson told me about the church’s mission in Lima, Peru. The church Web site reports 33 members are participating in this third endeavor, to help with construction and repairs, building tables, purchasing school uniforms and school supplies, and providing evangelism and outreach training and materials. The Web site also says the Jacksonville congregation volunteers in Peru will continue to construct the second story of Emaus Church with the nearly 3,000 bricks which will provide classroom space for the school. This energetic group has added on to their ministry plans the addition of building two new homes for two very poor families in the community next to Emaus church.

“We want to care for our members around the world,” Pastor Johnson told me.

Locally, Shepherd of the Woods undertakes a broad mission as well, assisting area charities and nonprofit organizations, and offering a variety of classes and enrichment opportunities. There are Spanish classes, adult education classes and social opportunities for people of all ages. The church also makes the Lakeshore property available to community groups for activities.

All in all, Shepherd of the Woods takes its mission seriously, whether the benefits come to Jacksonville or to our distant neighbors on the other side of the world.

For complete information about worship and missions, visit the Shepherd of the Woods Web site.

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