About St. Philip

We glorify God and serve all people in love.

Our History

Over 150 persons attended a worship service in a basement room at 230 South Highland Avenue. Many had come from the community and others from interested sister congregations. From this humble beginning on Sunday, August 6, 1944 , grew our present congregation. This first service was the result of a mission project of the Central Ohio Association of Lutheran Brotherhoods with pastors of the local conference serving as committee members.


Mr. Edward H. Dixon, a Seminary student at Capital University, was called to be the first pastor. His ministry at St. Philip extended to March 27, 1949, when he was called to open a new mission in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After a most thought course of instruction the first two member of the Church were confirmed on July 15, 1945. They were Harry and Blanche Purnell.


Before St. Philip had enough members to form a church council, a number of local pastors and some members of the congregation acted as a steering committee. Local congregations contributed funds for the support of the mission. Later, a model constitution was adopted and the congregation was formally organized. There were 10 charter members. The membership increased and at the time Pastor Dixon Left, The congregation numbered about 40 baptized and confirmed members.

Our Mission Statement

To Share the love of Christ with all, by Building Disciples, Growing in Faith and Serving in Jesus’ name


St. Philip Vision

Our vision is that each member would experience the adventure of an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ:

  • We desire that each member will experience Christ in his or her heart.


  • We desire that each member will come to realize the adventure of being a disciple of Jesus.


  • We desire that each member would experience a real growing, maturing relationship with Christ that would powerfully affect others around them.
Our Ministries

Our Values

  • Our values

    Our values are grounded in faith, in our biblical and Lutheran confessional sources and our love of God and neighbor. They speak to the way this church lives and practices our faith, and they will guide how we journey forward in Christ as church together.

  • Forgiveness and reconciliation

    We are reconciled to God by God’s forgiving mercy. Forgiveness and reconciliation flow from what God has made us to be in Jesus Christ and what God is doing with us in the world. As a people of God, we embody forgiveness in speech, action and relationships, and our ministry in reconciliation is foundational.

  • Dignity, compassion and justice

    Each person is created in God’s image. We respect this God-given right to dignity and, inspired by the life of Jesus, show love and compassion for all people. Through proclamation of the gospel, through worship and as servants of God working for healing and justice in the world, we uphold and seek to protect the dignity and human rights of all people.

  • Inclusion and diversity

    As Christ’s church, we value the richness of God’s creation and offer a radical welcome to all people, appreciating our common humanity and our differences. We are a church that does not view diversity as a barrier to unity. We recognize and will challenge dynamics of power and privilege that create barriers to participation and equity in this church and society – for women, people of color, minority ethnic groups, people with disabilities, people who are marginalized or living in poverty, and the LGBTQ community.

  • Courage and openness to change

    Because we trust in God’s promise and understand faith to be a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, we are emboldened to embrace learning and change in our spiritual and institutional journey as church. This means we are open to new ways and willing to take risks to discover God’s plan for this church.

  • Faithful stewardship of God’s creation and gifts

    As church together, faithful stewardship is about holding to God’s purpose and ensuring the responsibilities and resources that God has entrusted to us are used with great care and with accountability to God, to each other and those served by this church.