St. Peter's has been shepherded by a bivocational pastor for the past decade and a half. That good man is now retiring from his professorship in theology at a Christian (Catholic) liberal arts university and wishes to retire also from the pulpit at St. Peter's. While we are seeking a permanent shepherd to take on this flock long term, we also recognize the wisdom of seeking the help and guidance of an interim pastor who will help us with congregational reflection and analysis so that we have a better idea of the qualities and gifts we should be seeking.
Thus we are seeking applicants interested in either interim ministry or a long-term pastorate, or interim with the consideration to remain as a permanent shepherd. Realistically we are looking for a part-time or bivocational pastor as at present the church budget is not robust enough to support a pastor and family full time, but perhaps this can change with time and with the right person leading us to growth.
St. Peter's has been a congregation for over 130 years and has people buried in its cemetery who were baptized, married, and buried out of St. Peter's, some as second or even third generation members! There is a rich tradition here. We also have families who have joined in the past decade, and one family that is new within 2017. We need more growth for the present health of the congregation; we also need growth for its future health, as we look down the generations and try to envision the work St. Peter's could do for the Lord as our children and grandchildren take their places as its leaders and financial support.
The salary is negotiable depending on the commitment the pastor wishes to make. We do have a well maintained parsonage next door to the church which is currently rented but can be made available to a pastor family if needed.
St. Peter's gives away well over a tenth of its annual income in missions work both formal and informal, supporting a 5-minute weekly radio devotional on local radio, working with other Christians in the area to support a Christian outreach project in New Albin, offering support to the needy in the area through emergency financial support, sending substantial funds to support a Catholic missions hospital in Cameroon, West Africa, and other ad hoc ministries. The congregation is debt free, having owned its church building for many years and paying cash for an addition that was built since 2000. It also owns a lovely hillside cemetery where brothers and sisters in the church are laid to their final rest. Services are held weekly, with Sunday school for the children held after services during the school year, and coffee and other refreshments served nearly every week. The women's fellowship group holds a monthly meeting and luncheon that is open to the community. Adult bible studies are held in series based on topic and are scheduled around the pastor's availability. We have a long time relationship with a church just across the border in Minnesota and have shared a pastor in the past, and a future partnership may be considered though is not presently arranged.
New Albin is served by the Eastern Allamakee Unified School District, with the elementary school in New Albin and the middle and high schools in the next town to the south, Lansing. Class sizes are small, and the school is staffed by devoted administrators and teachers who truly know every child personally. The school district has a long tradition of excellence in baseball and softball, track and field, volleyball, speech, music and drama. A community college serves the area with on-site classes, satellite classrooms and online courses, and is connected with the excellent Iowa four-year state university system. Across the river in Wisconsin are a number of other excellent higher education institutions.
The area is wonderful for outdoor recreation, being right on the Mississippi, with water sports, fishing, hunting, and hiking. The town is on the Great River Road with its bicycle trail in constant use throughout biking season. We believe we live in one of the most beautiful spots in the Upper Midwest. People pay to come vacation here, but we get to live here all the time!
Please read our Church Profile for further details on our congregation.
St. Peter's was founded over 130 years ago by German-speaking immigrants in the Northeast Iowa community that eventually became the town of New Albin, in Allamakee County (on the Mississippi River adjacent to the Minnesota/Iowa border). The church has its roots in the Evangelical and Reformed tradition. St. Peter's has been a nondenominational ministry for the past eleven years; it bases its theology in the Holy Bible, not in any denominational tradition. The congregation is composed, at one extreme, of families who have baptized three generations of babies in the font, and at the other, families who have joined in the past year or two. St. Peter's has been blessed by the pastorship of a bivocational pastor who is retiring as a full professor from a Christian (Catholic) liberal arts university and also wishes to retire from the pastorate. We are seeking our next pastor to lead us into the next generation of Christian work in Northeast Iowa. Size of town: about 450 plus surrounding farms and communities. Church size: about 60 in regular attendance, plus many inactive. Current ministries and missions: Weekly 5-minute radio devotional on KNEI Radio; regular support of a mission hospital in the mountains of Cameroon, West Africa; support of a community Christian outreach center called The Way Station; support of summer Bible camp for members' children and other area children; adult bible studies, teen bible studies (in preparation for confirmation), and children's church. Gifts: A debt free congregation that owns its own brick and concrete church building in town, with parsonage next door, and a lovely country cemetery just outside of town, overlooking the Mississippi. A long history of family church worship. Challenges: Declining attendance, an aging membership, lack of young families joining, and economic challenges which in large part reflect the economy of the region. There are several churches in the area who are facing the same issues. We are seeking: A minister who is a good teacher but also a loving shepherd who will help us be ready for the next few years and then the decades beyond as we become a fervently faithful, generous, God-seeking, forgiving, sustaining, patient congregation of Christians in whom the light of God shines for all the community to see.
