St John’s Lutheran Church & School

We absolutely LOVE this church and school. Have hear nothing but wonderful things about the school and have enrolled our kids for fall. We have found the church to be extremely welcoming, solid doctrine, pastors are warm and down to earth. Preaching is from the bible and the praise band is fabulous. The sunday school/​bible hour is solid and very welcoming. There is a great mix of traditional and contemporary and it truly is a loving church community.

We transferred into the school and just loved it. We especially enjoyed the athletic program and coach Kalal. We did experienced a lot of love at St. John’s. We are excited about the new teachers that were added to this upcoming 2015 – 2016 school. year. I would highly recommend this program.

I can’t say enough wonderful things about this church! Pastor Dan is wonderful! My family have been involved with church and school for about 10 years. Pastor Dan married my husband and I last summer and he made it very personal. Everyone at our wedding raved about the wonderful job that he did and how great he is. I consider myself lucky to have have found such a wonderful church for my family and me.

Please refer to my previous review for my comments on the church itself. This updated review will focus on the school.
I had expressed a concern that there was something wrong in this congregation’s culture. Unfortunately, my suspicion was borne out rather painfully. My child came in as a transfer student when their previous school gave all signs of floundering in the upper grade. I weighed a «lost» academic year vs. the social upset and made the choice. I don’t want to call it a mistake but it has been a HARD lesson.
This school has a longstanding and deep-​rooted, top to bottom, bullying problem. This was openly acknowledged by a full-​school meeting on the issue that took place this Spring. Interestingly, my family received no notice of this meeting and learning of it after the fact is what forced my inquiry and their subsequent confession that how my child was being treated had been a longtime concern of the staff. Longtime concern? Earlier in the year, as I saw changes in my child, I’d inquired. No one. Said. A. Thing. I thought my child was just pouting over having been made to transfer… maybe wasn’t making enough of an effort. No. It was a nearly complete social shut-​out. One Mother who contacted me after my initial review called St. John’s a very «exclusive» culture. She said you were fine if you were there for generations or maybe came in at the beginning but otherwise it would prove to be a lonely time. I don’t think even an early entry is necessarily safe. Several parents confided that their time here couldn’t end soon enough. :-(
My original review said that the teachers seemed to be very caring and responsive but it is neither caring nor responsive to hide an important problem from an inquiring parent. Unfortunately, private schools are notorious for doing all they can to keep the tuition money flowing and often that involves not telling parents about problems. Once the problem as it related to my child came to light the administration expressed concern and a desire to have an end of year follow-​up but that interest evaporated as the year drew to a close. It was suggested that I perhaps write the Pastor, who was aware of the problem. Okay? Aware of the problem and not contacting me? No. Apparently too busy with his own studies.
As for my direct observation… I attended every field trip and accompanied the students on their year-​end two-​day trip. The two-​day trip was illuminating though I’ll allow that by that point I had a pretty clear view of what was going on so I may have had a certain amount of prejudice. I’d heard that classroom decorum wasn’t all that one might hope for and that was true also in public venues. No one expects junior high students to be robotic angels but the level of inconsideration and noise was remarkable. We were the dreaded school group. I didn’t see that there was much actual control of the kids. This being a Christian school you expect the education to involve the spirit along with the brain. I saw scant evidence in any practical way that the hard stuff of walking the walk had made much of an impression. «But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.» James 1:22
I’m sorry to post such a review but I assume anyone reading this is of the faith and wants to be assured of whether or not this is a good school on both fronts — intellectual and spiritual. Educationally I’d say it’s fine but otherwise, I cannot recommend it. My comments have not been about every single person here but rather the general culture of the school. While there were some bright spots, the society can be generally unaccepting and unkind. If we are to be known to the world by how we love each other that lesson is sorely missing here. As the long-​trip chaperon I experienced the social shut-​out and listened to endless snarking by the adults… mean spirited comments masquerading as humor (Proverbs 26:9) and non-​stop negativity and complaining about being with the kids. Sorry… the parents had 14 years with these kids, the teachers 8… if they don’t like what they’re seeing who is to blame? (Matthew 7:16) I happen to love being with my children and they with me so hearing this sort of conversation was like being in an ugly foreign land.
Want a good Christian school where the children’s hearts are welcoming and soft? Check out Medinah Christian School.

We visited the church once and we were hooked! We took the new members class and were welcomed as members about 4 years ago. My soul is filled each time my family and I attend church here. The praise team is A M A Z I N G ! The contemporary services are such a great compliment to the beautifully traditional architecture of the building. The congregation overall is very friendly and it’s great to worship and enjoy the music with others that are sharing the joy of the moment.
My kids also attend the school. What we get there in education and spiritual growth is unmatched to anywhere else we have been. I have enjoyed attending Wednesday chapel with all of the school students and I leave so happy as I get to watch the kids and the teachers loving the Lord and blessing each other. The kids get a great Christian foundation at this school and we are incredibly pleased that we have found this gem of a ministry!