St Paul Lutheran Church Sandhills NC

Rev Denton White, Pastor of St. Paul Lutheran
Pastoral ministry is Denton’s second-career full-time career. He was honorably discharged having completed 20 years in the United States Air Force in 2001. In 2003 he completed the Master of Divinity degree program at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts and was ordained into public ministry the same year. He began pastoral work at St Paul October 2010. He and his wife Jean live in Fuquay-Varina, NC. Denton enjoys wood-working, hiking and long, friendly conversations about theology, culture and society.

History of St Paul
St. Paul Lutheran was formed as a mission congregation by Rev. Rick Schliepsiek in 1999/2000 with LCMS members living in the Pinehurst area. A worship site was obtained by renting the old Sacred Heart Church for $600.00 per month. After vacating the rented Roman Catholic church, the congregation purchased a metal building at 144 West Gate in West End, NC. This was a commercial building in back of a business park. The building did not provide an opportunity for ministry beyond worship and fellowship gatherings for the congregation.

St Paul Lutheran was given a wonderful opportunity to purchase a new facility in March 2013. The sale was finalized on November 13, 2013. We now have a church located in the growing community of Whispering Pines only a few miles from Pinehurst and Southern Pines. Our new church has space to expand our service to the community by providing Sunday School and Youth Programs.

Our congregation is presently served by Rev. Denton White, the congregation’s second pastor, who is shared with St. James Lutheran in Southern Pines. Our traditional service has these core values.

Core Values
• Traditional Worship
• Bible-based teaching
• Caring fellowship/community
• Concern for others/community
• Authenticity-(Strict adherence to Luther’s teachings)



Vision
St. Paul sees itself as a traditional LCMS congregation focused on Word and Sacrament ministry, faithful to Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions. We see ourselves as known in the community and thereby reaching many of the unchurched people in proximity to our location. The area in which our church building is located has grown significantly in recent years with many families with young children. We are planning a ministry for children through a preschool, afterschool and tutoring program. We also have a significant number of military families with children living in the area, with at least one member often deployed. This gives us an opportunity for ministry to military families, particularly to mothers with young children. Fellowship and Mothers’ Morning Out programs reach this segment of the population. With hundreds of new homes being built nearby an outreach to new families through advertising and a “welcome” wagon is a means of acquainting these potential guests with the congregation and its ministries. Small groups are formed to provide ministry to people with a variety of interests and needs.

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