Mission & Vision

State Street Community Church is a just and generous expression of the Christian faith in downtown LaPorte, Indiana.

The vision of State Street Community Church is create a community of Christ followers that values a purposeful location, justice, generosity, humility, and meaningful relationships.

Christ's incarnation motivates us to listen to God's call and place ourselves among the people we serve. We hold our weekly worship service in downtown LaPorte, a location within walking distance for many residents. We strategically positioned the Pax Center in downtown LaPorte to offer clothing, food, and companionship to the community. We established our community gardens to provide our neighbors with education, nutrition, and a sense of belonging.

We believe that God created humanity with love and goodness. Despite personal and systemic injustices, we feel called to restorative justice, where the wrongs of this world are set right again in our lives, in our neighbors' lives, and in the world. The Pax Center fights poverty, hunger, and loneliness. The preschool offers scholarships to increase access to early childhood education, and the community gardens turn neglected urban spaces into healthy community resources.

In response to Christ's example of radical self-giving love, we aim to give sacrificially for others. We are not afraid of scarcity because God provides abundantly. State Streeters generously contribute their time, energy, influence, and finances to support work rooted in love and justice for the broader community. The church offers visionary leadership and financial backing for the Pax Center, the Brighton Street Green Space, and the Jackson Street Community Garden. State Streeters practice generosity in their relationships and neighborhoods. We believe kindness is essential in restoring the art of being good neighbors.

Faith is most effectively practiced within a community that believes mercy surpasses judgment; love is greater than hate, and joy outshines cynicism. We aim to be good neighbors who embody the way of Christ through compassionate and kind engagement that respects everyone. To achieve this, the Pax Center hosts weekly community meals, welcoming and embracing diverse groups of people. Our coffeehouse space encourages conversation, listening, and mutual learning. Classes and small groups create safe spaces for discussion, disagreement, and vulnerability. We focus on meeting each other's needs through programs and genuine friendships. We build relationships by serving side by side in the shared pursuit of Christ.

We are not afraid of uncertainty or tension in our pursuit of finding Christ. As we continue to discover the ultimate mystery of Christ's love together, we seek to embody a humble orthodoxy that learns from other Christian expressions and movements throughout the history of the Church. The Eucharist is open to all who wish to commune with Christ. State Street is free, but not bound, to the use of liturgical elements of worship. We reject simple platitudes in favor of embracing the tension of the unknown. We value environments that foster fruitful conversation.