Shepherd of the Valley Church sits on Hudson Road in Afton, Minnesota, between Manning Avenue and Highway 95 just off Interstate 94, and serves as a regional ministry for families across the St. Croix Valley. Founded in 1977 by a small group of Christians who wanted a Gospel-focused Lutheran presence in the area, the church has grown from those early meetings in a local city hall into a multi-staff congregation that still holds onto its Lutheran roots. Today it is known for three Sunday morning services, a busy Wednesday night student program called The Circuit, a children's ministry called sovKids, and a small groups culture that the congregation describes as the core of who they are.
Worship on Sundays at Shepherd of the Valley
Three identical services meet every Sunday morning at 8:00, 9:15, and 10:45. Each service runs about 60 to 65 minutes and includes the same songs, biblical teaching, prayer, and a welcoming community, so visitors can pick the time that fits their schedule without missing anything. Ushers greet people at the door and help them find a seat in the sanctuary, where the open landscape is visible through the windows and a cross anchors the front of the room.
The 8:00 service has a classic feel: weekly communion is served, and the choir regularly sings. Communion is open to anyone who knows they need Jesus. At 9:15 and 10:45, sovKids ministry is available for children from six weeks old through fifth grade, and communion is offered twice a month. Children are checked in at the guest station in the Student Wing, where parents receive matching name tags for pickup security, and first-time families are encouraged to arrive ten minutes early or pre-register.
For those who cannot come in person, every Sunday service is livestreamed on YouTube at 8:00, 9:15, and 10:45, and remains available on demand. A weekly podcast carries each message to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts, and RightNow Media is offered as a free streaming library for further study.
The dress code is simple: come as you are. The congregation includes people in jeans and T-shirts as well as those who dress up, and the church's welcome assumes guests will be at every point on that spectrum.
Small Groups at the Core
Small groups are described as the heart of Shepherd of the Valley, not an add-on program. The church teaches that spiritual growth and life change happen best in community, modeled after the way Jesus did life with his own group. Groups of three or more meet throughout the week, in person and virtually, in homes, at the church, and in coffee shops from Hudson to Woodbury.
Several dozen groups are currently active. There are men's groups like Dittrich on Tuesday mornings at 6:30, Kromer on Tuesday mornings at 6:00 in downtown Hudson, and Faust on Wednesday mornings online. There are women's groups including Ellingson on Wednesday mornings at 10:30, Evanoff and Vibo on Tuesday evenings online, and the Fall Study on Tuesdays at 9:30 and Wednesdays at 9:30 online working through Proverbs. Mixed groups include Adult Education on Sunday mornings at 9:15, Gaertner on Thursday evenings at 7:00, and Fesler on Mondays at 3:30 in Afton.
Care-oriented groups include GriefShare on Thursday evenings at 6:30, the Embrace groups for foster and adoptive parents and for caregivers of special-needs children on the third Tuesday of each month, two Alcoholics Anonymous groups meeting Thursday at 7:30 and Saturday at 8:00, and a widows' group on Thursday mornings at 10:00. A new season of featured groups launches each fall, with short-term studies running alongside the longer-term groups.
Group resources are extensive. The church provides a curriculum library, free access to RightNow Media for every group member, downloadable guides for hosts and facilitators, prayer models, and conversation prompts. Anyone can start a new group by gathering a few friends and filling out the form to form a group.
sovKids: From Nursery Through Fifth Grade
sovKids runs at the 9:15 and 10:45 services during the school year and continues through the summer. The ministry is built around a partnership with parents, and a full hour is set aside for children to experience Bible stories, songs, games, crafts, prayer, and small group connection.
The program is divided into four environments by age. The Nursery welcomes children from six weeks to three years with caring staff. Spark, for ages three through kindergarten, focuses on the truth that God made them, God loves them, and Jesus wants to be their friend forever. Surge, for grades 1 through 3, helps children trust God no matter what and love others the way Jesus does. Current, for grades 4 and 5, digs deeper into those same truths and prepares kids for middle school ministry. At-home devotionals and discussion guides are sent to families each week so the learning continues at home.
Safety is taken seriously: all volunteers are background and reference checked before serving, and security is present in every sovKids environment. The check-in system requires two matching tags, one for the child to wear and one for the parent to present at pickup.
Key faith milestones run alongside the program. Three-year-olds receive a home visit from the sovKids team the summer before they join, complete with a beginner's Bible. First graders receive a Bible during an annual sovKids Sunday each fall and take a class with their parents. Students in grades 3 through 5 prepare for First Communion, which is celebrated on Maundy Thursday after a one-time family class. Vacation Bible School is offered in the summer, and sovKids also partners with Trout Lake Bible Camp near Pine River for a summer camp week.
The Circuit: Wednesday Nights for Students
The Circuit is the Wednesday night student ministry for grades 6 through 12 and is the largest weekly gathering for teens at Shepherd of the Valley. The doors open to music, games, snacks, and a community where students can be themselves. Junior Circuit (grades 6 to 8) meets from 6:30 to 7:45, and Senior Circuit (grades 9 to 12) meets from 7:30 to 9:00, with both segments including a large group time of worship and teaching followed by small group discussion.
Small groups are led by trained adult volunteers who meet weekly with the same students, working through a curriculum and building relationships that often last for years. The church calls these leaders the secret sauce of The Circuit. Confirmation is built into the program as an optional track: students affirm their baptism and publicly declare their faith during Wednesday night services in the spring of their confirmation year, with 2027 confirmation scheduled for February 24.
Beyond Wednesday nights, The Circuit offers retreats, mission trips, summer camps, student leadership teams, and events throughout the year. The annual fall retreat for grades 9 through 12 goes to Trout Lake Camp and includes a zip line, blacklight dodgeball, ice cream, and small group time. Summer mission trips are planned for both junior and senior high students, and there are domestic and international opportunities including trips to Baja California and Roatan, Honduras.
Young Adults in the Valley
Shepherd of the Valley's young adult ministry is designed for adults who are young, regardless of life stage. The church recognizes that this season can swing quickly from stepping confidently into a career to needing significant support from family or mentors, and the ministry aims to meet people wherever they are.
Young adults gather regularly on Sunday mornings, often attending the 10:45 service together, and they meet for community events during the week. Summer Worship Nights draw the group to the church lawn on Wednesday evenings, and patio nights follow at local spots around the valley. Young adult small groups also meet throughout the year, including an 18-25 group meeting biweekly on Mondays in Woodbury and a young adult couples group meeting biweekly on Sundays. The young adult ministry is coordinated through Kristin Lagus.
Mission and Beliefs
The mission of Shepherd of the Valley is to connect all people to a growing relationship with Jesus Christ through worship, small groups, and serving. The church identifies with the renewal movement begun during the Reformation and guided by Martin Luther's teaching on grace through faith in Christ, and is rooted in the sacramental traditions of Baptism and Communion. The congregation's denominational home is Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC).
The teaching is clear on the Trinity: one God eternally existing in three persons - God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit - who is the creator and sustainer of all life. Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human, whose life of service and self-sacrificial love, death, and resurrection redeems all who believe. The Holy Spirit calls people to faith, lives within them, and empowers them with spiritual gifts to serve others and tell others about Jesus.
Salvation is understood as the free gift of grace, received by faith alone, through Jesus' death and resurrection. The Bible is taught as God's inspired word and final authority in matters of faith and life. The church is understood as one body made up of all who believe Jesus is Lord, with many different expressions across the world.
Five values shape life at Shepherd. Stronger Together describes a community that gathers to worship Christ as one, blending time-honored practices with modern expressions. Live Better Connected anchors the small groups culture. Others First drives the church's commitment to serving neighbors both inside and outside its walls. For the Family focuses on equipping parents to raise the next generation of Christ followers. Love Gives expresses the conviction that financial generosity expands God's Kingdom.
For The One: The 2030 Vision
Building on an earlier vision called For the Valley, Shepherd of the Valley's 2030 vision is summed up in three words: For The One. Anchored in Matthew 18, where Jesus tells the parable of the shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to find the one lost sheep, the vision is for the church to be empowered, present, and inviting in walking with each person in its communities so that together they experience life as Jesus meant it to be.
The annual themes under this vision move year by year. The 2025-2026 goals include understanding how the Holy Spirit empowers each believer, practicing what it looks like to be present with others, seeing the hurting and lonely in families, neighbors, coworkers, and in oneself, and learning tangible ways to express faith in everyday life. The current generosity initiative, called Here I Am, invites the congregation to consider both their regular offerings and expanded generosity over a two-year horizon from January 2027 through December 2028.
Faith Milestones Across a Lifetime
Shepherd of the Valley marks the major moments of a Christian life with intentional ministry. When a baby is born, the church sends a care package. Baptism, one of the two Lutheran sacraments, is offered publicly in worship throughout the year and is preceded by a three-week Establish group for adults or for parents seeking baptism for their children. First Communion happens in grades 3 through 5 after a one-time family class and is celebrated on Maundy Thursday. Confirmation in grades 6 through 12 is an optional track within The Circuit, completed when a student is ready to publicly affirm their baptism. The current confirmation service is scheduled for Wednesday, February 24.
For adults, three steps move newcomers deeper into the community. Engage is a 60-minute gathering offered every other month for anyone newer to Shepherd, with coffee, donuts, and childcare available. Establish is a three-week group for those ready to consider membership and baptism, where participants learn the mission, vision, and values of the church. Encounter is a nine-week small group that introduces the rhythms of following Jesus in community. The church also hosts weddings and funerals and supports families through both seasons of life.
Serving Inside and Outside the Walls
Serving is one of the five values and one of the three pillars of the church's mission. Opportunities exist inside the building, in the local community, around the country, and overseas.
Inside, worship is supported by greeters, ushers, communion servers (third Sunday of the month), the in-service prayer team, the choir (rehearsals on Wednesdays at 6:00, singing Sundays at 8:00), and the tech team running cameras, slides, and sound. sovKids needs small group leaders, assistants, subs, a drama team, a tech team, a photographer, special friends for children with special needs, a discovery and prep team for crafts and games, nursery team members, a Surge worship band, and welcome and security teams. The Circuit needs small group leaders, welcome team members, hospitality team members for Wednesday evening meals, and snack shack volunteers.
In the community, Shepherd of the Valley runs monthly Shepherd Shifts at four partner organizations. The church serves at Union Gospel Mission Twin Cities on the first Thursday of each month from 5:00 to 7:30, at Valley Outreach in Stillwater on the second Tuesday from 4:00 to 7:00, at Hudson Backpack and Food Program on the third Thursday from 5:00 to 7:00, and at Loaves and Fishes on the first Wednesday starting at 3:30 or 4:00. Other community care opportunities include providing rides, preparing meals for people in need, the Shepherd Prayer Shawl Ministry, the Shepherd Quilting Team (which makes quilts for Lutheran World Relief), and the Community Care Team.
Internationally, annual mission trips include Baja Love Outreach to Baja California, Mexico, and Sandy Bay Lighthouse Ministries in Roatan, Honduras, a partnership the church has maintained for twenty years. Other supported ministries include AIM, Haiti Teen Challenge, Haiti Empowered, Oasis Ministry in Sweden, and World Vision child sponsorship.
Each year, ten percent of general fund giving is set apart by a Benevolence Committee appointed by the Church Council to support local and national partners. Current partners include Arrive Ministries (refugee resettlement), C.A.S.T. (preventing sexual exploitation), Christ's Children's Ministries, Dwelling Place, Grace Place, Hope Academy, Hudson Backpack, LCMC, Loaves and Fishes, Operation Help, Servant of the Shepherd, TLC of Hastings, Union Gospel Mission Twin Cities, Valley Outreach, and White Bear Area Food Shelf. Supported missionaries include Robbie Ellingson with Cru in Colombia, Dane Hanson with Operation Mobilization in the Balkans, Jay and Beth Vetter in France, Tony and Grace Walters with Chi Alpha, Todd and Cindy Anderson with Disciple Makers Increase, Curtis and Annie Miller with Cru, Brent Voight with Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Tony Rojas with FCA, and the team at Interchange Minneapolis.
Prayer and Care
Prayer is woven through every part of ministry at Shepherd of the Valley. Prayer teams are available after every worship service at the Connection Center, prayer requests can be submitted online, and an Intercessory Prayer Team covers the church and its partners from wherever they are.
The church teaches two prayer models to help people grow. The TRIP model walks through any passage of Scripture with four questions: what makes me thankful, what causes me regret, what do I want to pray for, and what action does this encourage. The ACTS model uses Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication as four movements of conversation with God. The Lord's Prayer is taught as a template for personal prayer, broken into six petitions.
For care needs, the church maintains a list of trusted partners: Adult and Teen Challenge Minnesota and Servant of the Shepherd for addiction recovery, Hudson Backpack and Valley Outreach for food insecurity, St. Andrew's Community Resource Center, Salvation Army Grace Place, and Union Gospel Mission for homelessness, Divorce Care, Grief Share, Embrace Adoption and Foster Care, and a Moms of Addicts support group. A Care Request form connects people to staff for prayer, calls, and visits.
The Team
The pastoral team is led by Lead Pastor Jeremey King, who holds degrees from Biola University, Fuller Seminary, Luther Seminary, and Western Theological Seminary and joined the church in 2019 after planting Radiant Church in California. Sam Dittrich serves as Executive Pastor and began in youth ministry at Shepherd in 2010. Gabby Mugglin serves as Pastor of Community Formation, with a Bible degree from Bethel University and a Master of Divinity from Fuller Seminary, after interning at Shepherd in student ministries.
The children's ministry is led by Director Keri Aldridge, who has served in Shepherd's children's ministry for over twenty years, and Coordinators Kris Coyer and Laura Meyer, with Kayla Pruitt serving as Operations Coordinator. The student ministry is led by Isaiah Fravel as Student Ministry Director, with Emma Freiermuth as Associate Director and Kari Kahl as Associate Director of Student Ministry and Small Groups. Worship is led by Worship Director Lawrence Pruitt and Choir Director Lori Bahneman, with a roster of musicians and vocalists who serve weekly.
Giving to Shepherd of the Valley is available online through Pushpay, by Venmo, by check or cash at the offering box after services, by mail, by stock or mutual fund transfer through Wells Fargo, and through Donor Advised Funds or Qualified Charitable Distributions. The church's tax ID is 41-1314182.
Visitors can plan a visit online, sign up for the weekly email, and explore small groups, volunteering, and faith milestones at any time. The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 8:00 to 4:00, and the staff can be reached at 651-436-8248 or office@sov.church.