The St. Andrew’s contemporary worship team, featuring a band and singers, leads worship at the 11:15 a.m. service. Rehearsals are held at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays.

The Technical Services Ministry supports our worship services by operating the sound system and other technical equipment, and recording the sermons.

Children’s Chapel is offered during the Liturgy of the Word at the 9 a.m. service. Immediately after the reading of the Gospel, children in pre-school through elementary school follow a wooden cross to a classroom off the Gathering Area, where they worship God in a way that is meaningful to them, and which mirrors what the adults are doing in “big church.” Children will hear a sermon, often participatory in nature, before joining together in the Nicene or Apostles Creed, the Prayers of the People, and a general Confession. Children re-join the congregation at “The Peace” for communion.

A nursery is provided at the 9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. services for children 4-years-old and under. Parents are asked to pick up their children at the announcement period so that the children and nursery volunteers are able to join the congregation for Holy Communion. Parents are welcome to take advantage of this service, or to keep their children with them during the liturgy.

Fellowship is important at St. Andrew’s, allowing for the feeding of the body as well as the spirit as we share our lives together. Activities through the year allow our parish family to come together for fun and fellowship. Sunday morning fellowship in the Gathering Area, parish dinners, and picnics are a few examples. Specific events are announced in the parish newsletter and Sunday bulletin. In addition, we offer a variety of Small Groups that provide opportunities for fellowship and spiritual growth.

Our “Kitchen Saints” organize and serves parish dinners throughout the year, and organize coffee fellowship on Sunday mornings.

The Brotherhood of St. Andrew is a national organization that was started as a prayer and Bible study group in Chicago in 1883. Since that time it has grown to become one of the largest men’s ministries in the Church. Through the years the Brotherhood has been an effective means of communicating Christ’s love and good news to men and youth through its ministry of prayer, study and service. 

The members of the Brotherhood are committed to daily prayer for the Church and for those men who seek a closer relationship with Christ. Here at St. Andrew’s, our chapter focuses on Scripture study as it relates to faith and prayer and Christian living, supporting the men of our Parish in being Christian leaders in the home, at work and in Church.

The Brotherhood of St. Andrew also sponsors a variety of service and outreach ministries. Meetings are held on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 7:30 p.m. at the Parish House.

The Order of the Daughters of the Holy Cross is a ministry of women who commit themselves to a lifelong program of daily prayer for the Church, New Testament study, service to the Church and others, evangelism and the strengthening of the spiritual life of their parishes.

The St. Andrew’s chapter meets at the Parish House at 6:30 p.m. on the first Monday of each month to share prayer concerns and experiences, support one another in their spiritual life, and study the Scriptures. They also meet for Evening Prayer at 6:30 p.m. at the Parish House on the third Monday of the month. Everyone is welcome!

In addition, the Daughters organize our parish’s involvement in Ronald McDonald House Ministries, and sponsor several other outreach projects through the year.

Children’s Ministries at St. Andrew’s include both Bible teaching and worship, with the goal of teaching our children and young people how God’s Word revealed in Jesus Christ is relevant to their lives today. By helping them make connections between their faith and daily living, they begin to know more fully that God has a purpose for their life at every age and stage. Classes are offered for toddlers through youth in senior high school, with memorable stories from both the Old and New Testaments and activities designed for varied learning styles and ages.

For children ages 3½-years-old through 5th Grade, we offer Godly Play.Godly Play, a Montessori-based approach to religious education. Godly Play features Bible stories and lessons about the liturgy of the church, which are told using multi-sensory materials, followed by a period of wondering together. Each child is then invited to respond individually to the story through play (or work) with the lesson materials, an art response or another activity.

The goal of the St. Andrew’s Youth Ministries is to empower young people in grades
6 through 12 to “transform the world through Christ — one heart at a time.” We do this by promoting spiritual habits, including daily Bible reading and regular attendance at Sunday worship. We encourage fellowship with a group of Christian peers, and finally, we provide opportunities for youth to serve others as Christ’s disciples in the local community.

St. Andrew’s Youth Ministry revolves around three Cs — Craziness, Content, & Connection.

Youth gather twice a month to connect with one another and explore relevant, Bible-based content that brings the faith alive for them, and they come together for a bit of craziness at events and activities throughout the year.

Prayer teams are available to pray with and for parishioners during communion at the
9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. Sunday worship services. At 9 a.m. they are stationed to the left of the altar near the band equipment; at 11:15 a.m. they are stationed to the right of the altar, near the piano.

You may seek prayer for personal cares and concerns, concerns for others or offer thanksgivings for God’s blessings. The prayer team will also offer the sacrament of Holy Unction — the anointing with oil, laying on of hands and prayers for healing — upon request. All prayers are confidential.

If you wish to pray with a prayer team, receive Holy Unction, or both, simply go to them after you have received communion. If a line develops, other intercessors will come to minister to you. All prayer concerns are treated confidentially.

This ministry knits and crochets prayer shawls for people who are ill or otherwise in need of comfort.

The booklet, “A Journey Through Grief,” is available to those in the congregation who suffer the loss of a loved one. To receive a copy, please contact the Parish Office at 740-548-5112 or mail@standrewspolaris.org.

Renewal weekends present a “method” for living a fully Christian life, and to that end provides two follow-up activities — Group Reunion and Ultreya. Group Reunion is a gathering of from two to six friends for the purpose of support, prayer and shared accountability. Ultreya is a gathering of the groups for celebration of community, and sharing joys and problems. Group reunions are arranged solely at the convenience of the individual participants. Locally, Ultreya is now a joint venture of the Cursillo and Via de Christo movements. Everyone is welcome at Ultreya, regardless of whether they have attended a weekend.

The St. Andrew’s Discretionary Fund is a fund managed by the rector and used to assist those, both inside and outside of the Parish, who have needs. Donations are collected on the first Sunday of the month during the offertory at Sunday services.

St. Andrew’s supports Stand for Truth, a ministry that is reaching thousands of students in public middle and senior high schools across the country with the Gospel message.

Stand for Truth is led by Joel Penton, a graduate of The Ohio State University who played five years of football for the Buckeyes. He was a member of three Big Ten championship teams, a member of the National Championship team, and a four-time Academic All-Big Ten selection.

In his senior year, Joel received the prestigious Wuerffel Trophy, also known as the “Humanitarian Heisman.” The Trophy is a national award that recognizes the one college football player in the entire country who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement. After graduating from OSU, Joel turned down an opportunity to play in the NFL to begin a career in full-time speaking.

Since that time, Joel has earned a reputation as one of the nation’s leading youth motivational speakers. Joel has shared his school assembly programs with nearly a million students nationwide. He follows up his character-based messages at middle school and high school assemblies with an evening concert, where he and his Stand for Truth team have the opportunity to share the Gospel.

 St. Andrew’s participates in Kairos (Greek for “God’s time”), a program for prison residents designed to help them come to know and accept Christ. The program also provides them with resident and outside support communities to enable them to live fully Christian lives.

Kairos adapts the Cursillo weekend and method to the prison environment, to bring those inside into the love and community of Christ. Participants must have attended one of the “street” weekends (that’s what anything outside a prison is called inside the prison) to participate, and promise to be Christian community at monthly gatherings in the prisons for one year. Community is also shared through cookie baking, letter writing and banner and placemat making.

A number of members of St. Andrew’s serve on teams for Kairos weekends. Presently, Kairos is in place at Lebanon Correctional Institution and the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville.

Epiphany is a three-day renewal event for incarcerated juveniles.

• Ronald McDonald House at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
• School Supply Drive for Delaware schools.
• Annual Easter Egg Hunt for the parish and the community.
• 4th of July Bottle Brigade, which provide water to spectators along the Orange Township Independence Day parade. 
• Sponsorship of Cub Scout Pack 139, which we host at the church
• Host of lessons for Suzuki Music of Columbus.

In addition to organized outreach ministries, members of St. Andrew’s reach out to their community in a number of other ways, including serving as literacy tutors, caring for Alzheimer’s patients, volunteering at local hospitals, visiting the elderly, working with young people, volunteering at local animal shelters, and more.

Operation Christmas Child is a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse. For the past 25 years, Operation Christmas Child has been collecting shoeboxes filled with gifts and delivering them to children in need around the world. Each box is an opportunity for a boy or girl to experience the love of God in a tangible way and to hear the Gospel.

St. Andrew’s supports several missionary families who are taking the love of Christ to unreached people groups in East Asia; on mission to love and serve Muslims in the Middle East as an extension of God’s great love for all; and planting churches in Indonesia 

In addition, we have supported two of our members on mission trips to share the Gospel and serve in El Salvador and New Mexico.

In El Salvador, one of our members served at the Soyapango Children’s Center and the Children’s Center at The Volcano in San Salvador, and delivered much-needed school supplies, personal care items and vitamins collected by St. Andrew’s and other churches.

In New Mexico, another member served at the McCurdy School in Espanola, which provides services to the poor in the community in the area of mental health counseling, education for children, and at a local soup kitchen, and delivered much-needed supplies.