Maricopa Lutheran Church - Maricopa, Arizona

Worship Location:
Santa Rosa Elementary School, 21400 N Santa Rosa Drive

Sunday Worship 10 am
Bible Study 9 am

520-280-6102

Pastor Cora Aguilar

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

About Maricopa Lutherans

A Brief History of Maricopa Lutheran Church

In 2006, Mountain View Lutheran Church in Ahwatukee felt the Holy Spirit leading them and decided to reach out to the people in Maricopa, which was a newly incorporated, booming community about 20 miles to their south. They started by listening to their hurts and responding to their needs.

Then, in 2007, about 40 interested people met with Bishop Talmage of the Grand Canyon Synod and asked “when can we have a worshiping community here in Maricopa?” This question inevitably led to the formation of a Leadership Team which decided to hold a series of seven worship services during the season of Lent to determine what the level of interest was in forming a Lutheran congregation here in Maricopa. These services were held on Saturday evenings at the First Baptist Church, which graciously offered us the use of their sanctuary. The average attendance at these seven services was around 45 people, so there appeared to be no question that a Lutheran congregation could thrive abundantly in Maricopa!

The services held during Lent were presided over by various pastors from the surrounding communities who enthusiastically offered their services to Maricopa Lutheran. The final service, Easter Saturday, was led by Pastor Cora Aguilar, a retired pastor from California, who – led by the Holy Spirit – decided to buy a home and retire in Maricopa! The Leadership Team welcomed Pastor Cora with open arms and asked her if she would be willing to be our leader while we establish our church. Her response was, “Yes, I believe that God called and sent me to continue a ministry that is needed in Maricopa. I am simply his tool, carrying out his will.” How truly blessed Maricopa is!

Because Mountain View was in the process of calling a Senior Pastor, it was difficult to get a firm plan in place, but the Leadership Team decided that they would hold monthly services beginning in May, again at First Baptist, and the attendance at these services continued to be excellent. Then, great news!! Mountain View called a new Senior Pastor, Glenn Zorb, who was due to arrive on the scene at the end of June.

Pastor Zorb arrived, came to meetings of the Leadership Team, gave his input on how we should go forward and things have really started to hum! The team met with Pastor Newman, Mission Director of the Synod, and progressed to weekly services starting in Sep. 2008 on late Saturday afternoons at First Baptist. Attendance and stewardship continued to blossom which culminated with the Christmas Holidays and a very moving Christmas Eve service at our Mission House.

In January 2009, a congregational meeting was held and it was decided that Sunday services could better serve Maricopa Lutheran and the Maricopa community. God was listening since during the meeting we were advised of an available storefront location in Maricopa and action started immediately to finalize the arrangements. Awaiting occupancy approval for the new space, worship and Lenten services were held at the Mission House. On the first Sunday in March, Maricopa Lutheran started worshipping at the Honeycutt Road location. Attendance continued to grow as did those willing to share their talents and money to make Maricopa Lutheran flourish.

During this period, the Leadership group, now known as the Steering Committee, completed a profile requesting Grand Canyon Synod and the ELCA to approve Maricopa Lutheran as a Synodically Authorized Worshiping Community as a Mission Church under Mountain View Lutheran. Approval came just after Easter.

Recognizing that praising God is often expressed in song, a choir has been formed resulting in our praise to God and even increased attendance.

Now that Maricopa Lutheran is outgrowing the Honeycutt location, the property committee, in conjunction with the Good Cities program, has located a larger worship space that even has the opportunity for a possible permanent building site. God has blessed us abundantly and continues to provide opportunities to serve the community better. Prayer groups, a Women’s group, quilters, and other outreach groups have been formed to truly take our mission to the people of Maricopa. Our new worship location is at Trinity Crossing, 16540 N. Porter Road, Maricopa, AZ. With church school classes, Bible study, prayer groups, choir, community outreach and the support of congregation members in attendance, talent, and financial giving, Maricopa Lutheran is convinced that God and the Holy Spirit are pushing us forward.

Do we need to ask if the Holy Spirit is working here in Maricopa? No! The Holy Spirit is alive and well and working with and through all of God’s people. Thanks be to God!!!