Compassionate. Connective. Formational.
Dayspring’s ministries are intentionally curated for community connection, spiritual formation, and missional engagement.
Engaging Worship
Worship at Dayspring is intentional, curious, joyful, and hopeful. We regularly find creative ways to engage with scripture, song, and one another during the worship service. Since we value participation over perfection and authenticity over performance, worship tends to be a place of grace and humor. We follow the liturgical calendar, observing yearly church seasons like Lent and Advent, and our music varies from hymns to contemporary songs to spirituals.
Formational Fellowship
At Dayspring, we believe everything from Bible studies to backyard swimming pools can be places of spiritual formation, especially when experienced in the midst of community. We intentionally offer a wide variety of opportunities for fellowship and spiritual formation.
Sunday Night Kids Programs
During the school year, our kids meet every other week for fellowship and formation. We serve them dinner at 5 pm and then they split into age groups from 5:30 to 7. Whether they are in Youth (grades 6-12), Manna (grades 2-5) or Littles (Pre-K thru 1st Grade), all of our children enjoy a fun, creative space where they connect with each other and learn about Jesus.
Adult Bible Studies
Dayspring has moved away from a “Sunday School” model of adult spiritual formation, and instead we offer various adult formation opportunities throughout the year. These are usually seasonal and time-restricted. Since we don’t have any opportunity that continues into perpetuity, our schedule is ever-changing. To see our current adult spiritual formation opportunities, check out our calendar page. (Note: can we link here to a calendar or something? Or is there a better way to name what’s currently happening, knowing that it changes?)
Fellowship Events
Since formation happens anywhere, Dayspring values the practice of gathering together for things other than weekly worship. We host annual fellowship events, like our New Year’s Breakfast (January), our Church-Wide Pool Party (July), and our Fall Festival (Oct-Nov). We also host an ever-changing line-up of other events. Recently these have included a game night, a trivia night, a museum tour at St. Louis Art Museum, and trip to a Cardinal’s game.
Community Care
Parents’ Night Out: Caring for Marriages
Dayspring hosts Parents’ Night Out on the first Saturday of every month. For a price that’s cheaper than a babysitter, Dayspring provides over 4 hours of childcare and entertainment for children ages 13 and under. This allows parents to take a break from the hard work of raising a family and have a night where they can enjoy one another.
MomCo Meet-Ups: Caring for Moms
The MomCo at Dayspring is a gathering of moms who meet together for support and encouragement. Dayspring hosts MomCo Meet-ups at two different times during the week so that moms can connect with each other on a day and time that works for them.
Street Patrol: Caring for the Unhoused
Dayspring’s current mission focus is homelessness. We intentionally look for ways to show care to the unhoused community in the greater St. Louis metro area. Currently we partner with Street Patrol, an aid organization who cares for those in need without judgement or condemnation.
Justice Meetings: Caring for those in Need
Dayspring regularly looks for ways to participate in God’s work in our communities, our county, and our city. We host a monthly Franciscan Justice Circle whose central focus is affordable housing, and we partner with organizations who address issues of poverty, food insecurity, and peacebuilding.
A Refreshing Expression of Christian Faith
“Remember that scene from Dead Poet’s Society where Professor Keating has his students rip out the first few pages of their poetry text book? The students look at each other like, “Are we allowed to do this?!” Dayspring often feels like that to me. We don’t all agree, we provide more questions than answers, we argue with scripture and consider new perspectives. I sometimes ask myself: are we allowed to do this?! Maybe some would say yes, and others would say no, but it doesn’t really matter what their answer is. We’re doing it anyway.”
– Andrea Huffman, Pastor
We value…
Participation over Perfection
At Dayspring, we value presence and participation, especially in worship. We want people from ages 8 to 108 to know that they can not only participate in worship, but contribute their gifts, skills, and passions to it as well.
Authenticity over Performance
Real life is messy, but too often we feel we have to leave the mess at home and put on a mask to head to church. At Dayspring we believe that God is present in the midst of our mess, and we want to be present for each other too. We are cultivating a culture that allows our real, whole selves to show up to church–mess and all–and find a warm welcome.
Unity over Uniformity
At Dayspring, we don’t all believe the same way. We don’t all vote the same way. We don’t all interpret scripture the same way. Rather than demanding uniformity, we foster unity by finding our shared values in the midst of our differences.
Participation in Formation
As followers of Jesus, we want to be formed into reflections of the love of Christ.
God is the one who forms us, and we are invited to participate in that formation. Dayspring’s ministries provide a variety of opportunities to participate with God in both individual and communal spiritual formation.