Ministry to the church membership and the community began in 1893. The elementary school opened in September of 1937 with 23 first and second grade children in a classroom adjacent to the nave on the east side of the Church. Each year grades were added. By 1942, St. Philip was an accredited school with 75 students from kindergarten through eighth grade.

In 1985, the Church acquired property adjacent to the east of the parsonage on Bryn Mawr Avenue for the express purpose of establishing a Preschool/Child Care Center. This would help to meet the growing needs of serving young children in the three through five-year-old age group.

On May 19, 1986 the Center opened with an enrollment of four and a staff of two, and looked forward to new and exciting challenges and new beginnings. With this expanded facility of the Preschool/Child Care Center, the Church looks to the future. Since 1988 the kindergarten programs, have been located in the Center. In the spring of 2005 the Board of Directors made the decision to change the Center’s name from St. Philip Lutheran Preschool/Child Care Center to St. Philip Lutheran Early Childhood Center.

Recently the Center celebrated its 20th anniversary. Since the beginning, hundreds of children have begun their formal education at the Early Childhood Center. It is with God’s help that we are able to help build a solid foundation for these young children.