1



EXHIBIT 99.1    PRESS RELEASE




 2




Security Financial Bancorp., Inc.         PL Capital LLC
9321 Wicker Avenue                        2015 Spring Road
St. John, IN  46373                       Suite 290
                                          Oak Book, IL  60523


For Immediate Release:  September 8, 2000

Contact: For Security Financial Bancorp, Inc. -- John P. Hyland

                                         President and Chief Executive Officer

                                         Tel.  219-365-4344

         For PL Capital Group --         John W. Palmer

                                         Principal

                                         Tel.  630-928-0231

Security Financial Bancorp., Inc. Announces Agreement with the PL Capital Group

St. John, Indiana -- Security Financial Bancorp., Inc. (Nasdaq SmallCap:  SFBI),
the holding company for Security  Federal Bank & Trust, and the PL Capital Group
today announced an agreement  resulting in the appointment of John W. Palmer and
Richard  Lashley to the Board of Directors of the  Company.  Messrs.  Palmer and
Lashley were also  appointed  to the Board of Directors of the Bank,  subject to
regulatory  approval.  This  will  result  in the  expansion  of the  Boards  of
Directors  of the Company and the Bank from nine to eleven  members.  As part of
the  agreement,  one of Messrs.  Palmer or Lashley will also be appointed to the
Asset/Liability  and  Executive  Committees  of the Board of  Directors.  The PL
Capital Group has withdrawn its Notice of Intent to Nominate Two  Directors,  as
well as its preliminary proxy materials previously filed with the Securities and
Exchange  Commission,  and have  agreed  to vote  their  shares  in favor of the
Company's   nominees  for  election  to  the  Board  of  Directors  at  Security
Financial's  Annual Meeting of Shareholders  scheduled to be held on October 19,
2000, as well as in favor of the ratification of the Company's  auditors for the
fiscal  year  ended  December  31,  2000,  and in favor of the  approval  of the
Security Financial Bancorp., Inc. 2000 Stock-Based Incentive Plan.

Security   Federal  Bank  &  Trust  is  a  federally   chartered   savings  bank
headquartered in St. John, Indiana.  The Bank conducts business through its main
headquarters  and five  branch  offices  located  in Lake and  Porter  counties,
Indiana.


Statements  contained in this news release  which are not  historical  facts are
forward-looking  statements,  as the term is defined in the  Private  Securities
Litigation  Reform Act of 1995.  Such  forward-looking  statement are subject to
risk and  uncertainties  which could cause actual  results to differ  materially
from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors,  which include, but
are not  limited,  factors  discussed  in  documents  filed by the Company  with
Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time.