Our Affiliation

We are affiliated with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS).  The LCMS is a network of congregations that work together for missions, for higher education, and for the training and equipping of church workers.

Our Beliefs

Here, we share the foundational truths that guide our faith and practice. From our understanding of the Triune God to the life and mission of Jesus Christ, these beliefs form the heart of our spiritual journey. We invite you to explore these tenets, which offer insight into our relationship with God, our human nature, and our calling as followers of Christ.

 

 

We believe that God is three persons in one: the Father, who created and sustains the world; the Son, who lived as a human being, died, and rose from the dead; and the Holy Spirit who works God’s will in the world. These three persons are co-equal and are one God.

All people are created in the image of God and are intended by God to be in an eternal relationship with Him and to be like Him in character.  But sin, disobedience to God, separates people from God.   All people are sinners in need of God’s forgiveness.

Jesus Christ is true God and true Man at the same time.  He lived a sinless life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice and ransom for our sins by dying on the cross.  He rose from the dead on the third day, victorious over sin, death and the devil.  He ascended into heaven where He reigns as Lord of all.  He will return in glory to judge the living and the dead.

We consider Baptism and the Lord’s Supper to be gifts from God to the Church, through which God is present and actively at work.  God gives His grace in the Water of Baptism.  Jesus gives us Himself, His body and blood, in the bread and wine of Holy Communion.

Jesus calls those us to follow Him in a life of faith, service, witness and obedience.  The strength to follow Jesus in this way is a gift of the Holy Spirit.  We are not perfect; we stumble and fall in our daily walk with God.   But our forgiveness has been won and paid for by Jesus Christ, who calls us to repent, to receive forgiveness from Him, and to continue following Him.   The Ten Commandments serve as a guide to God’s will for our lives.

God’s mission is to reconcile all people to Himself through faith in Jesus Christ. All believers in Christ are called as God’s partners in this mission. We seek to grow as disciples so that we grow as witnesses and models to others, that they might come to know and follow Jesus as well.

Worship is the meeting place of God and His people.  God gathers us into His presence that we might celebrate His goodness to us in Jesus, and receive from God gifts of His grace.  We make use of historical forms of worship that have benefited Christians throughout the ages, as well as worship forms as new as today.

The Bible is the Word of God. God was at work in the lives of the human writers so that the final product is exactly what God wants it to be for us. It is true in all that it says. The purpose of the Bible is to reveal Jesus Christ to us as our Savior, so that we might believe in Him and follow Him.

We consider Baptism and the Lord’s Supper to be gifts from God to the Church, through which God is present and actively at work.  God gives His grace in the Water of Baptism.  Jesus gives us Himself, His body and blood, in the bread and wine of Holy Communion.

Jesus defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman (Matthew 19:4-6). As followers of Jesus, we use the same definition. Marriage is a gift of God by which He gives us a picture of the relationship between Christ and His bride, the Church.

All human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life.

Lutherans take their name from Martin Luther. He was a German priest who broke away from the Roman Catholic Church in the early 1500s. Luther’s writing and teaching sparked the Protestant Reformation. Through his study of the Bible, Luther helped the Christian Church rediscover the truth that God is loving and that He offers forgiveness and eternal life as a free gift because of Jesus Christ. Luther taught that people-no matter how hard they try-cannot earn God’s forgiveness or a place in heaven. It is a gift that people receive through faith in Jesus Christ.

As  a Lutheran Congregation we subscribe to the Lutheran Confessions contained in the Book of Concord of 1580.  This includes the three ecumenical creeds (Apostles’, Nicene and Athanasian), as well as the Augsburg Confession, the Apology to the Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles, the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, the Small Catechism, the Large Catechism, and the Formula of Concord.

Got Questions?

If you have questions, or would like to learn more, please contact Pastor Mike, or make use of these online resources:

  • Discovering the Christians Faith  – A series of brief videos on the chief teachings of the Christian Faith. Watch Videos
  • Foundations – A nine-part seminar covering the foundational teachings of the Christian Faith.  Includes videos of the class taught by Pastor Mike in the fall of 2022. Watch Videos