What We Believe

With the universal Christian Church, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod teaches and responds to the love of the Triune God:

God the Father, Creator of all that exists;
Jesus Christ, God the Son, who became human to suffer and die for the sins of all human beings and to rise to life again in the ultimate victory over death and Satan; and
God the Holy Spirit, who creates faith through God’s Word and Sacraments.

The three persons of the Trinity are coequal and coeternal, one God.

Our congregation accepts and preaches the Bible-based teachings of Martin Luther that inspired the reformation of the Christian Church in the 16th century. The teaching of Luther and the reformers can be summarized in three phrases: Grace alone, Faith alone, Scripture alone.

Grace Alone (Sola Gratia) – God loves the people of the world, even though they are sinful, rebel against Him and do not deserve His love. He sent Jesus, His Son, to love the unlovable and save the ungodly.

Faith Alone (Sola Fide) – By His suffering and death as the substitute for all people of all time, Jesus purchased and won forgiveness and eternal life for them. Those who hear this Good News and believe it have the eternal life that it offers. God creates faith in Christ and gives people forgiveness through Him.

Scripture Alone (Sola Scriptura) – The Bible is God’s inerrant and infallible Word, in which He reveals His Law and His Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ. It is the sole rule and norm for Christian doctrine.

We believe Jesus is exactly who He said He is. Along with the ancient Church, we confess that Jesus is true God and true man in one person. He is the Son of God who was crucified and raised from the dead for the salvation of all who trust in Him.

Christ is not Jesus’s last name, but identifies Him as the Messiah (Christ is the Greek translation of Messiah), the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises that God saves His people.

This fulfillment and salvation happened in history in real time and in a real place (first century AD in Israel) through a flesh-and-blood person named Jesus. The Bible is the true and trustworthy Word of God that records God’s love for the world through His Son Jesus. The miracles recorded in the Gospels and the teachings of Jesus are true and accurate.

Jesus physically died on a cross and physically rose from the dead in three days. He physically ascended into heaven, and the Church awaits His second coming when He will judge all people. Those who deny Jesus and live in their sin will be cast out of His presence to hell. Those who trust in Jesus as their Savior will rise to eternal life in heaven.

We are a preaching church and a sacramental church — Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the Gospel made visible.

Baptism

We believe that Baptism is God’s command and promise. We believe that infants are included in Christ’s Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) and that God’s action in Baptism creates and bestows the gift of faith through which a Christian ultimately is “born again” and receives the gift of God’s grace.

Communion

We believe that the Scriptures teach that the bread and the wine used in the Lord’s Supper are the true body and blood of Christ. Although we do not presume to understand how this takes place, we confess that in, with, and under the earthly elements, God gives the true body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sins.