What We Believe

The Trinity

With the whole Christian Church on earth, we as part of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod teach and respond to the love of the Triune God: the Father, Jesus Christ, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The three persons of the Trinity are coequal and coeternal, one God.

Who is the Father?

God the Father is Creator of the universe and maker of everything in Heaven and on Earth.  God created humans to have a relationship with Him. He began this relationship because we need His saving grace, which is offered to everyone and received with faith in Jesus Christ.

Who is Jesus?

Jesus Christ is God’s perfect Son, who through His birth from the Virgin Mary lived a sinless life on earth 2,000+ years ago. He voluntarily paid for our sins by dying on the cross for us. His death gained salvation for all who receive it as a gift by trusting in Him alone. He rose from the dead and is the only Mediator between God and us. He will return to earth to conclude all things and reign forever.

Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit draws sinners to Christ, creates faith in our hearts, and equips believers for personal growth and service to God.

You say that you are part of the Missouri Synod.  What is a Synod?

We are part of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. We profess the truth of Scripture as outlined in the Lutheran Confessions.  Our church body’s headquarters is located in St. Louis, Missouri. 

Synod comes from Greek words that mean “walking together.” We join together with other Christian churches in the simple profession of faith based on God’s Word.

What is the Church?

We believe that the Church is not just the physical structure where we meet, or a social organization to which we belong. Rather, the Church includes all those who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Therefore, the Church is the body of believers in Christ throughout the world. God empowers those in the Church with a variety of spiritual gifts for the purpose of serving Him and others.

What are the Sacraments?

Baptism is God’s gracious gift by which the Holy Spirit makes a person a child of God. In Baptism, the Holy Spirit incorporates a person into the death and resurrection of Jesus, giving all the gifts that Jesus earned by His suffering, death, and resurrection and opening the way to new life.

The Lord’s Supper is the meal of God’s family, at which Jesus is truly present. The Lord’s Supper is the true Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in, with, and under the bread and wine.  In this meal, we receive the benefits of the bodily suffering and death of Jesus, especially the forgiveness of sins. We are assured of His promise that we will share in His bodily resurrection on the Last Day, and we are strengthened in the renewal He has begun in us.

What are the Scriptures?

The Bible is the living Word of God, divinely inspired by God, without error, and therefore the only source of true teaching and standard by which Christians are to live. In the pages of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, God reveals Himself and His will, our own sinful nature, our need for a Savior, and His offer of forgiveness and eternal life in His Son, Jesus Christ.

What about our Sin and God’s Grace?

Sin - Sin separates us from God. Sin is our rebellion against God and is anything we do in thought, word and deed that is contrary to His will. We are born sinful, are naturally self-centered, and therefore, in daily need of forgiveness.

Grace - We enter into a relationship with God, not by anything we do, but solely by what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. Knowing that we are sinners, we trust completely in God's grace, which is His unearned merit and favor, to save us from condemnation and to give us eternal life and a home with Him.

What about Faith in God and Good Works?

Faith in God - Our primary call from God is to believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior from sin and thereby, be saved eternally. Faith is a gift from God that enables us to know and accept in truth what the Bible says of God and rely in Him with firm confidence for our needs in life here and now, and our salvation through Jesus Christ.

Good Works - We engage in actions of love and mercy as a demonstration of God's love in us. We do this, not to earn God's approval, but because we are thankful for the gift of eternal life, which we have already received as a free gift in Jesus Christ.

What is Eternal Salvation?

Christ will return again in glory to renew and restore all things. We share in the ancient creeds of the Church, professing the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting. Our ultimate destiny is to have our humanity fully restored and to participate as co-heirs with Christ in His glory (Romans 8:17).

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