What We Believe

Our Public Confession of Faith

We renounce the devil and all his works and all his ways.
We believe in God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
We believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
We believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
We hold all the canonical books of the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, and we hold the doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, drawn from the Bible, as we have learned to know it from Luther's Small Catechism, to be true and correct.
We intend to continue steadfast in the confession of this Church, and suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it.
We intend faithfully to conform all our lives to the rule of the divine Word, to be diligent in the use of the means of grace, to walk as it becometh the Gospel of Christ, and in faith, word, and deed to remain true to the Triune God, even unto death.

Statement of Clarification

On the Relation of the Congregation to the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS)

Positiva

Our congregation is an Evangelical Lutheran Church, and specifically a member of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. What does this mean?

First, that we agree unconditionally with the confessional basis of the LCMS, namely:

1. The Scriptures of the Old and the New Testament are the written Word of God and the only rule and norm of faith and of practice;

2. All the Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church are a true and unadulterated statement and exposition of the Word of God, to wit: the three Ecumenical Creeds (the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed), the Unaltered Augsburg Confession, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles, the Large Catechism of Luther, the Small Catechism of Luther, and the Formula of Concord.

Second, that we agree with the ten objectives of the LCMS (article III), namely:

1. Conserve and promote the unity of the true faith (Eph. 4:3–6; 1 Cor. 1:10), work through its official structure toward fellowship with other Christian church bodies, and provide a united defense against schism, sectarianism (Rom. 16:17), and heresy;

2. Strengthen congregations and their members in giving bold witness by word and deed to the love and work of God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and extend that Gospel witness into all the world;

3. Recruit and train pastors, teachers, and other professional church workers and provide opportunity for their continuing growth;

4. Provide opportunities through which its members may express their Christian concern, love, and compassion in meeting human needs;

5. Aid congregations to develop processes of thorough Christian education and nurture and to establish agencies of Christian education such as elementary and secondary schools and to support synodical colleges, universities, and seminaries;

6. Aid congregations by providing a variety of resources and opportunities for recognizing, promoting, expressing, conserving, and defending their confessional unity in the true faith;

7. Encourage congregations to strive for uniformity in church practice, but also to develop an appreciation of a variety of responsible practices and customs which are in harmony with our common profession of faith;

8. Provide evangelical supervision, counsel, and care for pastors, teachers, and other professional church workers of the Synod in the performance of their official duties;

9. Provide protection for congregations, pastors, teachers, and other church workers in the performance of their official duties and the maintenance of their rights;

10. Aid in providing for the welfare of pastors, teachers, and other church workers, and their families in the event of illness, disability, retirement, special need, or death.

Third, that our congregation, as a member of the Synod, commits to acting in accordance with the Constitution and Bylaws of the Synod, to the extent that the Bylaws are in agreement with our confessional subscription.

Negativa

For the sake of clarity, it is also worth noting what membership of the Synod does not mean.

The Synod is not an ecclesiastical government exercising legislative or coercive powers, and with respect to the individual congregation’s right of self-government, Synod is only an advisory body.

Membership of the Synod does not mean that our congregation endorses every statement, judgment or decision of the President or any other officer, committee, board, agency or service organization of the LCMS.

Membership of the Synod does not mean that our congregation believes that the Bylaws of the Synod are perfect.

Membership of the Synod does not mean that our congregation agrees with every statement and publication of the Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR).

Membership of the Synod does not mean that our congregation agrees with the teachings of every resource published by Concordia Publishing House.

Membership of the Synod does not mean that we believe or expect church discipline in the Synod to be perfect; nor that we tolerate or excuse any instance of wickedness or unbelief when church discipline fails.

Membership of the Synod does not mean that we believe the Synod always goes about its own goals and objectives in the best way.

Membership of the Synod does not mean that our pastor is required to commune anyone who visits our congregation from another LCMS congregation.

In Summary

We maintain our membership in the LCMS because we agree unconditionally with the most beautiful and perfect confessional basis, and with the purposes of the Synod. The Synod itself, however, is not perfect, nor shall it ever be; as our Lord teaches in Scripture, and our Confessions affirm, there will always be wicked men and hypocrites in the true Church, which shall remain on earth a mixture of wheat and chaff until the last day.

Our hope, our faith, and our confidence are placed not in men nor in Synod, but in God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

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