What We Believe

The Bible is the true, inspired, inerrant, and authoritative Word of God, the sole rule and norm for faith and life.

2 Timothy 3:16; Isaiah 40:8; John 17:17

The Father is the eternal creator of all things. He has revealed Himself to humanity through creation and His son Jesus.

Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-2; Revelation 1:8; Romans 1:19-20; John 10:30

Our sins are forgiven through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Forgiveness is won for us through Christ’s sacrifice and made real in our lives through the Means of Grace (see Means of Grace below).
Romans 5:8; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Isaiah 53:5

God’s Word, Holy Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper are means by which God brings forgiveness, grace, and faith into our lives.

Romans 10:17, Acts 2:38, Matthew 26:26-28

God gives all people abilities and opportunities through which they serve their neighbors in daily life, a calling the Church has historically described as vocation. In addition, the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to believers for the building up of the Church and the service of others, always in accordance with God’s Word. These gifts are given by grace and are to be faithfully stewarded for the good of Christ’s body and the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 12:4–7; Romans 12:4–8; 1 Peter 4:10

Heaven is the eternal dwelling place of God, where all believers in Christ will live forever in the fullness of joy, peace, and life with Him. Eternal life is a free gift from God, given by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

John 14:2–3; Revelation 21:1–4; Philippians 3:20–21; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:16; 1 John 5:11-12

Prayer is the conversation of believers with God, in which we bring our praise, thanksgiving, confession, and requests before Him, trusting in His promises and mercy in Christ.

Matthew 6:9–13; Philippians 4:6–7; 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18

God is one being, existing in three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 28:19; John 14:16-17; Ephesians 4:4-6

Jesus Christ is God incarnate, the Son of the Father. Jesus is fully God and fully man. He is the only person ever to have lived a sinless life. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, performed miracles, died on the cross for humanity, and atoned for our sins through the shedding of His blood. He rose from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return again in power and glory.

John 1:1, 14, 20:28; 1 Timothy 3:16; Isaiah 9:6; Philippians 2:5-6; 1 Timothy 2:5

Jesus Christ will one day return as the victorious Lord of all.

Acts 1:11; Philippians 2:10-11; Matthew 24:30-31

Baptism is God’s work, given for the remission of sins, and is therefore a washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

 Acts 2:38; 22:16; Titus 3:5

We believe that marriage is a biblical institution, designed by God, between one man and one woman, intended to last a lifetime.

Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4–6; Ephesians 5:31–33

Hell is eternal separation from God for those who reject Christ, a place of judgment prepared for the devil and all who remain in unbelief.

Matthew 25:46; 2 Thessalonians 1:8–9; Revelation 20:14–15

We believe that the Church has a mission because God has a mission: to seek and save the lost. We are invited into that mission and share in it through words of grace.

Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 19:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17

Human life begins at conception, and all people bear the image of God, giving every person inherent value. We are all born sinful and in need of God’s forgiveness, love, and grace.

Psalm 139:13–16; Genesis 1:27; Romans 3:23; Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:1

The Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity, creates faith through God’s Word and Sacraments, and exists within every believer in Christ. The Spirit does His greatest work through God’s people gathered as the Church.

John 3:5-8; Romans 10:17; 1 Corinthians 10:16; John 14:16-17

The Church is the assembly of believers where the Gospel is rightly preached and the Sacraments are rightly administered. The Church is created and sustained by God’s Word and exists to receive and proclaim Christ both to its members and beyond.

Matthew 16:18; Acts 2:42; Ephesians 2:19–22

In the Lord’s Supper, Christ gives His true body and true blood, in, with, and under the bread and wine, for Christians to eat and to drink. Though this gift is a mystery beyond human understanding, it is real and given according to Christ’s words of institution. Through this Sacrament, God delivers forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

 Luke 22:19–20; Matthew 26:26–28; 1 Corinthians 10:16; 1 Corinthians 11:23–29

Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit by which believers are daily renewed and set apart to live in repentance and faith, bearing fruit in love and good works.

1 Thessalonians 4:3; Galatians 2:20; Romans 12:1–2

Salvation is God’s gracious work by which sinners are rescued from sin, death, and the devil through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and received by faith alone.

Ephesians 2:8–9; Romans 1:16; Titus 3:4–7

The Office of the Pastor is instituted by God for the preaching of the Word and the administration of the Sacraments, and pastors are called by God through the congregation to shepherd His people according to the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions. As a congregation of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, we practice congregational governance in which the congregation holds responsibility for doctrine and the calling of pastors, elects a council for governance and policy oversight, and entrusts day-to-day ministry to the pastoral staff and ministry leaders under that oversight.

Romans 10:14–15; Acts 6:1–6; 1 Corinthians 14:40

I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.

I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them.
He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life.
He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil.
All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.

And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be his own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen.

I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.
In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.
In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers.
On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ.

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. 

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.

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.