we believe, teach & confess
With the universal Christian Church, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod teaches and responds to the love of the Triune God: the Father, creator of all that exists; Jesus Christ, 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 the Holy Spirit, who creates faith through God’s Word and Sacraments. The three persons of the Trinity are coequal and coeternal, one God. Being “Lutheran,” means our congregation holds to Scripture (the Bible) alone as the norm and authority for all that we believe, teach and confess. Our doctrinal and theological beliefs that come from Scripture are articulated at length in The Book of Concord.
Our core values as a church dictate all that we teach and all that we do. Those values, taken from God’s Word, are:
Grace Alone
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.
“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8
Scripture Alone
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.
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” – 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Faith Alone
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.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
– Ephesians 2:8-9
Meaning of Synod
The word “Synod” in The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod comes from the Greek words that mean “walking together.” All congregations of the Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod) voluntarily choose to belong to the Synod based on our shared confessions of faith. Though diverse in their service, these congregations hold to a shared confession of Jesus Christ as taught in Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions.