What We Believe . . .

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod teaches and responds to 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, our congregations accept and teach the Bible-based teaching of Martin Luther that inspired the reformation of the Christian Church in the 16th century. The teachings of Luther and the reformers can be summarized in three short phrases: Grace alone, Faith alone, Scripture alone.

  • 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. 
  • 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. 
  • 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.

Who is Jesus?
No one else has influenced history as He has. For more than 2,000 years people have asked the question, "Who is Jesus?" Study of the Bible, God's Word, will enable us to seek out the answer to this age-old question. We were not present when Jesus lived on this earth, but in the Bible we have the record of his birth, life, death on the cross, and resurrection. 

  • Jesus is the Son of God:
    Old Testament prophets spoke of His coming and described the eternal and life-changing impact He would have.
  • Jesus is both God and man.
    He stilled the seas and walked on water. With a touch of His hand, he cured incurable diseases. He restored life to those who had physically died.
  • Jesus personifies love.
    He paid the ultimate price so that we could live with Him forever. He sees us through the eyes of love. He loves us in spite of every hurtful thought, every harmful word, and every wrongful action. These are all a result of sin, which contaminates everything we do. It is behind every broken home, every empty life, every infirmity, every damaged emotion, every sorrow and grief. And as the Bible says, the end result of sin is death. But Jesus Himself was sinless; only He could pay the penalty for our sins.

Because of his love, He suffered, died, and rose again. And we are forgiven. All who believe in Jesus are guaranteed eternal life with Him in heaven.

What does "Synod" mean?
The word "Synod" in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod comes from the Greek word that means "walking together." It has rich meaning in our church body, because the congregations voluntarily choose to belong to the Synod. Diverse in their service, these congregations hold to a shared confession of Jesus Christ as taught in Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions.

For more information, we invite you to visit the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod website.