Our Vision & Purpose
We aspire to be a vibrant community that inspires profound connections and impactful outreach.
By nurturing faith through Christ, empowering each member with God’s Word, and embrace opportunities to serve both locally and globally, creating a ripple effect of love and service in the world.
What is a Lutheran?
Lutherans are faithful Christians who hear the call of Martin Luther, a German monk who started the Reformation about 500 years ago, to trust in God’s active presence in the world and trust God’s people with the good news of Jesus as revealed in the Bible. Luther was a really smart guy and wrote and said a lot of great things, but here’s the gist of it all:
We are saved by the grace of God alone, not by anything we do.
We trust that our sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake, who died for us. We call that trust “faith.”
That grace and trust frees us from fear, guilt, and worry so that we can live with joy and love.
We respond to God’s grace by loving the creation that God loves, especially the poor, hungry, lonely, and vulnerable.
Our Values
Our values are grounded in faith, in our biblical and Lutheran confessional sources and our love of God and neighbor. They speak to the way this church lives and practices our faith, and they will guide how we journey forward in Christ as church together.
Forgiveness & Reconciliation
We are reconciled to God by God's forgiving mercy. Forgiveness and reconciliation flow from what God has made us to be in Jesus Christ and what God is doing with us in the world. As a people of God, we embody forgiveness in speech, action and relationships, and our ministry in reconciliation is foundational.
Dignity, Compassion & Justice
Each person is created in God's image. We respect this God-given right to dignity and, inspired by the life of Jesus, show love and compassion for all people. Through proclamation of the gospel, through worship and as servants of God working for healing and justice in the world, we uphold and seek to protect the dignity and human rights of all people.
Inclusion & Diversity
As Christ's church, we value the richness of God's creation and offer a radical welcome to all people, appreciating our common humanity and our differences. We are a church that does not view diversity as a barrier to unity. We recognize and will challenge dynamics of power and privilege that create barriers to participation and equity in this church and society – for women, people of color, minority ethnic groups, people with disabilities, people who are marginalized or living in poverty, and the LGBTQ community.
Courage & Openness To Change
Because we trust in God's promise and understand faith to be a living, daring confidence in God's grace, we are emboldened to embrace learning and change in our spiritual and institutional journey as church. This means we are open to new ways and willing to take risks to discover God's plan for this church.
Faithful Stewardship of God's Creation & Gifts
As church together, faithful stewardship is about holding to God's purpose and ensuring the responsibilities and resources that God has entrusted to us are used with great care and with accountability to God, to each other and those served by this church.
Forgiveness & Reconciliation
We are reconciled to God by God's forgiving mercy. Forgiveness and reconciliation flow from what God has made us to be in Jesus Christ and what God is doing with us in the world. As a people of God, we embody forgiveness in speech, action and relationships, and our ministry in reconciliation is foundational.
Dignity, Compassion & Justice
Each person is created in God's image. We respect this God-given right to dignity and, inspired by the life of Jesus, show love and compassion for all people. Through proclamation of the gospel, through worship and as servants of God working for healing and justice in the world, we uphold and seek to protect the dignity and human rights of all people.
Inclusion & Diversity
As Christ's church, we value the richness of God's creation and offer a radical welcome to all people, appreciating our common humanity and our differences. We are a church that does not view diversity as a barrier to unity. We recognize and will challenge dynamics of power and privilege that create barriers to participation and equity in this church and society – for women, people of color, minority ethnic groups, people with disabilities, people who are marginalized or living in poverty, and the LGBTQ community.
Courage & Openness To Change
Because we trust in God's promise and understand faith to be a living, daring confidence in God's grace, we are emboldened to embrace learning and change in our spiritual and institutional journey as church. This means we are open to new ways and willing to take risks to discover God's plan for this church.
Faithful Stewardship of God's Creation & Gifts
As church together, faithful stewardship is about holding to God's purpose and ensuring the responsibilities and resources that God has entrusted to us are used with great care and with accountability to God, to each other and those served by this church.
Lutheran Sacraments
In our congregation, we see Baptism and Holy Communion as important ways we connect with God and each other.
Baptism is like a spiritual fresh start—it’s how we’re welcomed into the Christian family and marked as God’s own.
Holy Communion, on the other hand, is all about coming together to remember Jesus’ love and sacrifice. We believe that when we share in the bread and wine, Jesus is really present with us, helping us grow in faith and feel more connected to our community. Both sacraments are meaningful practices that ground us in our faith and help us live out God’s love every day.
ELCA's Beliefs
Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). ELCA believes in sharing God’s grace with others and doing God’s work in Christ’s name. Not every ELCA church (or member of an ELCA church) thinks or has the same opinion on every topic in modern society, instead we trust each other to be well meaning, bible believeing, Christians.
How Lutherans Look Upon the Bible
The Bible bears testimony to the mighty acts of God in the lives of people and nations. The Old Testament is a vivid account of God’s covenant relationship to Israel. The New Testament is the first-hand proclamation of those who lived through the events of Jesus’ life, death, and Resurrection.
As such, it is the authority for Christian life and practice. The Bible is thus not a definitive record of history or science. Rather, it is the record of the drama of God’s saving care for creation throughout the course of history.
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