About Us

Question 1

Core Beliefs

Answer

We believe, teach, and confess the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We believe, teach, and confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and the gospel as the power of God for the salvation of all who believe in him.
• Jesus Christ is the Word of God incarnate, through whom everything was made and through whose life, death, and resurrection God fashions a new creation.
• The proclamation of God's message to us as both law and gospel is the Word of God, revealing judgment and mercy in the person and work of Jesus Christ through whom God was pleased to reconcile all things to himself.
• The canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God. Inspired by God's Spirit speaking through their authors, they record and announce God's revelation centering in Jesus Christ. Through them God's Spirit speaks to us to create and sustain Christian faith and fellowship for service in the world.
We believe, teach, and accept the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God and the sole authoritative source and norm of our proclamation, faith, and life.

We accept the Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds as true declarations of the scriptural faith we believe, teach, and confess.

We believe, teach, and accept the Unaltered Augsburg Confession and the Small Catechism as true witnesses to the Word of God, normative for our teaching and practice. We acknowledge that we are one in faith and doctrine with all churches that likewise accept the teachings of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession.

We believe, teach, and confess the other confessional writings in the Book of Concord namely, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles, the Treatise, the Large Catechism, and the Formula of Concord, as further valid expositions of the Holy Scriptures.

We believe, teach, and confess the gospel, recorded in the Holy Scriptures and confessed in the ecumenical creeds and Lutheran confessional writings, as the power of God to create and sustain the priesthood of all believers for God's mission in the world.

Question 2

Salvation

Answer

We believe that we are made right with God by faith ALONE and not by works of the law.

"Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe." Romans 3:20-22a

Question 3

Baptism

Answer

At St. Johns, we believe that baptism is one of God's ways to proclaim His love publicly to people. In baptism, God cleanses us from all of our sin and promises us forgiveness, salvation and eternal life. Through our faith in God's promises, we are saved.

"Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." Mark 16:16

In baptism, God names us and claims us as His own. We baptize both infants and adults because we believe baptism is primarily about God's love for us.

"We love because God first loved us." 1 John 4:19

Adult baptism is a way to publicly declare one's faith and commitment to be a follower of Jesus Christ. To surrender fully to God's grace and rely on His power to save alone.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9a

Infant or child baptism is a way to preach the good news of salvation to a child.

"Faith comes through hearing, and what is heard comes through the Word of Christ." Romans 10:17

Infant or child baptism plants the seeds of faith in a child's heart so that they might grow to believe in the God in which they were baptized.

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And Jesus took the children in His arms, put his hands on them and blessed them." Mark 10:14-16

We believe that all people, no matter what their age, are in bondage to sin and cannot free themselves.

"As it is written, 'There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.'" Romans 3: 10-11

Baptism is a gift from God to announce God's forgiveness, so that we might trust in that Word and receive salvation.

"Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His." Romans 6:5

Question 4

The Lord's Supper

Answer

At St. Johns, we believe that Holy Communion, or The Lord's Supper, is another of God's ways to proclaim His love and forgiveness publicly to people. At The Lord's Supper, we are promised forgiveness, salvation and eternal life. Through our faith in God's promises, we are saved.

"Then Jesus took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." Matthew 26:27-28

We believe that in The Lord's Supper, when you hear the words of Jesus Christ: "This is my body" and "This is my blood" and believe His words, the body and blood of Jesus Christ are truly present in the bread and the wine.

"While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, 'Take and eat; this is my body.' Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood . . . .'"
Matthew 26: 26-28a

Eating and drinking the bread and wine in The Lord's Supper does NOT give forgiveness by itself. FAITH in the promise, "given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins" gives forgiveness.

"For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law."
Romans 3:26

If a person does not believe God's Word, they receive only bread and wine--nothing more. Everyone who believes that Jesus died and was raised from the dead for them receives exactly what Jesus said they would receive in The Lord's Supper: the forgiveness of sins. This does not depend on their "worthiness" but only on their faith in Jesus Christ.

"Jesus said to them, 'It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Mark 2:17

Question 5

Core Beliefs

Answer

We believe, teach, and confess the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We believe, teach, and confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and the gospel as the power of God for the salvation of all who believe in him.
• Jesus Christ is the Word of God incarnate, through whom everything was made and through whose life, death, and resurrection God fashions a new creation.
• The proclamation of God's message to us as both law and gospel is the Word of God, revealing judgment and mercy in the person and work of Jesus Christ through whom God was pleased to reconcile all things to himself.
• The canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God. Inspired by God's Spirit speaking through their authors, they record and announce God's revelation centering in Jesus Christ. Through them God's Spirit speaks to us to create and sustain Christian faith and fellowship for service in the world.
We believe, teach, and accept the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God and the sole authoritative source and norm of our proclamation, faith, and life.

We accept the Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds as true declarations of the scriptural faith we believe, teach, and confess.

We believe, teach, and accept the Unaltered Augsburg Confession and the Small Catechism as true witnesses to the Word of God, normative for our teaching and practice. We acknowledge that we are one in faith and doctrine with all churches that likewise accept the teachings of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession.

We believe, teach, and confess the other confessional writings in the Book of Concord namely, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles, the Treatise, the Large Catechism, and the Formula of Concord, as further valid expositions of the Holy Scriptures.

We believe, teach, and confess the gospel, recorded in the Holy Scriptures and confessed in the ecumenical creeds and Lutheran confessional writings, as the power of God to create and sustain the priesthood of all believers for God's mission in the world.

Question 6

Salvation

Answer

We believe that we are made right with God by faith ALONE and not by works of the law.

"Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe." Romans 3:20-22a

Question 7

Baptism

Answer