OUR MISSION

We believe that God has called us to be a growing, caring group of believers in Jesus Christ who help and strengthen one another through Word and Sacrament as we reach out into our community and world with the love and forgiveness of Christ to bring all people into His body, the Church.

OUR VISION

Immanuel Lutheran Church is a place where through the power of the Holy Spirit all members demonstrate their faith in Christ. As people of God:

- We value God's love and forgiveness in our own lives and in our church.
-We value each person's spiritual growth in the Word, worship and prayer.
-We value all of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
-We value reaching out to everyone in our community.
-We value sharing all the blessings God has given to us.

OUR BELIEF

With the universal Christian Church, Immanuel Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod to which we belong, 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 people 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.

We celebrate the sacraments of Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper. In Holy Baptism, we receive the gifts of forgiveness of sins, faith, and eternal salvation for all who believe. We practice infant baptism according to the command of God and His desire to give this gift to all his children. We believe that the body and blood of Christ is truly present in, with and under the bread and wine we receive during communion. We call this the "real presence." Through his death and resurrection, Christ offers forgiveness and eternal life to all who believe in Him.

Being "Lutheran," our congregation accepts and teaches the Bible-based teachings of Martin Luther that inspired the reformation of the Christian Church in the 16th century. We believe that the Book of Concord (1580), a collection of creeds and confessions including Luther's Small Catechism, is normative for the church today. The teaching of Luther and the reformers can be summarized in three short phrases: Grace alone, Scripture alone and Faith 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.

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.

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.