What We Believe

Faith Matters

Faith is getting involved with God – a life centered in relationship to God brimming with possibilities and promise. In Christ, God has made the decisive move to restore and embrace us as His own. Lutherans lean heavily on God’s grace. We are saved by grace, changed by grace, and as a church, try to love each other by grace.

By God’s grace, you are loved, forgiven, accepted, and belong to Christ in baptism. Grace is something you can never earn, deserve, or bring about on your own. Christ has accomplished it for us. To be saved by grace means: There is nothing you must do. For Lutherans, the sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion are the “means of grace.” In the waters of baptism, bread and wine of communion, Christ delivers His mercy and grace to those who receive by faith.

Faith opens us to a bold life of trusting God. The life God has given us is beautiful and hard, requires work and wisdom, and is filled with celebration and sorrow. It has been said that faith is not knowing where you are going but going anyway. Scripture says we cannot do this on our own, we need God and God’s people.

Faith in Christ brings with it, immense freedom, growth, joy, and responsibility. If there is a defining characteristic of our church, it is a welcoming community for all people. The journey of faith is lived out here with rich opportunities to grow and practice your faith through inspired music and worship, faith challenged in study and service, fellowship filled with authenticity, humor, and forgiveness.

Faith in Christ is never lived out in a vacuum. It requires we use our minds to think and our hearts to love. Jesus calls us to engage the world, give thanks for God’s goodness, actively witness in the culture, and make a difference for the gospel. To learn more about our congregational theology and themes, explore the following links.

Holy Scripture is the basis of our teaching and preaching. We are a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), ascribe to their Confession of Faith, and share in the faith and doctrine of the larger Church expressed in the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds.

Five Lutheran Themes from Pastor Chuck Slocum

Fellowship: God never intended there to be solitary Christians. We affirm the centrality of the church. We experience grace in the sacraments, funerals, and feasts. When one of us rejoices or suffers we all share that as the body of Christ.

Theology: Martin Luther was a brilliant scholar who got it and preached it, WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH. As God’s people, we are not to be afraid of questions, doubts, and differences of gifts, opinions, personalities, and how we read the Bible. We trust Christ is mysteriously and mercifully at work among us.

Grace: What makes the case for grace is grace itself. This unconditional gift that God alone gives and we receive in Holy Baptism. You cannot be anymore saved than you are right now. We do not, cannot, and will never earn God’s favor.

Earthiness: Lutherans like to live in the world in all its majesty and messiness. We take seriously Jesus’ command to live in the world but not be defined by the world. We are at home in the kitchen, Starbucks, sanctuary, and a Seahawks game.  It is all God’s, this sovereignty translates in Eminent Domain.

Vocation: This means God has called and equipped each of us for ministry. We are doing God’s work as parents, teachers, church members, and janitors. Our time, talents, and resources are to be shared to God’s glory and to grow the church.