Our mission isn't different than most other churches. That's because it's the mission Jesus gave his disciples:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:18-20, NIV)
How we each make disciples is simply an extension of our vocation, our calling in life. You might make disciples of your children or grandchildren. You may make disciples of your friends at school, or your coworkers.
We are also called to be disciples. We hear Jesus when we spend time worshiping, connecting, and serving. We respond to his voice by trusting him. And we act on that trust by imitating him, including calling others to hear, trust, and imitate Jesus.
We believe that wherever we go, God is already at work there. We do not bring Jesus places, so much as ask him to show us what he is already up to. We believe the Holy Spirit is at work in our community, and we depend on him to show us how, so that we can participate in his kingdom work.
Seeing grace is more than just acknowledging it. We aim to participate in the prayer Jesus taught us, "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!" We do this with his grace, and by his grace.
We are welcomed into the family of God simply by the grace of Jesus, no matter who we’ve been or what we’ve done. Jesus gives us a place to belong even before we know what to believe. Our church family is a place where you can life together in an interconnected web of authentic relationships.
No one wants to live a fruitless life, and Jesus taught people how to live with abundant fruitfulness. He said, “I am the vine. You are the branches.” When we worship, connect, and serve, we remain connected to the vine so that we can remain rooted in love, bear good fruit, and reproduce healthy disciples.
God has poured his love out on us. He is the source, and we are his resource. In every way that we serve others, we are pouring out the love of God using all available resources, including our schedules, our skills, and our finances.
Your first step is to hear Jesus' call for you to follow him. Once you say yes to him, there is always a next step! We offer opportunities to worship, connect, and serve, but he may call you to so much more!
Jesus has asked us to be his church in the world. There is no more important work, today. That means walking out our faith in our everyday lives and serving the unique purpose we are designed for. Community of Grace is a place where you can grow into being Jesus to those around you.
The very first Christians all agreed on one very simple creed: Jesus is Lord. We don't all have to agree on everything at Community of Grace Lutheran Church, but we agree on that. Everything else that we believe follows from that commitment. For example:
If you are theologically inclined, you might be interested in a more complete or precise statement of our beliefs. We recommend you talk with one of our pastors who could explain all of this in a much more personal and detailed way. You might also like to know we affirm the historic creeds of the Christian church (The Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds), and we are a Christian church in the Lutheran tradition. This means we think the historical writings of the Lutheran Reformation (such as the Augsburg Confession and the Small Catechism) helped Christians become more Jesus-centered and Biblically faithful.
Our congregation is part of a larger association of Christ-centered congregations called Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC). We are committed to Jesus' Great Commission, where he commissioned his disciples to go and make more disciples, and Jesus' Great Commandment, where he taught his disciples to love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love their neighbors as themselves. In fact, our mission as a congregation is drawn from these teachings of Jesus: Our mission is to be and make disciples of Jesus.
We believe God loves you, and we'd love to help you experience that truth as a disciple of Jesus Christ.
