Our Church
Our Mission
Our mission is to be a Place of Grace, with a Call for All, to Continue the work of Jesus. Come find out what that means to us, and how you can help us to continue in that mission.
A Place of Grace
As Lutherans we whole heartedly echo the words of Paul in Ephesians 2:8 - 10, “For by Grace you have been saved through faith and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God – not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life: (NRSV). We affirm that Grace is what saves us and all people, in the broadest, fullest and deepest sense of what it means to be “saved.” In affirming that this is a “Place” of Grace, we are affirming that Grace is not just an idea or a teaching, but the very real and tangible power of God that changes and transforms lives. We affirm that Grace cannot be separated from Jesus the Christ who was and is, “full of Grace and Truth” (John 1:14). We envision Trinity Lutheran Church as a place where people will constantly encounter and experience God’s Grace when the people of Trinity gather for worship, for learning, for planning and for service. And our aim is that people will hear and experience God’s Grace in the preaching, the praying and especially in the gracious and welcoming people of this place we know as Trinity Lutheran Church.
With a Call for All
We envision all the people of God as being “A chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of Him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). God’s gracious gift of salvation is at one and the same time, a call to employ that gift in witness and loving service to all. The people of God at Trinity Lutheran Church are not to be divided up between a few who minister and many who consume ministry. All are “Created in Christ Jesus for good works, which god prepared beforehand to be our way of life” (Ephesians 2:10). The goal of Trinity Lutheran Church is to help God’s people claim their calling into the ministry of Jesus Christ and equip them to carry out that ministry in all areas of their lives. We will strive to equip God’s people for ministry through discernment, learning, training, support and encouragement so that all can render the service to which they are called by God.
To continue the work of Jesus Christ.
We confess that the “call for all” is a call that ultimately comes from God and as such, is a very unique call. It is not just a call to maintain hallowed traditions, to attract new members or build the institution. We believe that we are called, very specifically, to continue the work of God in and by Jesus Christ the Messiah for the sake of the world. Early in His ministry, Jesus drew on the words of the Prophet Isaiah to sum up his calling when he said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19). We believe that the ultimate authority and guide for us as individuals and a gathered people is not a list of rules and regulations, not a set of traditions, not an appointed leader and not even the will of the congregation expressed through a vote. The ultimate authority for how we order our lives as the people of God is the life, the words, the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Therefore, in seeking to know what we must do, we will first and foremost, strive to know Jesus through diligent reading and study of the life of Jesus as told in the Gospels, foretold in the Old Testament writings, and applied to the life of the Church in the letters of the Apostles. Our life and ministry will grow out of an informed relationship with Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God with us to love, invite, welcome, forgive, heal, feed and give ourselves for the sake of all for whom Christ died.
