About These Chapters

Have you ever been to the website of a non-Lutheran congregation and they have a page called "What we believe"? This is our "what we believe" statement.

Thoughts and Suggested Provisions

It is highly unlikely that any congregation would add anything to these chapters on any level (constitutional provisions, bylaws, or continuing resolutions), and any additions would be highly scrutinized. It is best to leave these chapters alone.

Recommended Practice

This is the congregation's statement of faith. It would be worthwhile to have a "What We Believe", "Confession of Faith", or other similarly named page on the congregation website that includes everything in Chapter 2, at least the first two provisions of Chapter 3, and the first three provisions in Chapter 4.

Example for Congregational Websites

We, baptized members of the Church of Christ, responding in faith to the call of the Holy Spirit through the Gospel, desiring to unite together to preach the Word, administer the sacraments, and carry out God’s mission, do hereby profess to the following declaration of faith. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

We believe in the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and the Gospel as the power of God for the salvation of all who believe.

1. 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.
2. The proclamation of God’s message to us as both Law and Gospel is the Word of God, revealing judgment and mercy through word and deed, beginning with the Word in creation, continuing in the history of Israel, and centering in all its fullness in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
3. The canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the written 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 accept the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of its proclamation, faith, and life.

We accept the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds as true declarations of the faith of this congregation.

We accept the Unaltered Augsburg Confession as a true witness to the Gospel, acknowledging as one with it in faith and doctrine all churches that likewise accept the teachings of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession.

We accept the other confessional writings in the Book of Concord, namely, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles and the Treatise, the Small Catechism, the Large Catechism, and the Formula of Concord, as further valid interpretations of the faith of the Church.

We believe the Gospel, recorded in the Holy Scripture and confessed in the ecumenical creeds and Lutheran confessional writings, as the power of God to create and sustain the Church for God’s mission in the world.

We believe all power in the Church belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ, its head. All actions of this congregation are to be carried out under his rule and authority.

We believe in the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church and are resolved to serve Christian unity throughout the world.

We believe the Church is a people created by God in Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, called and sent to bear witness to God’s creative, redeeming, and sanctifying activity in the world.

To participate in God’s mission, this congregation as a part of the Church shall:

1. Worship God in proclamation of the Word and administration of the sacraments and through lives of prayer, praise, thanksgiving, witness, and service.
2. Proclaim God’s saving Gospel of justification by grace for Christ’s sake through faith alone, according to the apostolic witness in the Holy Scripture, preserving and transmitting the Gospel faithfully to future generations.
3. Carry out Christ’s Great Commission by reaching out to all people to bring them to faith in Christ and by doing all ministry with a global awareness consistent with the understanding of God as Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier of all.
4. Serve in response to God’s love to meet human needs, caring for the sick and the aged, advocating dignity, justice and equality for all people, working for peace and reconciliation among the nations, caring for the marginalized, embracing and welcoming racially and ethnically diverse populations, standing with the poor and powerless and committing itself to their needs.
5. Nurture its members in the Word of God so as to grow in faith and hope and love, to see daily life as the primary setting for the exercise of their Christian calling, and to use the gifts of the Spirit for their life together and for their calling in the world.
6. Manifest the unity given to the people of God by living together in the love of Christ and by joining with other Christians in prayer and action to express and preserve the unity which the Spirit gives.

To fulfill these purposes, this congregation shall:

1. Provide services of worship at which the Word of God is preached and the sacraments are administered.
2. Provide pastoral care and assist all members to participate in this ministry.
3. Challenge, equip, and support all members in carrying out their calling in their daily lives and in their congregation.
4. Teach the Word of God.
5. Witness to the reconciling Word of God in Christ, reaching out to all people.
6. Respond to human need, work for justice and peace, care for the sick and the suffering, and participate responsibly in society.
7. Motivate its members to provide financial support for this congregation’s ministry and the ministry of the other expressions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
8. Foster and participate in interdependent relationships with other congregations, the synod, and the churchwide organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
9. Foster and participate in ecumenical relationships consistent with churchwide policy.

Our faith stands in unity and agreement with the whole Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.