Beliefs
What We Believe
Mission Statement – To connect the unconnected to Christ and together grow into fully developing followers of Him.
Vision Statement – To be a spiritual family of faith, hope, and love.
We are a spiritual family of Jesus Christ committed to living by a scriptural faith, being known for our grace motivated by love, and being a voice of eternal hope.
Strategy for Spiritual Growth
Plug In — to God and others at Word & Sacrament worship services.
Charge Up — to become like Christ through personal Quiet Times and Small Group gatherings.
Live Out — by serving at ALC and in our community. So that we will...
Pass On — to others our faith in Jesus.
Elements of Our Services
Holy Communion
In Communion (The Sacrament of the Altar) our Lord and Savior is continually distributing to us the body and blood of the sacrifice He made for us, the sacrifice by which He paid for the sins of the entire world. Thus, receiving His body and blood, we receive forgiveness, life and salvation.
Communicants for the Lord’s Table should:
- Repent of their sins, wanting to turn away from them.
- Intend to grow, by the power of the Holy Spirit, in a more committed life with Jesus and His Church.
- Believe in Jesus as their savior and in the Real Presence of Christ in the Sacrament:
“That person is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: ‘Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.’”
– Luther’s Small Catechism
We welcome all who fully understand and accept our view of Holy Communion. Those who are unsure of our beliefs should see the pastor before communing for the first time. If you would like to receive a blessing instead, come forward with your arms folded over your chest.
The Lord’s Prayer
We recite the prayer above every prayer because our Lord personally gave us this prayer as the model prayer we should follow.
Creeds
We recite creeds because they are the cherished possession of the entire church confessing the one, true faith in the holy Trinity.
Confession and Absolution
The common confession is based on Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector in Luke 18 on the right attitude of prayer. The absolution (when Pastor says, “Upon your confession, I as a called and ordained servant of God’s Word announce to you the grace of God and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive all your sins”) is the Lord’s life giving sure and certain word that we are forgiven. It is not the voice or word of the Pastor but the Word of God who forgives sins.
Praise Through Song
Worship is an expression of the worth or value of something or someone. As such, our worship of God, the most holy and worthy Being, should inspire the greatest response of all. As our response to God’s relational goodness to us, praise through song is an expression of the inexhaustible worth, beauty, and goodness of the triune God.