GOD
  We believe the only true God is the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.  God is one in essence, but three in Persons.
GOD'S REVELATION OF HIMSELF
   We believe and teach that God has reveled himself to man not only in creation and through man's conscience, but also and especially through His Word, the Holy Bible.
INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE
  We believe, teach, and confess that the canonical books of the Bible, both the Old and the New Testaments, in their original form as written by the prophets, evangelists, and apostles are given by inspiration of God.  We believe the Bible not only contains the Word of God, but it is the Word of God.
CREATION
  We accept the statement of Scripture that God created all things in 6 days, as set forth in Gen. 1 and 2 and elsewhere in Scripture.
REDEMPTION
  We believe that, in order to rescue fallen mankind, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, in to the world, clothed in human flesh, true God and true man in one Person.
JUSTIFICATION
  We believe that the world was declared to be righteous in Christ when he arose from the dead.  We also hold that a person has justification as his personal possession when he comes to faith in Christ as his Savior.
THE MEANS OF GRACE
  We believe God has instituted certain Means of Grace by which He announces and imparts His forgiveness of sins and salvation to man.  These Means of Grace are the Gospel, the Sacrament of Baptism, and the Lord's Supper.
GOOD WORKS
  We believe and confess that good works are the necessary fruits of faith in the life of a Christian.
THE CHURCH
  We believe there is a holy Christian Church on earth which consists of al those who, from the heart, accept Christ as Savior and confess Him by word and deed.
THE MINISTRY
  We believe that the Lord willed the establishment of the
Office of the Ministry for the public administration of the Means of Grace, and that properly qualified men shall be called to this Office.
CHURCH FELLOWSHIP
  We believe that the Scriptures require that church fellowship shall be acknowledged and exercised only on the basis of confession of and commitment to the pure Marks of the Church, the Word, and Sacraments.  We reject unionism because it tolerates error in doctrine in the Church.
THE LUTHERAN CONFESSIONS
  We accept the Lutheran Confessions as contained in the Book of Concord because these are a correct statement of the teachings of Scripture.


*  Excerpts from an explanation of the doctrinal position of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod.