Our Faith
What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us?
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home?
-- Joan Osborne, 20th c.
The Christian faith is based on a life-transforming story. It’s a story of a powerful and patient God who has boundless love for all people of the world and who brings justice for the oppressed. It’s a story of Jesus Christ changing lives. It’s a story that brings comfort and strength to people who live in modern, often unsettling times.
Christians believe in the Triune God who created and loves all of creation: the earth and the seas and all of the world’s inhabitants.We believe that God's Son, Jesus Christ, transforms lives through his death on the cross and his new life, and we trust that God's Spirit is active in the world. We are part of God’s unfolding plan. When we gather for worship, we connect with believers everywhere. When we study the Bible or hear God’s word in worship, we are drawn more deeply into God’s own saving story.
Lutherans are Christians who find their identity in the living spiritual legacy of Martin Luther (1483-1546). Luther was a German Catholic priest and seminary professor who sought to reform the practices of the Church so they would be more consistent with what he found in Scripture. On October 31, 1517, he posted a challenge on the door of Wittenberg University, titled “95 Theses” (to debate 95 theological issues). What started as an academic debate unfortunately escalated into a distinct separation between the Roman Catholic church of the time and those who accepted Luther’s suggested reforms. "Lutheran" became the name of the group that agreed with Luther’s convictions.
Today, nearly five centuries later, Lutherans still celebrate the Reformation on October 31 and still hold to the basic principles of Luther’s theological teachings, which comprise the very essence of Lutheranism:
- We are saved by the grace of God alone -- not by anything we do;
- Our salvation is through faith alone -- we only need to trust God made known in Christ who promises us forgiveness, life and salvation; and
- The Bible is the norm for faith and life -- the true standard by which teachings and doctrines are to be judged.
Lutherans are part of a reforming movement within the whole Christian church; as a part of practicing their faith, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has engaged in ecumenical dialogue with other church bodies for decades. In fact, the ELCA has entered into cooperative "full communion" agreements (sharing common convictions about theology, mission and worship) with several other Protestant denominations, including
- The Episcopal Church
- the Moravian Church
- the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
- the Reformed Church in America
- the United Church of Christ
- The United Methodist Church
The ELCA has an ongoing dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church, and in 1999, representatives of the Lutheran World Federation and the Roman Catholic Church signed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. This represented a historic consensus on key issues of faith and called for further dialogue and study together. To learn more about these ecumenical relationships, visit Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations.
Lutheranism is a faith tradition that is open to all, regardless of background. The ELCA alone is almost five million members strong, with nearly 10,500 congregations across the U.S., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
The convictions shared by Christians from many different traditions are expressed in statements of belief called creeds. These ecumenical creeds that Lutherans affirm and use in worship confess the faith of the church through the ages and around the world. The Confession of Faith of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is part of our founding constitution.
