The Bible: We believe the Bible is God's Word and our final authority in matters of faith and life. (2 Timothy 3:16, Psalm 119:105)

God: We believe there is one God (Deuteronomy 6:4), eternally existing in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:13)

Jesus Christ: We believe Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully human, who by His death on the cross has redeemed us. (1 Timothy 3:16, Isaiah 9:6, Colossians 1:15-20)

The Church: We believe we are a part of one true Church (Ephesians 4:4-6, Romans 12:5) made up of all who believe in Christ as Lord. We extend the hand of fellowship to all members of this universal Christian Church. (Romans 15:7)

Salvation: We believe Christ alone (Acts 4:12, John 14:6) provides salvation. This salvation is a free gift. ("grace"– Ephesians 2:8-9) We believe that one can be certain of eternal life. ("assurance"– John 5:24) We believe that we partake of this free gift of grace by faith alone (Romans 3:28, John 3:16), and thereby enter a lifelong process of change and growth. (Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 2:20)

Baptism and the Lord's Supper: We believe Jesus instituted Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper. We believe God truly acts in these sacraments to forgive our sins, and that our faith is essential for their effectiveness. (Mark 16:16, 1 Corinthians 11:29, John 3:16)

Prayer: We believe God answers prayer and we encourage everyone to grow in prayer. (James 5:16, Matthew 18:18-20) Human Nature: We believe human nature is sinful and is redeemed only through faith in Jesus Christ. (Romans 3:23)

Our Lutheran Heritage and Identity: We identify with the renewal movement begun in the Lutheran Reformation. We believe the Lutheran themes of grace through faith alone, scripture alone, and Christ alone.

Changed Life: We believe that becoming a Christian leads to a changed life. (2 Corinthians 5:17) We call this change "sanctification," which is a lifelong process of growth in selfless love, humility, service, stewardship, and holiness under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Because a good tree bears good fruit (Matthew 7:17-18), people justified by grace through faith act on that faith and will change and grow in Christ. (2 Peter 3:18, James 1:22, 2 Corinthians 3:18, 5:17, Ephesians 4:22-24)

The above is adapted from Hosanna! Lutheran Church (LCMC), Lakeville, MN, and approved by the Ascension Church Council 1/19/2010.

Ascension Lutheran Church is a member of Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ.

LCMC is an association of congregations who are free in Christ, accountable to one another and rooted in the scriptures and the lutheran confessions. We're all working together to fulfill Christ's great commission to go and make disciples of all nations.

Learn More about LCMC
Why Church?

Eugene Peterson wrote a brilliant description of the Christian Church in his introduction to the Biblical book of James. He writes:

"When Christian believers gather in churches, everything that can go wrong sooner or later does. Outsiders, on observing this, conclude that there is nothing to the religion business except, perhaps, business – and dishonest business at that. Insiders see it differently. Just as a hospital collects the sick under one roof and labels them as such, the church collects sinners. Many of the people outside are every bit as sick as the ones inside, but their illnesses are either undiagnosed or disguised. It’s similar with sinners outside the church. So Christian churches are not, as a rule, model communities of good behavior. They are, rather, places where human misbehavior is brought out in the open, faced, and dealt with."

So, Ascension isn’t a place for perfect people; it’s the perfect place for broken, wounded, searching souls seeking to discover the love, grace and mercy of Almighty God. Jesus always sought out the lost, the least, the last, and the lowest. They’re the ones who were often the most open to His love. We count ourselves among them.

(2 Eugene Peterson, from introduction to James from The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (NavPres 2002), p. 1669.)