OUR MISSION - VISION - CORE VALUES

The Mission of St. Michael Lutheran Church

is to make disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ by building up one another in the faith, and reaching out to others with the Gospel. This mission is summed up in our slogan...

"Making Mighty Messengers for Christ"

The archangel Michael serves as a kind of mascot for our mission in that the original Hebrew and Greek words translated into English as “angel” literally means “messenger.” Furthermore, as the archangel, Michael would be what we might call a “Mighty Messenger.” The first part of our mission, “building up one another in the faith” corresponds with the “mighty” part of our slogan. The second part of our mission, “reaching out to others with the Gospel,” corresponds with the “messenger” part of our slogan.

Our Vision

The vision of St. Michael Lutheran is to be a growing congregation within our local community that is “Making Mighty Messengers for Christ” by helping people:

 

  1. DEVELOP, by the power of the Holy Spirit working through His Word and Sacraments, a more vibrant and personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ that expresses itself in consistent prayer and worship; and to
  2. GAIN practical, relevant, biblical insights for faithful Christian living both through personal Bible study and through our various Christian educational offerings such as Sunday School, Small groups, St. Michael Lutheran School, etc.; and to
  3. BELONG to a loving and caring family of faith with a solid doctrinal heritage through active membership, ministry involvement, and Small group participation; and to
  4. GIVE of ourselves to others in loving Christian service and evangelistic witness within the congregation and beyond it to our local community and world.

 

In other words, this vision statement helps define who a “Mighty Messenger for Christ” is, namely, a “Mighty Messenger for Christ” is a Christian believer...

 

  • who has a vibrant and personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ;
  • who strives to gain practical, relevant, biblical insights for faithful Christian living;
  • who actively belongs to a loving and caring family of faith with a solid doctrinal heritage;
  • who gives of oneself to others in loving Christian service and evangelistic witness.

Our Core Values

1) We value worship, as we gather around God’s Word and Sacraments, that is meaningful and up-lifting, including clear, relevant preaching. We appreciate both traditional liturgy and hymns as well as contemporary music and desire variety and quality in all our worship services so that we might have a meaningful experience of praising and glorifying God with the best that we have. (Colossians 3:16-17)

 

2) We value evangelism and believe that the good news of the forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the main message of the church. We care about meeting all human needs but recognize that the most important need people have is for a love relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and so we reach out with this saving Gospel and proclaim the truth of God’s Word to all people without compromise. (Acts 1:8)

 

3) We value discipleship through the Christian education of children and adults of all ages as essential and vital to our spiritual health and growth. While we highly value people of every age, we are especially excited about our population of young families, many of whom come into our congregation through our Christian education programs for children. (Luke 18:15-17)

 

4) We value fellowship and want a friendly church that is like a loving family that actively cares for one another in times of need. When inevitable conflicts arise among us, we desire to be reconciled to one another, to communicate honestly and lovingly with each other, and to worship, work, and play together in peace and harmony. (Acts 2:42-47)

 

5) We value service and good stewardship of our time, talents, and treasure within our congregation and community. We put a high premium on the volunteer ministry of our members, believing that the primary role of our professional church workers is not to do all the ministry themselves but “to equip the saints for the work of ministry.” (Ephesians 4:12; Romans 12:4-8)