About Us
WHAT WE BELIEVE
In the very beginning…
In the very beginning, God created humanity and invited us to share in His story; a story of friendship and love. We walked away from God, choosing to follow our own way, rather than God’s way. At Zion we call God’s way, “God’s Upper Story” and our wandering way we call our “Lower Story”. God’s Upper Story is God’s Way of love and compassion. But in our Lower Story we wander away from God’s original intention and so our lives and our stories are often filled with loss, injustice and pain. But God still longed for us and so He sent grace in the person of Jesus. God’s grace through Jesus changes everything. Jesus Christ came to rescue and restore relationship with God forever. His resurrection invites us back into God’s Upper Story purpose and plan, to live it, and to share it with those who are longing for hope and life.
Because of that, Zion Lutheran Church is a place where we strive to build the church and bless the community in Jesus’ name.
Zion exists to invite people to meet Jesus, form deeper friendships and serve others by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are a “Lutheran Christian” congregation.
“Christian” is the noun. First and foremost, we are Christ-followers.
“Lutheran” is the adjective and describes something about the way in which we are following Jesus. Lutherans understand the Bible as God’s invitation to a relationship with Him, and the only way we can be right with God is through trusting in the person and work of Jesus Christ and His challenge for us to be faithful followers.
OUR CORE VALUES
1) We value worship, as we gather around God’s Word and Sacraments in a way that is meaningful and inspiring, including clear, relevant preaching centered around Biblical Insights and Life Lessons. We appreciate both traditional 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 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 present and future as we see our growing population of young families, many of whom come into our congregation through our Christian educational 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 conflicts arise 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 pastor is not to do all the ministry, but “to equip the saints for the work of ministry.” (Ephesians 4:12; Romans 12:4-8)