First Lutheran is rooted in the Bible. Here are some of our central beliefs:

• Jesus Christ is God's Son, our Savior, Lord, Teacher and Friend.
• The Bible is the record of God's Good News, telling how God reaches out in love to help God's people and the whole creation.
• It is by God's action revealed most clearly in Jesus, that our sins are forgiven, and we are made God's friends.
• Each person is a minister with particular gifts.
• Through baptism, we become members of the Church, which is the Body of Christ, of which we, First Lutheran, are a part
• We confirm that action of the Holy Spirit as teenagers in the Rite of Confirmation where we take greater responsibility for living out our faith.
• Through Confirmation and Affirmation of Baptism, we become voting members of the congregation.
• The Apostles', Nicene and Athnasian Creeds summarize the Bible. They were written in a particular historical context to address specific questions about God.

We focus on these faith practices: Prayer, study, worship, inviting, encouraging, serving and giving. To find out more about these faith practices, ask one of the pastors, a staff member or an FLC teacher.

Want to know more about Lutheran Christian beliefs? Go to www.elca.org, the website of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and click on What We Believe.

Our Expectations of Each Other

WE, the members of First Lutheran Church, BELIEVE membership is based on these baptism, confirmation and member promises:

• to live among God's faithful people;
• to hear God's word and share in the Lord's supper;
• to proclaim the Good News of God in Christ through word and deed;
• to serve all people following the example of our Lord Jesus Christ;  
• to strive for justice and peace in all the world.

WE, the members of First Lutheran Church, ARE INSTRUCTED by the Church Constitution to:

• Regularly join in services of worship.
• Earnestly study Holy Scripture and observe private and family devotions.
• Regularly talk with God and listen to God in prayer.
• Present children for Holy Baptism in early infancy.
• Diligently nurture children in the Christian faith in the home and in the schools provided by First Lutheran.
• Reach out to all people to bring them to faith.
• Serve to meet human needs.
• Promote the unity and welfare of the congregation as a family of God.
• Contribute to the financial support of FLC and the ELCA.

Based on these promises and challenges, membership invites a certain response.

We gather around Word and Sacrament.  If we are not present to either hear or partake, we are not living among God's faithful people, hearing His Word or sharing in His supper.

Because worship is central to our mission, we ask that members partake of Holy Communion at First Lutheran a minimum of four times a year.

This is an expectation, a hope, a framework in which to grow in Christ; however, the Church Constitution requires only that members commune AND make a contribution of record in the current or preceeding calendar year.