What We Believe

Our Mission is to guide people, in a broken and distracted world, to know, love and follow Jesus.

We provide opportunities for people to connect, grow, serve and worship.  

• To be centered on God’s Word (the Holy Bible) and prayer
• To live our identity in Christ
• To forgive as we are forgiven
• To serve humbly
• To model the ‘Fruit of the Spirit” – Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)
• To participate fully in our church
• To make disciples who make disciples

St. Luke Church is an independent, but historically Wesleyan congregation. Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Methodist theology, is grounded in the biblically centered preaching, teaching, and practices of the 18th-century evangelical reformers John and Charles Wesley. As clergy in the Church of England John, along with his brother Charles, felt led by God to organize a renewal movement for their church. This movement focused on the embodiment of personal faith and holiness outside the church walls and in one’s everyday life. Wesley’s drive for all to come to have a living relationship with Christ stemmed from a universal understanding of sin and salvation. Because of sin, all of us stand in need of salvation. Likewise, because of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection, that salvation was made available to all. 

Our beliefs as a church family begin with the historic Apostles Creed: 

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
      creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
      who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
      and born of the virgin Mary.
      He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
      was crucified, died, and was buried;
      The third day he rose again from the dead.
      He ascended to heaven,
      and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
      From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
      the holy catholic* church,
      the communion of saints,
      the forgiveness of sins,
      the resurrection of the body,
      and the life everlasting. Amen.

*that is, the true Christian church of all times and all places

Further, we believe in the Triune God, three in one, consisting of God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit.  

• We believe the Bible in its entirety is the inspired, inerrant and unchanging word of God.  
• We believe that we are all made in the image of God, yet all are sinners for whom that image is distorted. Sin separates people from God and corrupts human nature such that we cannot heal or save ourselves.  
• We believe in salvation that only comes through Jesus Christ. God’s redeeming love is active to save sinners through Jesus’ human life and teachings on earth, through his atoning death, his resurrection, his sovereign presence through history, and his promised return.  
• We believe those who are saved are justified by faith in God alone and are being sanctified by God’s grace and moving toward glorification to be revealed in the presence of God in eternity.  
• We believe that people, while corrupted by sin, are free to make their own choices because of God’s divine grace enabling them, and that people are truly accountable before God for their choices.  
• We recognize the sacrament of Holy Baptism and believe that baptism is a sign of profession of one’s faith as well as a sign of regeneration and new birth. We practice infant baptism, and when persons baptized as infants mature, they may confirm the baptismal vows made on their behalf as infants by their families, guardians, and congregations through a process of Christian education called Confirmation. 
• We recognize the sacrament of Holy Communion and affirm the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. We believe that the bread is a symbol of His body crucified on the cross and the cup is a symbol of His blood shed for humanity. The celebration of Holy Communion is a recalling and remembering of Jesus’ death and sacrifice.