What we hold onto. What we hold out.
OUR BELIEFS
OUR BELIEFS
What we hold onto. What we hold out.
The best way to learn what Good News believes is in our Questioning Christianity class. In the meantime, here are some ways to describe the truths that we firmly hold to as a church and lovingly hold out to our community:
Christian
We believe and teach that no amount human effort can possibly earn God's favor or lead to eternal life. Thankfully, God's love caused him to send his Son Jesus Christ to live and die for us. God offers forgiveness and salvation to the whole world as free gifts. Everyone who puts their trust in Christ as their Savior will be saved.
Gospel-Centered
Our church's name, "Good News" comes from a Greek word from the New Testament that's translated "gospel." As a gospel-centered church, we not only believe the gospel as the only way of salvation. We put that gospel to work in every facet of our ministry because it is the message God uses to work faith and transform lives.
Biblical
We believe that every word of the Bible is God's Word. We also believe that the Bible is its own interpreter. Rather than approaching the Bible with a predetermined idea of what it says, we let the Bible speak for itself. Even more than the specific doctrines we confess, this approach to reading the Bible and this process for understanding it define us.
Lutheran
The truths that Martin Luther reclaimed for the church at the time of the Reformation are often summarized with the Latin expression, sola gratia, sola fide, sola scriptura. Lutherans believe that our salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, on the basis of Scripture alone.
Confessional
The teachings that Lutherans confess on the basis of God's Word are summarized in the Book of Concord of 1580. This collection of nine documents includes statements of faith that unite us with all Christians and statements that summarize what Lutherans specifically believe.
Wisconsin Synod
We belong to a church body known as the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, or WELS. It is the third largest Lutheran church body in America. For more information about WELS and what we believe, click here.