Life in the Church is more than attending an event once a week. Christ gathers people into a congregation, gives them His saving gifts, joins them to one another, and sends them into the world to love and serve their neighbors.
At Redeemer, our life together begins with Jesus Christ. We gather to receive His forgiveness, hear His Word, remember our Baptism, and receive His body and blood. From those gifts comes a shared life of worship, learning, prayer, fellowship, mercy, and service.
We do not believe that a healthy congregation is measured simply by how many programs appear on its calendar. Our goal is not activity for activity’s sake. Our goal is to help people remain connected to Christ, grow in their understanding of His Word, care for one another, and faithfully serve within their God-given vocations.
The Divine Service Is the Center
The heart of our life together is the Divine Service.
Each Sunday, Christ gathers His people around His Word and Sacraments. We come carrying different joys, burdens, failures, fears, and needs. Together, we confess our sins and receive Christ’s absolution. We hear the Scriptures read and preached. We pray for the Church, the world, our community, and those in need. We receive Christ’s body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins.
The Divine Service is not one ministry among many. It is the center from which the rest of our congregational life flows.
We are first receivers. Christ serves us before we serve anyone else. He forgives us, strengthens us, and sends us back into our homes, workplaces, schools, and community as people who have received mercy.
Learning the Faith at Every Age
Christian education is a lifelong calling. No Christian reaches a point at which he or she no longer needs to hear God’s Word, study the Scriptures, or grow in understanding.
Redeemer provides opportunities for children, youth, and adults to learn the Christian faith. These include Sunday School, Adult Bible Class, catechism instruction, new-member classes, weekday Bible studies, and other opportunities for learning and discussion.
Our teaching is grounded in Holy Scripture and guided by the Lutheran Confessions. We want Christians to know not only what the Church believes, but also why it believes it. We encourage thoughtful questions, careful study, and honest conversation.
The goal of Christian education is not merely to collect religious information. God’s Word exposes our sin, comforts troubled consciences, strengthens faith in Christ, and teaches us how to live in love toward our neighbors.
Sunday School and Adult Bible Class
Sunday School and Adult Bible Class are offered each Sunday at 9:00 a.m., between the two Divine Services.
Children are taught the biblical story of salvation and the foundational teachings of the Christian faith. Adults study the Scriptures in greater depth and consider how God’s Word speaks to their faith, families, vocations, suffering, and daily lives.
Visitors may attend Bible class or Sunday School before formally joining the congregation. You do not need to be an expert in the Bible, and you are free to listen, learn, and ask questions.
Catechesis and Membership
Catechesis is the Church’s careful teaching of the Christian faith. The word comes from a Greek term meaning instruction by word of mouth.
At Redeemer, catechesis is not limited to children preparing for confirmation. Adults who are interested in Lutheran Christianity, preparing to become members, returning to the Church, or simply seeking a deeper understanding of the faith are invited to participate.
Using Holy Scripture and Luther’s Small Catechism, we study the Ten Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, Holy Baptism, Confession and Absolution, and the Lord’s Supper. We also discuss Lutheran worship, prayer, vocation, the theology of the cross, and the Christian life.
Participating in a class does not obligate anyone to join Redeemer. It provides a place to learn, ask questions, and understand what we believe before making that decision.
Church membership is more than placing a name on a list. It is a public confession of faith and a commitment to live within the fellowship of a particular congregation. Members receive Christ’s gifts together, support one another, participate in the congregation’s life, and share responsibility for its witness and work.
Children in the Life of the Church
Children are members of Christ’s Church, not merely future members waiting to grow up.
We want children to know the sound of the liturgy, the words of the Lord’s Prayer, the great hymns of the faith, and the biblical accounts of God’s saving work. Most importantly, we want them to know Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Children are encouraged to participate in the Divine Service with their families. Their presence, movement, and occasional noise are natural parts of congregational life. Parents should not feel embarrassed when young children need help learning how to worship. The congregation shares in the privilege of encouraging families and passing the faith to the next generation.
Sunday School, catechism instruction, children’s music, and other opportunities support parents in their God-given vocation of teaching the faith at home.
Bible Study and Christian Conversation
Christians need places where they can open the Scriptures, ask honest questions, and speak with one another about faith and life.
Redeemer offers Bible studies and gatherings for different ages and stages of life. These may include women’s Bible studies, adult instruction, studies for young adults, and seasonal classes.
These gatherings are not intended to separate the congregation into competing groups. They provide smaller settings in which relationships can grow, questions can be discussed, and Christians can encourage one another.
All teaching at Redeemer should lead us back to Christ, His cross, His forgiveness, and His promises.
Music That Confesses the Faith
Music has always been an important part of Lutheran worship and Christian teaching.
The Church’s hymns place the Word of God upon our lips. They teach the faith, proclaim Christ’s saving work, give voice to prayer, and provide words of comfort in times of suffering. Many Christians remember hymns learned in childhood long after other memories have faded.
Redeemer’s musical life supports the congregation’s worship rather than replacing it. Choirs, musicians, and singers help the entire congregation confess the faith together. Music is selected for its faithfulness to Scripture, its theological substance, and its service to the Divine Service.
Fellowship Rooted in Christ
Christian fellowship is more than socializing with people who share similar interests. It is the life shared by those whom Christ has joined to Himself and to one another.
At Redeemer, fellowship grows through worship, Bible study, meals, conversation, service, and the ordinary acts of Christians caring for one another. We rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn, encourage the discouraged, and help carry one another’s burdens.
Meals, gatherings, and social events are valuable because they provide time for relationships to grow. They help a congregation become a church family in which people know one another and recognize when someone may need encouragement, prayer, or practical assistance.
Pastoral Care Through Every Season
The Church walks with Christians through every season of life.
Pastoral care may include prayer, spiritual counsel, hospital and home visits, Holy Communion for those unable to attend church, private confession and absolution, preparation for marriage, care during family difficulties, and comfort during grief and loss.
You do not need to wait for a crisis before speaking with the pastor. Sometimes people simply need someone to listen, pray with them, and help them hear God’s promises within a difficult situation.
Pastoral conversations are treated with appropriate confidentiality and care.
Mercy and Care for Our Neighbors
Having received Christ’s mercy, Christians are called to show mercy to others.
We serve our neighbors not to earn God’s favor, but because Christ has already given us His favor freely. Good works do not purchase salvation. They flow from faith and serve the real needs of the people God has placed around us.
Mercy may take many forms. It can include visiting someone who is lonely, bringing food to a family in need, assisting after a disaster, supporting community efforts, caring for the sick, encouraging a grieving neighbor, or helping with practical needs.
Not every act of Christian service appears on a church calendar. Much of it happens quietly as Christians live out their vocations within their families, workplaces, neighborhoods, and community.
Serving Through Our Vocations
A vocation is more than a career. It is every place in which God has given us people to love and responsibilities to fulfill.
God works through parents and children, husbands and wives, employers and employees, teachers and students, public servants, neighbors, and friends. Ordinary work becomes a means through which God provides for and cares for His creation.
At Redeemer, we want to help Christians understand their daily vocations as places of faithful service. The Christian life is not confined to the church building. Having received Christ’s gifts in the Divine Service, we return to the world to serve the people God has placed before us.
A Place to Receive and Participate
You do not need to join every activity to belong at Redeemer. Some seasons of life allow for greater participation than others. Those caring for young children, aging parents, demanding jobs, illnesses, or other responsibilities should not feel that the Christian life is measured by the number of church activities they attend.
The most important thing we do together is receive Christ’s gifts.
From there, we encourage each person to participate in the life of the congregation according to his or her abilities, interests, needs, and vocations. There are opportunities to learn, sing, teach, prepare meals, care for the property, visit the homebound, support families, assist during emergencies, and serve in many other ways.
If you would like to learn more about congregational life or find an appropriate place to participate, please speak with the pastor or contact the church office.
Life Together Under the Cross
The Church is not a gathering of people who have mastered life. It is a congregation of sinners who live by the forgiveness of Jesus Christ.
We will sometimes disappoint one another. We will need patience, repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Our unity does not rest upon everyone having the same personality, background, or interests. It rests upon Christ, who has reconciled us to the Father and joined us together as His body.
This is life together at Redeemer: receiving Christ’s gifts, confessing His truth, teaching the faith, caring for one another, and serving our neighbors.
Christ crucified and risen, for you.
