Many people coming back to the church today seem to look for “non-denominational” churches. Consequently, we at New Hope Missions Church do not make our denomination affiliation the first thing we talk about. Nevertheless, there are advantages to being a denominational church – advantages for you! There is greater oversight and accountability when associated with a particular denomination, and usually a solid set of beliefs and teaching that will not change with a change of the senior Pastor. Additionally, there is a great deal of financial, educational, training, and publication support that comes along with a denomination, most of which were formed because “we can accomplish more by banding together.” In fact, New Hope Missions Church would not be starting without the significant financial support of our denomination.

New Hope Missions Church is affiliated with the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS), and birthed by its ABLAZE! movement to ignite 100 million hearts with the Gospel. That movement includes the initiative to start 2,000 new congregations by the year 2017. New Hope is one of those new starts! Despite having “Missouri” in its name, the LCMS is a national church body formed in 1847 now comprising 2.4 million members in more than 6,000 congregations in the U.S. and has numerous “sister” Lutheran churches around the world.

The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS) is a Biblically conservative church that grounds itself in the Word of God and emphasizes the grace of God for all people. Along with our denomination, we stand strongly with God’s Word for Life, both at conception and at the end of life, yet offer the grace and hope of Jesus Christ to anyone who needs forgiveness for Life sins. Along with the denomination, we stand strongly with God’s Word for marriage between one man and one woman, as God designed it, and that God's best for us includes sexual intimacy within the commitment of marriage.  However, we always hold out the Gospel of God’s grace to all people, as all sin and fall short of God’s commands, in these and many other areas that are often not considered as serious - but are in God's eyes.  As God’s Word teaches, sin is not to be overlooked, ignored, covered up or thought little of, but is only remedied by confession and forgiveness, which God freely gives to those who repent and believe.  In practice, we welcome anyone and everyone, for there is not any of us who don't sin - as Jesus said, "No one is good (perfect) except God alone."  In fact, however, it is the kindness (grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness) of God that leads us to repentance - that is, motivates us to turn to God for His love and forgiveness, and then in trying to obey Him better.  (Rom. 2:4). Therefore, we are grace-oriented, and trust the Holy Spirit to draw each of us closer to God and closer to the life He'd have us live, that is better by far! 

Being affiliated with the LCMS also means that we use the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Communion), in addition to God’s Word, as “means of grace” – that is, the primary vehicles that God has chosen to use to come to us with His gracious love, assuring us of His favorable disposition toward us and His offer of forgiveness, because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in our place. Instruction in the Christian faith, and the proper use of these three means of grace, is offered at New Hope.

Additionally, we all can thank the Lutheran church from centuries ago, for the first translation of the Bible into the people’s own language, congregational singing in church, and a host of other “innovations” to the worship and spiritual lives of all Christian churches.

To learn more about the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS), go to: www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=2090.