With the holy Christian (catholic) Church of all time, The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (and joyfully this Parish, as well) believes, teaches, and confesses that there is only one True God. He is the God who has revealed Himself in Holy Scripture as the Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit – the Father, Creator of all that exists; Jesus Christ, the very Son of God, who became fully human through His virgin mother, Mary, to suffer and die for the sins of all mankind, and then rose to life again in victory over sin, death and Satan; and the Holy Spirit, who creates faith through God's appointed "Means of Grace"–through Word and Sacraments. The three Persons of the Holy Trinity are coequal and coeternal, one God.
We also believe, teach and confess that the only means whereby this faith is created and sustained is through the clear proclamation of God’s Word in the Divine Service, Confession and Absolution, water Baptism in the name of the Triune God, and worthy reception of the Sacrament of Christ’s body and blood given and received under bread in wine in the Holy Mystery of the Lord’s Supper (I Corinthians 11:27-29).
The congregations of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod who still hold to the above mentioned teachings are therefore "Confessional" in that they hold and confess that the Lutheran Confessions (as found in the Book of Concord of 1580) are the only correct interpretation and exposition of Biblical doctrine. These statements of belief were put into writing by the Church’s leaders during the 16th century. (The simplest of these is Luther's Small Catechism, while the the Augsburg Confession gives more detail on what Lutherans believe).
