What to Expect?

We are blessed to have you join us for our worship gathering! Our services can be well-described as both reverent and traditional.

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  • Our Promises

  • Visiting a church can be stressful. We’ve all been where you are right now. We can say with great confidence: the blessing of finding our church is a rich reward for the potential stress of the first-time visit. Having said that, we want to do our part to minimize this stress.
  • Here are our promises to you:
    • You will not be embarrassed by not knowing what to do and where to go. We've worked very hard to establish a welcome environment full of folks eager to get you acquainted to our church. Don't hesitate to find and ask our pastor or elders about any questions or concerns.
    • You will not be asked to do anything embarrassing. We won't ask you to stand and introduce yourself in the service. We won't ask you to wear a big flower or a special pin that targets you as a guest. We appreciate your visit. We will give you plenty of space to enjoy your time with us.
    • You won't be shaken down for money. We don't apologize for the offering during the worship time. The gifts we give to the Lord are an expression of gratitude and dependence upon God. However, you are not expected to participate in the offering. You will not be asked to pay for the service, the coffee, or the friends you make during your visit.
    • You will be welcomed as you are. There is no dress code at our church. We come into the presence of God in worship to humbly receive His gifts, not to compare ourselves to others.
    • You will be encouraged to join us in giving thanks to God for all of His good gifts.
    • You will be encouraged in the two essential truths of Holy Scripture, the Law, which shows us our sin, and the Gospel, which shows us our Savior.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's a service like?

Our worship is reverent and meaningful. We follow the historic liturgy and practice the traditions passed down by the saints before us. We see them as incredible treasures that center our worship experience on the most important reality of all, Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2). We also understand that the Word of God and the Sacraments (Baptism, Confession & Absolution, and the Lord's Supper) are indispensable to our faith. Therefore, we constantly highlight these gifts as the focal point of our life together. The songs that we sing are traditional. Our service springs from confessional Lutheran liturgy. Our liturgy and language in the church is centered around being both biblical and accessible. We begin each service by standing and singing during the processional with the crucifix. We invoke the presence of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in the invocation. We listen to the appointed weekly readings from God's Word and a message (sermon) according to them. We conclude the service with Holy Communion followed by the Benediction. After our service and Bible Study (following the service in the fellowship hall) together, we enter back into the world in our various vocations with praise in our hearts.

What's the music like?

Worship is a spiritual experience where our God meets us in Word and Sacrament, sustaining and strengthening us in the one true faith. We arrange the hymns, or songs in the service in such a way that both supports our foundational beliefs and also elevates our souls to properly receive God’s good gifts. Stylistically, we practice chanting the liturgy (singing the words of our service back and forth with the pastor) as well as singing traditional hymns found in our hymnal (Lutheran Service Book), accompanied by the organ.

How do people dress?

As stated above, there is no dress code at Christ Lutheran Church. Those who attend worship at our church can be seen in a wide range of clothing. Men wear anything from suit and tie to dress jeans and a polo shirt. Women follow the same range of anything from a Sunday dress to dress jeans and a nice top. Ultimately, we want you to be comfortable in what you wear here. When we worship together, we also recognize that we are in the Lord’s presence, so we look to dress according to that confession.

Can I take communion?

We celebrate the Lord’s Supper weekly during the Divine Service. Jesus Christ serves us His body and blood to eat and to drink for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:17-30).

As Christians, we confess that we receive the body and blood of Christ in, with, and under the bread and wine, in our hands and in our mouths. This is a profound wonder and unexplainable mystery.

Because the Scriptures warn against a person taking Holy Communion to their harm and detriment (1 Corinthians 11:17-32) and due to our confession that the pastor is the shepherd, the caretaker of those in the church, entrusted with the gifts of God, the forgiveness of sins (John 20:22-23), and whom we give authority to (Hebrews 13:7), we practice Closed Communion. This practice means that we invite confirmed members (those who have gone through instruction) of our church or a sister congregation of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod that are in good standing to commune with us. We welcome and encourage all who do not commune with us that day of worship to come to the altar to receive a blessing (signaled by crossing yourself). Above all, we are beholden to God's inerrant and authoritative Word. Out of our love for our neighbor, we do not want to give anything to them that may cause harm according to the Apostle Paul's warnings.

If you have questions about our practice or the Christian faith in general, please speak with the pastor. We would love to discuss with you more about our church if you are interested in joining our fellowship here at Christ!

How can I get connected?

There are many ways to connect with us: First and foremost, we are connected with each other by meeting together for worship and Bible Study at church. In this way, we follow the author of Hebrews encouragement: "not neglecting to meet together... but encouraging one another" (Hebrews 10:25). There are also other ways to get and stay connected! Like and follow our Facebook and YouTube pages (links provided through our site), and keep up-to-date through this website as well. Through these tools and resources, you'll know what we’re up to during the week.

Find us in the community: We participate in New Baltimore events, which aren’t church services. When you find us having fun around town, you are welcome to participate.

Join us for other church events. There are times during the year when we take some time to hang out together and simply build friendships. Join us for pot-lucks, barbeques, game nights, movie nights, and other seasonal fun.

Where do I park?

We invite you to park in the church’s parking lot directly adjacent to our building. If you need to drop off someone from your household at the door, please feel free to do so.

What do Lutherans (LCMS) believe?

Our church is a member congregation of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS). We believe and confess the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired Word of God and the only infallible rule of faith and practice. We believe and confess the three Ecumenical Creeds, namely, the Apostles', The Nicene, and the Athanasian Creeds, as faithful testimonies to the truth of the Holy Scriptures, and we reject all the errors which they condemn. We believe our confessions, specifically those contained in the Book of Concord, are authoritative, because they faithfully describe the Christian faith as revealed in the Bible. These statements provide a brief explanation of our faith and our commitment to it, yet there is much more to be discussed in detail regarding our doctrine and its application to the Christian life. To find out more about what we believe, check out this link.