So Who Are the "Lutherans"?

We are united with all people in the world who confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. We are members of the Holy Christian Church, sometimes known as the body of Christ. We have been called by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God (the Bible), and the Sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion to be a caring community of people under God.

We enjoy the heritage of the Lutheran Reformation with more than 61 million others throughout the world. We who gather locally at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Douglasville, Georgia, are affiliated with some 6,200 congregations pledged in mutual unity and support of one another in teaching and faith, known collectively as the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (pro-nounced "SIN - uhd") which was established in 1847.

What We Believe

We believe:

• That God is three-in-one-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and has existed from all eternity full of truth and grace, power and glory.
• That God Created the heavens and earth, and everything in them.
• That humans were created perfect by God to live the life of a humble servant, but fell into rebellion and became alienated from God and one another, becoming self-serving and under God's wrath.
• That by grace, God, in Christ, has rescued humanity - Jesus Christ was born supernaturally, lived perfectly as a humble servant, suffered and died in full payment for the consequences of our rebellion, and hving been raised to life again, was given all authority as the highest ruler of heaven and earth. One day he will come back to judge all people, giving life to those who believe in his name and punishment to those who do not, and will restore all things according to God's plan.
• That faith in Jesus Christ is the way people are saved, and this faith is the work of the Holy Spirit who changes people's hearts as the saving message of Christ is proclaimed, and the Sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion are administered.
• That the Bible is God's inspired witness to His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, and is His faithful Word to us the source of our faith, teaching, and pratice.
• That Baptism is a means by which we enter the new agreement established by God for our slavation in Christ, where sin and evil desires in all its forms are put to death, and new life is given as we receive freedom from sin's consequences and its power, by receiving the forgiveness won by Christ's death and resurrection, and yielding to the work of the Holy Spirit who recreates us, lest we perish in our sin.
• That Holy Communion is a means by which Christ unites himself to us, giving us new life within a living community, sustaining us and keeping us in the one true faith until we feast with him in life everlasting.
• That we are saved by God's grace alone, only through faith in Christ, as given witness in Scripture alone, so that we may be His own, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. All power, glory, and honor be to him alone!

Soli Dei Gloria

The Lutheran Reformation

Some 1,400 years after Christ, the Church had moved off its sure foundation onto some shaky ground.

• Worldliness, immorality, and abuses of power were rampant.
• Religious leaders often lived ungodly lives. They neglected their duties and ignored the teachings of God's Word.
• Knowledge and practice of God's Word were rare among common people.

Sound familiar? The Church of Jesus Christ needed reform. An Augustinian monk from Germany, by the name of Martin Luther (1483 - 1546), among others, became a catalyst used by God for that reformation. His goal was not to create another church, but to move the one universal Church back on its true foundation (see Ephesians 2:19-22).