Where Does Your Church Meet?
9/26/24
Thursdays are for questions people ask me. Here's a question I realized has come up a number of times. "Where does your church meet?" I don't know why this question takes me by surprise. It shouldn't.
As a missionary campus chaplain, I am not the pastor of a parish church. I walk alongside several local churches in an attempt to supplement their presence, reaching to parts of the community that most local congregations are less prepared to engage.
Wittenberg Door is a confessionally-oriented Lutheran ministry. This means we consider the theological descriptions articulated by the 16th century Lutheran Reformation to be a strong, biblical explanation of the Christian faith. These writings were gathered in the year 1580 in a publication called the Book of Concord.
There are three local Lutheran congregations which subscribe to these writings in the same way as Wittenberg Door does. I would encourage attendance at those churches, though I do recognize that there are many deeply Christian congregations in town. The confessional Lutheran congregations take what I would consider the most consistent stance on biblical faith. The congregations are different from one another in the way they conduct services. Each has its own "flavor."
The most traditional of the three , and the one I normally attend, is Trinity Lutheran Church (222.trinity-lcms.org, 2201 W. Rollins Rd.). They celebrate the Divine Service at 8:00 and 10:30 am Sundays and at 6:00 pm Mondays. Additionally, they have Bible classes at 9:30 Sunday mornings, plus many other opportunities to grow in the Christian faith. The services have a very strong and predictable structure and are relatively formal.
Somewhat less formal is Campus Lutheran Church (www.campuslutheran.org, 304 S. College Ave., an easy walk from the middle of the Mizzou campus.) They celebrate the Divine Service at 8:30 and 11:00 a.m. on Sundays, with Bible classes at 9:45 Sunday mornings. Campus Lutheran also has many other opportunities to grow in the Christian faith. They also offer a session to practice American English for internationals on Fridays at 10:00 a.m. The Sunday service at 8:30 is more formal than the one at 11:200.
The least formal of the three is Alive in Christ Lutheran Church (www.aic.org), located at 201 Southampton Drive.) They have a church service at 8:30 and 11:00 a.m. on Sundays, with a Christian growth period at 10:00 a.m. Sundays. As with the other congregations, they offer a variety of opportunities for Christian growth.
Each of these congregations is a part of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, a confessionally oriented church body of about 6,000 congregations in this country, with many ministries and connections in other countries.
Pastor Spotts and Wittenberg Door Campus Ministry are under the umbrella of a much smaller Lutheran church body, the American Association of Lutheran Churches. We are in fellowship with the Missouri Synod, and often end up sharing resources due to our similarities in understanding of Christianity.
Join with Christians to receive the gifts of God in Christ. I hope to see you on Sunday!
9/26/24
Thursdays are for questions people ask me. Here's a question I realized has come up a number of times. "Where does your church meet?" I don't know why this question takes me by surprise. It shouldn't.
As a missionary campus chaplain, I am not the pastor of a parish church. I walk alongside several local churches in an attempt to supplement their presence, reaching to parts of the community that most local congregations are less prepared to engage.
Wittenberg Door is a confessionally-oriented Lutheran ministry. This means we consider the theological descriptions articulated by the 16th century Lutheran Reformation to be a strong, biblical explanation of the Christian faith. These writings were gathered in the year 1580 in a publication called the Book of Concord.
There are three local Lutheran congregations which subscribe to these writings in the same way as Wittenberg Door does. I would encourage attendance at those churches, though I do recognize that there are many deeply Christian congregations in town. The confessional Lutheran congregations take what I would consider the most consistent stance on biblical faith. The congregations are different from one another in the way they conduct services. Each has its own "flavor."
The most traditional of the three , and the one I normally attend, is Trinity Lutheran Church (222.trinity-lcms.org, 2201 W. Rollins Rd.). They celebrate the Divine Service at 8:00 and 10:30 am Sundays and at 6:00 pm Mondays. Additionally, they have Bible classes at 9:30 Sunday mornings, plus many other opportunities to grow in the Christian faith. The services have a very strong and predictable structure and are relatively formal.
Somewhat less formal is Campus Lutheran Church (www.campuslutheran.org, 304 S. College Ave., an easy walk from the middle of the Mizzou campus.) They celebrate the Divine Service at 8:30 and 11:00 a.m. on Sundays, with Bible classes at 9:45 Sunday mornings. Campus Lutheran also has many other opportunities to grow in the Christian faith. They also offer a session to practice American English for internationals on Fridays at 10:00 a.m. The Sunday service at 8:30 is more formal than the one at 11:200.
The least formal of the three is Alive in Christ Lutheran Church (www.aic.org), located at 201 Southampton Drive.) They have a church service at 8:30 and 11:00 a.m. on Sundays, with a Christian growth period at 10:00 a.m. Sundays. As with the other congregations, they offer a variety of opportunities for Christian growth.
Each of these congregations is a part of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, a confessionally oriented church body of about 6,000 congregations in this country, with many ministries and connections in other countries.
Pastor Spotts and Wittenberg Door Campus Ministry are under the umbrella of a much smaller Lutheran church body, the American Association of Lutheran Churches. We are in fellowship with the Missouri Synod, and often end up sharing resources due to our similarities in understanding of Christianity.
Join with Christians to receive the gifts of God in Christ. I hope to see you on Sunday!
RSS Feed