Concordia is a community of people whose mission is to Engage People with Jesus, as we WORSHIP, GROW, CARE and SHARE our faith in Jesus Christ (see below), the one who brings us back to God and establishes a living relationship with Him. Our mission is global, yet it begins locally. Our heritage is German, but our people come from various backgrounds and walks of life. We are open and work to invite and bring people to Christ and to us here at Concordia.

We are a gathering of people of all ages. We have a broad based ministry to people from infants to senior citizens. We seek to be proactive in ministry, but also responsive to the needs of our community and congregation. As Christians we know that Jesus Christ lives within us and controls us by the power of the Holy Spirit, so we strive to lead a life that reflects Jesus Christ.

We are a congregation of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, a national church body of approximately 2.6 million people; the second largest Lutheran body in America. Concordia Lutheran Church and School were founded in 1899 in Fort Wayne, IN. Much like Fort Wayne, which is a "big small town," we are a "big small church." We have approximately 2,400  members, but with four worship services each weekend, no one gathering is too big to get lost and be ignored. We strive to welcome everyone and are anxious to establish meaningful relationships.

OUR BELIEFS, BRIEFLY NOTED ...  (We are happy to discuss these matters with you at any time!)

We believe in the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

 * The Father has created all that is and He has created us in His image and still watches over and preserves His creation.

 * The Son, Jesus Christ, is both God and Human. His mission was to reach people who had fallen from God's image into sin and reunite them with God in a true and living relationship.

  * The Holy Spirit creates faith within people - a faith that trusts God day by day for everything (temporal and eternal); a faith that believes that Jesus Christ has rescued us and gives us the gift of life with God here and forever in heaven.

We believe that humans now live in the condition of sin and need someone to save us. The only one who can do that, we believe, is Jesus Christ. He lived the life we were meant to live. He reached out to people; he suffered; he died and God raised him from death to demonstrate that Jesus had accomplished this.

We believe that God's full communication to us is in Jesus Christ, the true Word of God, made human, as the Bible describes him. Through the direction and power of the Holy Spirit, the Bible was written; it is God's Word about "the Word," Jesus Christ. The Old Testament of the Bible not only relates history, but shows the relationship of God to people and our need for rescue. In this time period before Christ, God worked in and through people and promised them the Messiah (Jesus Christ), who would free us from sin and restore our relationship with Him.  The New Testament is a witness to how God's promises came true in His Son, Jesus, and proves Jesus to be the promised One of God. We believe and hold to what the Bible teaches. We have various customs, but the Bible is what is authoritative. It directs us, as well as encourages and comforts us.

Lutherans are a body of believers in God, who have a distinct confession of faith, based upon the Bible and a number of historical documents referred to as The Lutheran Confessions.

We confess and hold to the three universally held creeds (formal statements of faith): The Apostles' Creed, The Nicene Creed, and The Athanasian Creed.

We define a Sacrament as a holy action, begun by God, which has visible elements connected to God's Word and used as He directs for the forgiveness of sins. Consequently, we count two Sacraments: Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. These are celebrated regularly as part of our life together. Holy (Christian) Baptism is administered to people of all ages, infant to adult. It is the application of water in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28.19) and is connected to a Christian life of faith. (Confirmation is a ceremony, begun by Christians. At that time young teenagers or adults confirm the faith of their Baptism in a public worship setting.) Holy Communion is a gift of Jesus Christ to assure his people of forgivenss and it gives strength to life the Christian life. Communion is also an act of remembering what Jesus did for us and a demonstration to all of Jesus' saving work. Christian people of a common faith who understand their need for forgiveness and are sorry for their sins and acknowledge the Lord Jesus' real presence in bread and wine respond to Jesus' invitation and commune (are united) with him and with each other in this Sacrament. Holy Communion is celebrated regularly among us.

The Chrtistian Church is made up of all who believe in the Triune God and trust in Jesus for all that they need spiritually (primarily the forgiveness of sins, which creates a living relationship with God that lasts through time and eternity). We have a deep, special relationship with all who beleive this.

We WORSHIP, GROW, CARE, and SHARE as God's people. We are ...

   * A Church that Worships regularly, often and in various ways. Pastors and congregational members are actively involved in WORSHIP.

   * A Teaching Congregation. - This is shown by our commitment to Christian education through our school. (Our national church body runs the second largest parochial school system in this country.) It is also demonstrated through our ownership and support of a Lutheran Christian elementary school. (We also have association with Concordia Lutheran High School here in Fort Wayne.) We have a wide range of educational opportunites for people of all ages: pre-school through adult. GROW

EXPECTATIONS OF MEMBERS
Concordia Lutheran Church & School
Ft. Wayne, IN 

BECAUSE GOD LOVES ME AND FORGIVES ME, I WILL...

WORSHIP... 

 + Worship regularly with fellow Concordia members.

Goal-   Worship at least two-thirds of the weekends and seasonal services.

 + Receive the Sacrament of the Altar often for renewal and strengthened faith.

Goal- Receive Holy Communion at least once/month.

GROW...

 + Grow in the knowledge of the Word of God and in faith.

Goal- Regularly attend at least one Concordia-sponsored Bible Study.
Goal- Be involved in regular, personal Bible reading, prayer & devotions.

CARE...

 + Display the care of Christ in my everyday life.

Goal- Actively participate in at least one caring ministry of Concordia
in addition to my personal ministries at home and in the community.

 + Financially support the mission & ministry of Christ at Concordia.

Goal- Give regular, proportionate, sacrificial gifts to the Lord’s work in support
of Concordia’s work (church & school), according to my God-means, as the Lord has blessed me.

 

 SHARE...

 + Share the faith and hope and love of God I have in Jesus Christ.

Goal- Speak of Christ through word and action to those God puts in my life, and
invite others to a relationship with the Lord Jesus.

               ... SO HELP ME, GOD! 

 Opportunities to...

... WORSHIP - (Pastor Karl Frincke, Sr. Pastor)

• Weekly worship: Saturdays (5 pm), Sundays (8 & 10.30 am), Mondays (7 pm – summer)
• At Concordia Grade School: Wednesday morning Chapel services
• Seasonal Worship:    Midweek service during Advent and Lent, Epiphany, Holy Week-Easter, Ascension, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s
• Service opportunities: Altar Guild, Acolytes, Ushers, Sound Board Operators, Church Nursery, Children’s Choirs, Adult Choir, Praise Singers, Hand bells, Banner Making

... GROW - (Pastor Doug Croucher)

• Concordia Pre-School & Grade School  (Mrs. Danielle Simerman- part time)
• Sunday Bible Classes for Adults & Sunday School for children                 
• Confirmation Classes (our school & public school youngsters)
• ChristCare Small Groups
• Bible Classes:   Sunday morning, 9.15 a.m.
•                         Wednesday morning, Seniors Bible Study, 10 a.m.
•                         Thursdays   morning and evening
•                         Cottage Group Bible Studies at members’ homes
• Youth Group Studies: weekly discipleship studies each Wednesday evening
• Vacation Bible School (every summer)

... CARE - (Mrs. Kim Pape)

• Stephen Ministry  - LWML
• ChristCare 
• Funeral Dinners
• Prayer Chain  - LLL
• Senior Ministry: OWLS, Senior Bible Study - LWML                                  
• Social Ministry  
  • Care Core
  • Card Care
  • Care-to-Care
  • Care Visitation Teams
  • Funeral Meal Team

... SHARE - (Pastor Kevin Wendt)

• Events
• Outreach
• Welcome Ministry
• Missions
• Mission Trips
• Public Relations
• Assimilation