Our Denomination:  The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod

In a day when churches designating themselves as non-denominationalism is quite popular, Peace Lutheran proudly belongs to a denomination known as The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.    

The roots of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod trace back to 1847, when Saxon and other German immigrants established a new church body in America, seeking the freedom to practice and follow confessional Lutheranism.   Initial members, which included 12 pastors representing 14 congregations from Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Michigan, New York and Ohio, signed the church body’s constitution on April 26, 1847, at First Saint Paul Lutheran Church in Chicago, Illinois.   Originally named The German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and Other States, the name was shortened to The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in 1947 on the occasion of our 100th anniversary.   The LC-MS has approximately 1.7 million members in about 5,500 congregations.

From its inception, The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod has strongly encouraged Christian education.  Early in its history, it once operated more Lutheran Schools than it had churches.  Even today, the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (or LCMS for short) operates the second largest parochial school system in the United States (about 1,800 Lutheran schools and preschools) along with 7 Lutheran Universities.   In addition, the LCMS has mission or partner churches in some 90 countries around the world.  Today, the Lutheran Church is growing fastest in Africa and Southeast Asia.  Africa has over 30 million Lutherans at this writing, and continues to grow.  Peace Lutheran itself has been active in assisting with the start-up of a Lutheran denomination in the country of Honduras, which though started in 2015, now has four congregations.

Besides its sizeable mission outreach, the LC-MS is known for its unwavering stand on the absolute authority of Scripture. 

Membership in a denomination means that our church body has a designated means to train Pastors, that there is a system of accountability for church workers, and that our Pastors are not CEO's of their congregations.  In the LC-MS, the congregation calls trained Pastors, and the Pastor is a servant and under shepherd of the congregation.   Lutherans normally don't use the word "preacher" for their pastors, in that the calling of a pastor is much more than just preaching.  A true Pastor provides loving care for the members of his congregation.