Visitor Guide
All are welcome in this place
Our Welcome
We extend a special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, widowed, straight, gay, confused, well-heeled or down-at-heel. We especially welcome wailing babies and excited toddlers. We welcome you whether you can sing like Beyoncé or just hum quietly to yourself. You're welcome here if you're just browsing, just woken up or just got out of prison. We don't care if you're more Christian than Pope Francis or haven't been to church since Christmas ten years ago. We extend a special welcome to those who are over sixty but not grown up yet and to teenagers who are growing up too fast.
We welcome keep-fit moms, football dads, starving artists, tree huggers, latte sippers, vegetarians, and junk food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome you if you're having problems, are down in the dumps or don't like legalistic religion (We're not too keen on it either). We offer welcome to those who think science is cool, work too hard, don't work, can't spell, or are here because Grandma is visiting and wanted to bring the grandkids to church. We welcome those who are inked, pierced, both or neither.
We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, had religion shoved down their throats as kids, or made a wrong turn on Highway 12 and wound up here by mistake. We welcome pilgrims, thinkers, seekers, doubters -- and YOU!
Adapted from Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, England
Our Vision
We believe that he became like us . . .
We believe that Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became like us in every way except sin, even experiencing death and the grave. The Creator become a human creature; the divine become human; the Word became flesh.
So that he might make us like him. . . .
We believe he became like us so that he might make us as he now is in glory. “We will be like him.” (1 John 3:2) That doesn’t mean we will become little gods. To “be like him” means, above all else, that one day we will be able to love as Jesus loves. We will love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and we will love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
Beloved children . . . Beloved community . . . Beloved creation . . .
We believe that we are God’s beloved children living in God’s beloved community. God’s beloved community is one in which everyone is loved, cherished, and welcomed without exception. We are also inhabiting God’s beloved creation which God has entrusted to us to care for and nurture.
We believe in transformation -- God’s and our own.
Martin Luther, the founder of the Lutheran movement, once said this about our lives on this side of the grave. “This life therefore is not righteousness, but growth in righteousness; not health, but healing; not being but becoming; not rest but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it; the process is not yet finished, but it is going on; this is not the end, but it is the road. All does not yet gleam in glory, but all is being purified.”
Our Worship
We worship on Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM, with our services also livestreamed via our Facebook page. We dress casually and comfortably.
Our worship is musical. We sing and play a wide variety of styles, from classic hymns to new releases. We also sing music from all around the globe as a way to make a connection to our brothers and sisters on other continents. We have an adult choir, a youth choir, a Praise Team, and gifted musicians who grace us with their talents throughout the year.
Our worship is biblical. We always hear at least one passage from the Scriptures and the sermon is based on the Bible. Much of the service itself is straight from the Bible.
Our worship is sacramental. We celebrate Holy Communion at every service, every Sunday. We invite all Christians to celebrate Holy Communion with us. You don’t need to be our brand of Lutheran. We believe that Christ’s body and blood are present in, with, and under the bread and wine for the forgiveness of our sins. We invite you to join us in receiving this great gift.
Our worship is liturgical. We follow the ancient, four-fold worship pattern of Gathering, Word, Meal, and Sending. The word “liturgy” means “the work of the people” so we strive to be active creators in worship, not passive consumers. Worship is not a spectator sport.
Our worship is kid-friendly: We have lots of kids in worship at Light of Christ and we love that. If you need the silence of a Trappist monastery in worship, we’re not the church for you. We always have a “hum” in worship.
Our Youth and Family Ministry
We have a vibrant, active youth and family ministry. We have Explorers, Voyagers, and Pathfinders for our preschool through 6th grade. During the summer, we offer Vacation Bible School and support those who choose to go to Bible Camp. We have confirmation instruction, youth gatherings, Bible Camp, youth fellowship, service projects, and mission trips for middle school and high school students. We pray that every child here at Light of Christ grows to know, deep in their bones, that they are a beloved child of God and that nothing can ever change that. In addition, we work and pray to help them come to know what a wonderful thing it is to be a beloved child of God, that it is, in fact, the best thing that has ever happened to them.
Our Community
We strive to grow and become, in a fuller way, a part of God’s beloved community. We build community through worship, our fellowship hour, pancake breakfasts, our annual Spaghetti Dinner, small group Bible studies, picnics and potlucks, and informal gatherings.
We are also working to make deeper connections with Redeemer Lutheran in north Minneapolis and with the Somali community in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood. We are also deeply committed to being a safe and welcoming place for LGBTQ persons and we have done, and will continue to do, same-gender weddings.
Our Partnerships
We are connected to other churches and church bodies. We belong to the Minneapolis Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is one of the most ecumenical church bodies in the country. We have full communion agreements with seven other national church bodies. We also help to support missionary work in Chile and Nigeria. We are also a member congregation of Love INC, the Delano Ministerial Association and Delano United. We are committed to building bridges with all our sisters and brothers in Christ.
Our History
The Lutheran church traces its beginnings to Martin Luther and the movement he started back in 1517. The first Lutherans in American immigrated from Europe in the 1700s. Light of Christ was founded in 1984 as a daughter church of Our Father’s Lutheran in Rockford. We started with about 140 charter members and now we have around 1200 members.
Our Invitation
So come and see. Check us out. Get to know us. See if Light of Christ is the community to which the Holy Spirit is leading you. Take as long as you like to find out. We have members who have taken several years to discern the Spirit’s leading.
We don’t pressure, or manipulate, or shame, or guilt anyone into becoming a part of our faith community. If this is where the Spirit wants you, we trust that the Spirit will let you know. In the meantime, we’ll do our best to make you feel welcome and grow deeper into the mystery and miracle of God’s love.
We are located at the intersection of County Line Rd SE and County Rd 11 in Delano, MN. Just a short walk away are the local public schools (Elementary, Intermediate, and High School). We look forward to worshiping with you!
