It's a pleasure and a joy to be able to welcome you to the ministries of Messiah Evangelical Lutheran Church here in Lindsborg, KS. Our names say it all.

We are a church, a group of friends and acquaintances who gather around God's Word and the sacraments as we encourage each other toward love and good deeds. We enjoy fellowship with all Christians in the world whom the Holy Spirit calls, enlightens and keeps in the true faith.

We are Lutheran. We take the insights and decisions made by the Lutheran reformers of the 16th century seriously, especially their convictions that the last theological court of appeal is the Scriptures, that we are only saved by the grace of God as shown to us in the crucified Jesus and only through the faith that God himself creates in us. As the Reformers we think that this good news is so important that we seek to communicate it in excellent and understandable ways, including preaching, teaching, discussion and music.

We are Evangelical. The main thing is the gospel. The precursor to the gospel is the Law. In grace, God has given us the Law to keep order, to reveal to us our sinfulness and to train us in the ways he wants to go. But when we know our sin, God offers us the gospel; the good news that in spite of our sin, God welcomes us to be his children and to live with him as a family forever. That's the focus of what we do - reminding, encouraging and teaching each other that the God of Jesus is a gracious God that welcomes all sinners through the blood of Jesus.

We love and honor the Messiah. We live in a community that has celebrated and sung a particular piece of music every year since 1882. And in turn that music celebrates the birth of a Savior, Jesus, who came to live among us and die for us and lives today as the only Savior and Lord. As we gather around him, we welcome all others to enjoy the same Lord.

So our congregation is Messiah Evangelical Lutheran Church. But we are one thing more - a collection of individuals with questions, doubts, sins, vocations, aptitudes etc. What binds us together is our center in the Messiah, Jesus.

Whether you are in Lindsborg for a day or for a lifetime, join us as we gather together to celebrate him!

- Pastor Dean Apel, Ph.D.