Rooted in the Past – Relevant for the Present

So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions taught by us (1 Thes 2:15)

An Ancient-Future Faith

Lutheran Christianity is rooted in the ancient faith and practice of the first century church, tracing its history through the sixteenth-century Lutheran Reformation and the Great Catholic tradition.

Fueled by the missionary love of Christ’s cross and resurrection, the Lutheran Church has been about making Christian disciples for centuries and has expanded into the world’s third largest Christian body, with nearly 80 million members worldwide.

Founded in 1912, Grace Lutheran is a member church of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod and has been faithfully serving uptown San Diego for 100 years. We are a community as diverse as San Diego itself where you and your family can expect to receive the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation through the proclamation of the unchanging Gospel of Jesus Christ, the world’s rightful King. Here you can expect to find a church that is...
 

Biblical – As evangelical catholics, Grace Lutheran teaches that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the divinely inspired and authoritative testimony concerning Jesus Christ;
 

Confessional – We faithfully believe, teach and confess the theology of our historic confessions found in the first Christian confession of faith, the 1530 Book of Concord. This nearly 500 year old confession has stood the test of time precisely because it is a faithful expression of the unerring teaching of the Holy Bible.
 

Sacramental – Confident that God’s Word bestows exactly what is says (the King speaks and it is done!), Grace Lutheran stands in continuity with the teaching of the Apostles and the ancient Church extolling the benefits of Holy Baptism, Confession and Absolution, and Holy Communion whenever we gather in name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. With these gifts of Christ’s Word and Sacraments, we experience the real voice of God and the real presence of God.
 

Liturgical – The Divine Liturgy from the Lutheran Service Book is fully employed here not because it is a preferred style of worship but because it is the means by which God saves, sanctifies and is known in the world. The liturgy is the means by which God speaks and does His saving and sanctifying, but also is present for His people. In other words, the liturgy is God’s specific means of presence and operation within the Church. It is the sum and substance of Word and Sacrament ministry, ministered by God Himself. And because it is so specific, it is so readily identifiable and accessible to people of all ages, even the youngest of children.