We are an active community and find our passion in serving the New River Valley and worshiping the Triune God. We hope that through this website, you can learn more about who we are, where our passions are, and where you can connect in our community. May God bless you as your search for your church home!
Our Mission and Vision:
The Mission of Our Saviour Lutheran Church is to servce God's community through Worship, Outreach, and Fellowship.
We are committed to serving God's community, whether that be the worshiping community of OSLC, the Christiansburg and NRV Community, or the Global community! We will accompish this mission through three focus areas:
Worship - We come together to worship the triune God. We learn about God's Word and learn how to spread that Word to the world.
Outreach - We will spread God's Word by serving the community outside the church walls! We serve through our food ministries, homeless ministry, and any other ministry that fits our passions. Come and be a part of our Outreach!
Fellowship - We love to be together in community and we love engaging our broader community! Come and be a part of the community on Sunday mornings, as well as events like Harvest Festival and other community events.
We are what God has made us – people whom God has created by grace to live in union with Jesus Christ and has prepared to live faithful, fruitful lives by the power of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:8-10). In Jesus Christ, God has reconciled us to God and to each other. As we gather around word and sacraments, this life in Christ is what defines, shapes and guides us as a community of faith, the church.
By God’s grace we can and do live confidently and generously in this community of faith and in service of others, amid the mysteries and paradoxes of this life in Christ – including our human limitations and failings, and the ambiguities, uncertainties and suffering that we experience.
We are a church that walks by faith, trusting God's promise in the gospel and knowing that we exist by and for the proclamation of this gospel word. We proclaim Jesus Christ crucified and raised from the dead for the life of the world. As the apostle Paul wrote (Romans 1:16-17), and we echo in our Constitution (2.02), we are not ashamed of this gospel ministry because it is God’s power for saving all people who trust the God who makes these promises. “We are to fear and love God, so, that we do not despise preaching or God’s word, but instead keep that word holy and gladly hear it and learn it” (Small Catechism). God’s word, specifically God’s promise in Jesus Christ, creates this liberated, confident and generous faith. God gives the Holy Spirit who uses gospel proclamation – in preaching and sacraments, in forgiveness and in healing conversations – to create and sustain this faith. As a Lutheran church, we give central place to this gospel message in our ministry.
We understand to be Lutheran is to be ecumenical – committed to the oneness to which God calls the world in the saving gift of Jesus Christ, recognizing the brokenness of the church in history and the call of God to heal this disunity.
Our values are grounded in faith, in our biblical and Lutheran confessional sources and our love of God and neighbor. They speak to the way this church lives and practices our faith, and they will guide how we journey forward in Christ as church together.
Forgiveness and reconciliation – We are reconciled to God by God's forgiving mercy. Forgiveness and reconciliation flow from what God has made us to be in Jesus Christ and what God is doing with us in the world. As a people of God, we embody forgiveness in speech, action and relationships, and our ministry in reconciliation is foundational.
Dignity, compassion and justice – Each person is created in God's image. We respect this God-given right to dignity and, inspired by the life of Jesus, show love and compassion for all people. Through proclamation of the gospel, through worship and as servants of God working for healing and justice in the world, we uphold and seek to protect the dignity and human rights of all people.
Inclusion and diversity – As Christ's church, we value the richness of God's creation and offer a radical welcome to all people, appreciating our common humanity and our differences. We are a church that does not view diversity as a barrier to unity. We recognize and will challenge dynamics of power and privilege that create barriers to participation and equity in this church and society – for women, people of color, minority ethnic groups, people with disabilities, people who are marginalized or living in poverty, and the LGBTQ community.
Courage and openness to change – Because we trust in God's promise and understand faith to be a living, daring confidence in God's grace, we are emboldened to embrace learning and change in our spiritual and institutional journey as church. This means we are open to new ways and willing to take risks to discover God's plan for this church.
Faithful stewardship of God's creation and gifts – As church together, faithful stewardship is about holding to God's purpose and ensuring the responsibilities and resources that God has entrusted to us are used with great care and with accountability to God, to each other and those served by this church
We are part of the Virginia Synod of the ELCA:
What is our vision, our mission and ministry for the Virginia Synod?
It is found in the same command that God gave to Joshua.
To be Strong, To be Courageous, To be Fearless, For God is with us.
Strong Connections
STRONG – For God Is With Us
To be strong in our relationships with our rostered ministers and the congregations/ministry sites they serve. God is a God of relationships and our vision for the Virginia Synod will be rooted in relationships. Being present and engaged, providing support and resources in order that rostered ministers and congregations/ministry sites can continue to be whole and holy participants in the mission and ministry we share.
Courageous Faithfulness
COURAGEOUS – For God Is With Us
To be courageous in our efforts to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion, in order to foster an environment of belonging for all rostered ministers and congregations/ministry sites. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are not only necessary, but essential to the mission and ministry of the Virginia Synod.
Fearless Love
FEARLESS – For God Is With Us
To not be afraid to live into what and where we sense God is leading us. Discernment is both individual and communal. We have been discerning as individuals, congregations, conferences, and regions as to what God may be calling us to be and to do. The information collected from the rostered ministers and Synod Assembly voting members will be an integral part of forming the specifics of our moving forward in our Synod.
Journeying Together
FOR GOD IS WITH US – Hope-filled, Confident Support
To know that as we journey together, that our faithful and gracious God is with us, in every denominational, societal, and global situation we encounter.
What does the ELCA mean to you?
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