Sharing God's Love with Elkhart since 1873

Grace began as the first English-speaking Lutheran church in 1873. Since then, Elkhart has changed, we have changed, but God has remained faithful to us.

We celebrate our rich history, while looking forward to what God has in store for us around in the next chapter of our life together!

Learn About Our Partners

We Believe in

Jesus Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, the Son of God, fully divine and fully human, the One who bridges the gap between fallen humanity and God.

The Bible

We believe that the Bible is the "manger in which the Word of God is laid" (Martin Luther). The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the written Word of God, inspired by God's Spirit speaking through their authors. While Lutherans recognize differences in the ways that the Bible should be studied and interpreted, it is accepted as the primary and authoritative witness to the church's faith.

Sacraments

We believe in two Sacraments - Holy Baptism and Communion. In Baptism God freely offers God's grace and lovingly establishes a new community. All gather together when someone comes to be baptized, because we believe it is a public profession of faith, whether as an infant, a child, a teenager, or an adult. In Holy Communion all are welcome to the Table of the Lord to receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ, as a free gift of the real presence of God's forgiveness and mercy, nourishing us in community with one another.

Trinity

We believe in one God eternally existing in three persons - God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Sin

We believe that Sin points to the fractured relationship between a fallen humanity and a perfect God. God granted humanity freedom, but we have misused it, and therefore we are unable to make our relationship right with God. No matter how hard we try to avoid doing wrong, we can never do enough to please God. Without the gift of salvation, we have no hope.

Salvation

We believe that salvation is through the work of Christ alone - through his dying on the cross and his resurrection. Salvation is not simply a gift for after we die, but something that we experience here and now. The promise that we are forgiven, the promise that God is with us, the inspiration to go forth into the world to spread the Good News that changes lives today. We believe that God's grace is made known in the world both through God working in people's hearts and through the outreach of discipleship by the members of the community. That discipleship outreach is an imperative for Christians, but not a requirement to earn God's favor. We believe that there is nothing any person can do or say to "earn" God's favor or their own salvation.

We are a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). More information about particular belief statements can be found on their website: ELCA.org