Augsburg Lutheran Church, Shawnee, KS (LCMS)

Augsburg Mission Statement

The Faithful of Augsburg Lutheran Church are committed to the Gospel of Christ fully presented in the Holy Scriptures, rightly explained in the Evangelical-Lutheran Confessions, and reverently proclaimed in the Holy Mass.

The Faithful of Augsburg live this chief commitment in two ways: in faith and in love.

In faith, they RECEIVE the Gospel in Preaching, Holy Absolution and the Blessed Sacrament, LIVE the Gospel in their vocation, REACH OUT to those who do not know Christ, especially in the Augsburg community.

In love, they WORK for the good of all in their community.

Who We Are

"Imagine a church that is both evangelical -- proclaiming the free forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus Christ -- and sacramental, centering its spiritual life in the regenerating waters of baptism and the real presence of Christ in Holy Communion. Imagine further a church that is strongly grounded on Scripture, but yet avoids the solipsism of individual interpretation in favor of a comprehensive, intellectually rigorous and imminently orthodox theological system. Imagine a worship service that features both strong preaching and the historic liturgy. Imagine that this is a historical church with a rich spiritual tradition, but without legalism. Imagine, in short, a church that has some of the best parts of Protestantism and the best parts of Catholicism. Finally, imagine that this church body is not some little made-up sect, but one of the largest bodies of Christians in the world.

Such a church might seem like what many Christians, disaffected by both the vacuity of liberal theology and the shallowness of American evangelicalism, are dreaming of. Such a church exists. It goes by the admittedly inadequate name 'Lutheran'".

Gene Edward Veith, Jr., The Spirituality of the Cross: the Way of the First Evangelicals (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999), 114.

The passage quoted above was chosen as an introduction because it reflects what so many people are thinking these days. Tired of being targets of "niche marketing" in both the secular and church arenas, many want to plunge into the Truth. Lutherans have been proclaiming the truth of the crucified and risen Christ since the beginning of the Reformation in the 1500's. We were, as Veith states, the "first evangelicals". Augsburg Lutheran Church is part of the rich spiritual heritage of proclaiming the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ in Word and Sacrament ministry. We confess this Biblical faith with the whole church on earth as expressed in the Apostles', Nicene, and the Athanasian Creeds.

In serving the Johnson County community, we come together as one Body, wonderfully united as the liturgy of the Divine Service connects us to Christ, to each other, and to the Church of the ages. You have a place here! Our Shawnee location provides the opportunity to regularly gather together as a true community of believers, serving parishioners through the Sunday Divine Service, Thursday Vespers, (in Advent and Lent), the diligent study of God's Word and the Lutheran Confessions, mission and service projects, and social activities. This is a place for nurturing as well as proclaiming faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. It is truly a place where you can "belong"!