Grow in Faith. Go in Grace. Serve the Lord.
Established in 1943, Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran Church is a Christian community of believers located near Minneapolis, Minnesota in the city of Robbinsdale. As followers of Jesus Christ, we seek to incorporate into our lives and into our church the marks of discipleship of: worshiping, serving, learning, praying, giving, encouraging and inviting.
Affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in the Minneapolis Area Synod, our members come from all walks of life and yet have a single common need: to grow and be enlivened by a gracious God who has promised to accompany and strengthen us every day of our lives. We resonate with Minneapolis Area Synod’s vision statement: “The Minneapolis Area Synod works together so that all experience gracious invitation into life-giving Christian community and live in just and healthy neighborhoods.” Never believing we have “arrived,” we understand our faith journeys as ongoing, vital, and grace-filled.
We joyfully receive people desiring to join our church in the spring or fall following a New Member Orientation. Whether a formal member, long-term visitor, or one-time worshiper, we openly welcome one and all to this church and firmly believe that every single person who enters our doors can expect the kind of hospitality that God extends to us all.
Mission
Established in 1943, Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran Church is a Christian community of believers. As followers of Jesus Christ, we seek to incorporate into our lives and into our church the marks of discipleship of: worshiping, serving, learning, praying, giving, encouraging and inviting.
The mission of this church, a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is empowered by the Great Commission, put before us by our Lord Jesus Christ, and recorded in Matthew 28:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.”
In striving for faithfulness to this command and in seeking excellence in all our ministries, the mission of our church is to:
NURTURE one another by gathering for worship that seeks to renew our spiritual lives and gathering for education and fellowship that seeks to promote life-long Christian learning, faith maturity, and mutual support.
WELCOME all people and invite them to join our Christian fellowship.
ENCOURAGE the active participation of each member in the ministries of the church and share the collective resources we possess for the strengthening of the church.
SERVE our local community, nation, and world in deeds of compassion, justice, and peace as expressions of God’s reign.
EMPOWER those in our fellowship to apply Christian beliefs and perspectives in their everyday lives.
What We Believe
The following eleven core values were adopted by the congregation’s Long-Range Planning Committee in December 2001, and serve to illumine our mission as a worshiping/praying/serving/ learning/giving/encouraging/inviting congregation.
We, the members of Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran Church, value:
1. Our identity as a welcoming community. Because God unconditionally welcomes each of us, we seek to do the same to all who come to us.
2. The God-given gifts of people and helping individuals to put their gifts to work within and beyond the bounds of the congregation. Ephesians 4:12 urges “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.”
3. The gift of stewardship as a congregation and as individuals in the management of resources God has given us.
4. The life-long growth of discipleship and the encouragement of it. We further value that growth in discipleship implies that we will take risks as a church and as individuals for the sake of our beliefs.
5. The active participation of all members in the ministry of the congregation, irrespective of age, gender, ethnicity, or circumstance.
6. Open communication of ideals, understandings, interpretations, revelations, trials and temptations, and joys and sorrows.
7. The congregation as a “training ground,” a place to learn to model what it is to serve and be served, each of us expressing ourselves as uniquely endowed.
8. The church as “safe haven,” a place where we can share in confidence our needs, anxieties, frailties, and fears.
9. The importance of linking with other entities and organizations whose mission complements our own, thereby mutually extending our reach and effectiveness.
10. Faith-Lilac Way congregation as one unique presence of the greater church—those who have gone before us and will come after us, and the faithful across the globe and at home.
11. The celebration of our relationships with God and with each other.