About Us
OUR HISTORY
Faith Lutheran Church in Carthage, Missouri was started in 1929 as a new congregation of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Our beautiful facilities were built in 1967 and we have had many updates and improvements since this time. In 1999, our congregation left the LCMS to become part of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod.
In 2012, our had the opportunity to purchase and install 36 rank Werner-Bosch Tracker Pipe Organ, disassembling and reassembling it piece by piece from Michigan and it is one of the most magnificent instruments in the region.
In 2020 we began another ambitious project of starting an Early Childcare Ministry from scratch called "Little Lambs Childcare". We have a capacity of 30 children, serving infants 6 weeks to children 5 years old. We are moving forward with plans to expand this ministry!
OUR HERITAGE
Our heritage traces back to a German monk named Martin Luther (1483-1546) who was at the center of the Reformation. The effect of the Lutheran Reformation of the Church on the history of the world can hardly be overstated. It caused one of the most profound changes in history. In fact, when US News and World Report ranked the most important events of the last 1000 years, the Lutheran Reformation placed second, right behind Gutenberg’s moveable type printing press. That means that they considered the Lutheran Reformation to be of greater significance than the discovery of the New World (number 3 on the list). But why? And who was this Luther anyway?
Martin Luther was a monk, a priest, and then a professor at a little university in Wittenberg, Germany. Why would someone like that be listed as the third most influential person of the last 1000 years (1000 Years and 1000 People, Gottlieb and Bowers), more important than Einstein, Edison, George Washington, etc.? All for the reason that we call ourselves “Lutherans.”
During the dark days of the Middle Ages, the truth of God’s Word was hidden away in monasteries. The church of that day was not teaching that we are saved by Jesus’ death and resurrection. Instead, people were told that they needed to earn their way to heaven—or worse, that they had to buy their way to heaven. The truth of God’s Word was rejected, and the traditions of men put in its place. Dr. Luther changed all that on October 31, 1517, when he nailed 95 Statements for Debate on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. He said that the Bible should be our only source of teaching, not manmade traditions. He showed that God saved us by grace alone, by faith alone. He returned the Bible into the hands of the people, and quite literally changed the world.
We don’t call ourselves Lutherans to a celebrate a man, but to celebrate the grace of God who reformed his Church, and brought back the pure and simple teaching that had been lost: Jesus Christ died and rose for me, so I will be in heaven forever. Period.
OUR FUTURE
In January this year, we installed our new Pastor, Rev. Daniel McQuality. Working with our motivated and talented leadership, our congregation is starting an exciting new chapter that is focused on outreach and spreading the Gospel of Jesus. We are revitalizing everything we do and are putting our hand to the plow to do God's work and already He has been blessing us! We are excited to see what the Holy Spirit will do through His Word and work here at this place. If you have a love for Jesus, God's Word and for people, we hope you will consider joining us in doing God's work here at FLC!