About - Bethlehem Lutheran Church

What we Believe

The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod: What we believe...

With the universal Christian Church, The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod teaches and responds to the love of the Triune God: the Father, creator of all that exists; Jesus Christ, the Son, who became human to suffer and die for the sins of all human beings and to rise to life again in the ultimate victory over death and Satan; and the Holy Spirit, who creates faith through God's Word and Sacraments. The three persons of the Trinity are coequal and coeternal, one God.

Being "Lutheran," our congregations accept and teach Bible-based teachings of Martin Luther that inspired the reformation of the Christian Church in the 16th century. The teaching of Luther and the reformers can be summarized in three short phrases: Grace alone, Scripture alone, Faith alone.

Grace alone...God loves the people of the world, even though they are sinful, rebel against Him and do not deserve His love. He sent Jesus, His Son, to love the unlovable and save the ungodly.

Scripture alone...The Bible is God's inerrant and infallible Word, in which He reveals His Law and His Gospel of Salvation in Jesus Christ. It is the sole rule and norm for Christian doctrine.

Faith alone... By His suffering and death as the substitute for all people of all time, Jesus purchased and won forgiveness and eternal life for them. Those who hear this Good News and believe it have the eternal life that it offers. God creates faith in Christ and gives people forgiveness through Him.

The word "Synod" in The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod comes from the Greek words that mean "walking together." It has rich meaning in our church body, because the congregations voluntarily choose to belong to the Synod. Diverse in their service, these congregations hold to a shared confession of Jesus Christ as taught in Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions.

The congregations of the Synod are "confessional." They hold to the Lutheran Confessions as the correct interpretation and presentation of Biblical doctrine. Contained in The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, these statements of belief were put into writing by church leaders during the 16th century. (The simplest of these is Luther's Small Catechism. The Augsburg Confession gives more detail on what Lutherans believe.)

Mission

*Grow in Christ *Live in Love *Share the Faith

Vision

To be a community of believers, disciples, and servants while we deepen our personal faith and reach others for Christ.

Church History

Our Story

Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Warrensburg was officially organized in June, 1939, but traces its roots to a Lutheran mission which was started in 1880. Services were regularly held starting in 1928, first in the old Woodmen Hall and later in the hall above Vernaz Drug Store on Pine Street.

After years of worshiping in rented halls the members of Bethlehem dedicated their first church building on South Street in 1941. Sixteen years later the present colonial-style edifice, complete with while pillars and a tall steeple, was dedicated on North Maguire Street.

Since its early years the congregation of Bethlehem Lutheran has reached out to the students of Central Missouri University. In 1946 Gamma Delta was established as the first official Lutheran student organization at the University. The basement of Bethlehem's first church building provided meeting facilities for that group and Bethlehem's pastor served as pastoral advisor for the group. When Bethlehem moved to its present home (1957) the Missouri District of L.C.M.S. purchased the building to serve as a Lutheran Campus Center. The facility continued to serve in that capacity and Pastor Adolph Meyer continued as pastoral advisor until 1967 when the Missouri District appointed a Warrensburg Area Board for the Campus Ministry.

In 1983 the congregation took a leading role in beginning a mission congregation in Knob Noster, Missouri. Faith Lutheran Church, our daughter congregation, holds regular Sunday services at 9 a.m. During the early years, our pastor, Roger Beese, often preached at both churches on Sunday mornings.

In 2006 Bethlehem built a new addition which provided additional classroom and office space, new kitchen facilities, new heating and cooling system, an elevator, and new entry way. During the construction period, which included new windows and much-needed repairs in the sanctuary, worship services were held at the Lutheran Campus Center.

History of LCMS

The Missouri Synod emerged from several communities of German Lutheran immigrants during the 1830s and 1840s. In Indiana, Ohio and Michigan, isolated Germans in the dense forests of the American frontier were brought together and ministered to by missionary F. C. D. Wyneken. A movement of Confessional Lutherans under Martin Stephan created a community in Perry County, Missouri, and St. Louis, Missouri. In Michigan and Ohio, missionaries sent by Wilhelm Löhe ministered to scattered congregations and founded German Lutheran communities in Frankenmuth, Michigan, and the Saginaw Valley of Michigan.

Bethlehem Lutheran Church