Our Congregation . . .
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church of Yucaipa was started as a preaching station in the area in 1957. The first worship services were held in the Women’s Club commencing in January of that same year. Land was purchased in 1962 where we now have our beautiful sanctuary, fellowship hall, and classrooms.
Good Shepherd is a member of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, an association of more than 2.6 million members. Each individual congregation strives to walk together in a common confession with all the other congregations within the Missouri Synod (syn=same, od=path), cooperating with them to share the saving work of Jesus Christ for a world of sinners, for you.
Our Faith . . .
The 66 books of the Holy Bible are the source for what we believe, teach, and declare publicly and privately; God’s error-free Word. Those 66 books are our standard and truths that govern what we believe. We also subscribe publicly and privately to the Book of Concord, published in 1580, as the genuine testimony and declaration of the Holy Bible. We believe:
- There is only one God and He is three persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (AC I)
- Humans were created perfect by God but lost this perfection through disobedience. (AC II)
- God loves us in spite of our rebellion so He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who is 100% God and 100% human, to pay the price for the disobedience of everyone. (AC III)
- We cannot do anything to earn our salvation. It is God’s free gift to us through faith in Jesus Christ. (AC IV)
- We teach that the Holy Spirit brings this faith to us when we hear the Word (AC V). That includes:
- Preaching (1 Timothy 4:16; 2 Timothy 4:1-5)
- Baptism – Our rebellion is buried and we are raised with Jesus in this gift for all people, infant to aged. (Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2:11-12)
- The Lord’s Supper – We taste the body and blood of Jesus in, with, and under the bread and wine therefore we taste forgiveness. (Matthew 26:26-28) Those who commune stand with us in the common confession which our church body teaches. (1 Corinthians 10:16-17)
Our Worship…
We take a more traditional approach as we gather together weekly. The focus is not our worship but God’s work for us namely in Jesus Christ. We receive forgiveness in Word, in Water, in Bread and Wine. We do not gather to “do” but to receive what is finished. In the Divine Service of God to us, we do not pick and choose what suits our individual spirits like an ever-rotating theological buffet. Instead, by the Holy Spirit, we are molded into the one body, the ongoing life of The Church. As we sing we are gathered with saints across space and time singing the same hymns, the same liturgy. With the gifts of God coming down to us, surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses in our hymns and liturgy, it is truly heaven on earth.
Our Pastor . . .
Rev. Aaron Kangas was installed as Pastor on January 29, 2023.
If you have a question for Pastor Kangas, please email him at revkangas@yahoo.com.
