Trinity LutheranWaterville, MN

Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church

What We Believe

According to Holy Scripture, and in the unity of the one holy Christian and apostolic Church.

Reformation Roots

Three Solas

Everything we confess flows from three convictions recovered at the Reformation and held by Lutherans ever since.

Sola Gratia

Grace Alone

God loves and saves sinful people not because we have earned it, but purely out of His own undeserved kindness.

Sola Fide

Faith Alone

Christ's death has already purchased forgiveness and eternal life for all people; that gift is received through faith, not by our own effort or merit.

Sola Scriptura

Scripture Alone

The Bible is God's inerrant and infallible Word, and the only rule and norm for what we teach and confess.

  1. 01

    The Trinity

    We believe in one true God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — revealed to us through Jesus Christ.

  2. 02

    Human Nature

    Humanity is spiritually dead at birth, entirely predisposed toward sin, and without inherent fear, love, or trust in God.

  3. 03

    Christology

    Jesus Christ is true God, eternally begotten of the Father, and true man, born of the Virgin Mary — the only Savior from sin. This is not myth or metaphor: it happened in history, in real time and a real place, through a flesh-and-blood person. He was crucified, died, and on the third day rose bodily from the grave, later ascending into heaven. There is no other way of salvation than through faith in Him.

  4. 04

    Salvation

    Justification comes solely by God's undeserved kindness, through faith in Jesus Christ, not by works.

  5. 05

    The Sacraments

    We teach three sacraments — Baptism, Absolution, and Holy Communion — as means through which the Holy Spirit works.

  6. 06

    The Church

    The Church exists wherever the Gospel of Jesus Christ is purely preached and taught.

  7. 07

    Scripture

    The Bible is without factual error and is the only source and final authority for faith and life.

  8. 08

    Eschatology

    Christ will return to judge the living and the dead.

Our Confession

The Book of Concord

When we say we are “Lutheran,” we mean we accept the Lutheran Confessions, gathered in 1580 as the Book of Concord, as a true and unadulterated statement and exposition of the Word of God — not a rival to Scripture, but a faithful summary of it.

  • The Three Ecumenical Creeds (Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian)
  • The Augsburg Confession
  • The Apology of the Augsburg Confession
  • The Smalcald Articles
  • The Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope
  • The Small Catechism
  • The Large Catechism
  • The Epitome of the Formula of Concord
  • The Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord