Our Beliefs

Standing on the historic foundation of Reformed theology and the Christian confessions.

"All of Christ, for All of Life, for All of Chisago County"

Mission & Vision

Our Vision

Our vision is to see Christ worshiped as Lord in every sphere of life across Chisago County and beyond. We long for families, churches, and communities shaped by right worship, faithful obedience, and joyful submission to Jesus Christ, for the good of God's people and our neighbors, now and for generations to come.

Our Mission

Emmanuel Reformed Church exists to glorify God by making disciples of all nations through the ordinary means Christ has given: preaching the gospel, administering the sacraments, and teaching obedience to all that Jesus has commanded.

What We Believe

Confessionally Reformed

We stand on the shoulders of the giants of the faith who have gone before us. Creeds like the Nicene and Apostles', and confessions like the Westminster Confession of Faith articulate the truths of the faith in biblical ways that have stood the test of time.

We are not seeking to come up with novel ideas, but to stand on the same biblical doctrines as the church has for centuries. By Reformed we mean that we belong to the tradition of the Reformers who had a high view of God's sovereignty, Christian worship, and using scripture as the standard for all things.

Historic Creeds & Confessions

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Apostles' Creed
Ancient summary of Christian faith
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Nicene Creed
Statement on the Trinity and Christ's divinity
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Chalcedon Creed
Confession of Christ's two complete natures
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Westminster Confession of Faith
With the Larger and Shorter Catechisms

The Gospel

The gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ entering history to save the world from sin and death. He revealed the invisible God, lived a sinless life, died on the cross as a substitute for sinful man, and rose from the dead to claim his rightful place as king, setting up his rule over all of creation. Everything that Emmanuel Reformed Church and her people do is built on the cornerstone of Jesus Christ.

Values & Distinctives

We have several distinctives that will likely differ from other Christian churches. These positions are not required for membership. That said, these are the convictions of the pastors, elders, and deacons and will be regularly taught in the church.

Covenantal Thinking

Covenants are the way that God relates to all people, and the foundation for everything in this world. God makes promises to people, gives commandments, attaches blessings and curses, and requires people to respond to his covenants. Covenantal thinking affects every sphere of life (God, church, marriage, family, state).

Covenant Baptism

The biblical pattern shows God making covenants with the entire household, represented by the head. What the head does, the entire family does too. When we begin to think covenantally about the world, paedobaptism (infant baptism) begins to make greater sense. Children of believing homes are part of the covenantal people of God.

Lord's Supper

The idea of Covenant Renewal includes feasting at the Lord's Table. We believe that we should sing, pray, preach and read weekly. And that Communion is as much a part of the service as these other elements. We do this every Sunday, we do it with wine, and we welcome all baptized covenant members, including young children.

Optimistic View of the Future

We believe that the resurrection was the turning point in redemptive history. The good news of the resurrection is that Jesus wins (1 Cor 15:24-25)! All authority has been granted to him, and his kingdom will expand until the knowledge of the Lord fills the earth (Hab 2:14). Christians are called to be a hopeful people, which should translate into intentional living, working, and building long term for the kingdom.

Intergenerational Faithfulness

When God made covenants with people, he made them with households and generations (Gen. 17:9, Deut. 7:9). The biblical pattern is to include the children in all of life, including worship and the sacraments. While little ones can be challenging at times for parents or others, God welcomes them in his family (Mk.10:14-15). We want to serve families well through discipleship, prayer, and encouraging parents to live with a long term view for their families.

Christian Education

It is the duty of parents, especially fathers, to educate their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord (Deut. 6, Eph. 6:4). This is more than merely understanding the gospel. It means a comprehensive education that trains our children to understand all of life from a biblical worldview. As a church we strive to equip parents and support Christian education.

Excellence and Simplicity

The LORD is a God of order and beauty, and excellence. Accordingly, we want to pursue excellence in all that we do (Phil. 4:8). We want to emphasize the greatness of God and the importance of worship through our liturgy and teaching. We strive to think intentionally about what we do and don't do as a church, focusing on doing the main things well.

Cultural Engagement

Christ is Lord. Because of this cosmic reality, the gospel of Jesus Christ has and will transform this world. We labor towards this end through our worship and work in every sphere of life. We want to help people understand all things from a biblical perspective, including ethics, politics, art, vocation, health, science and more.