What We Believe


What We Believe



The Bible

The Bible is God’s Word, inspired by Him, from first to last (2 Timothy 3:16-17). While Scripture does not address all of the questions we may have in this life, everything it does say is factual, trustworthy, and completely accurate (Matthew 24:35). While God used men as agents to write the Scriptures, He remains its proper primary author (2 Peter 1:21). Since God is perfect and makes no mistakes, so too, His Word is inerrant (without mistakes), infallible (incapable toerring), and verbally inspired (the very words of Scripture are the words of God Himself) by Him. As such, Scripture is the sole source for all that we believe, teach, and confess to be true (1 Corinthians 4:6).


God

There is only one true God (Isaiah 43:10) who exists as three distinct persons throughout Scripture: the Father (1 Corinthians 8:6), the Son (John 20:28), and the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4). Each person is God inasmuch as each shares the same divine nature and attributes. This God is the creator (Genesis 1:1) and sustainer of all things (Colossians 1:17) and is worthy of our thanks and praise for all He has done (Revelation 4:11).


Jesus Christ

God became a sinless human being in the person of Jesus of Nazareth (John 1:1; 14) in order to perfectly fulfill His divine law on behalf of all humanity (Galatians 4:4-5), die as the perfect substitute for all sinners in order to take away sin (John 1:29), and rise again from the dead in order to defeat the forces of sin, death, and the devil for all humankind (Romans 1:4). Jesus (called the Christ, that is, the Messiah) is the Savior and Redeemer of the world (Acts 13:23).


Sin

While God created humanity in righteousness and innocence (Genesis 1:27), our first parents, Adam and Eve, soon rebelled against God (Genesis 3), plunging the entire human race into sin and imperfection (Psalm 51:5). Our sin acts as a barrier between us and God (Romans 3:23), cutting us off from fellowship with the Holy One (Revelation 22:15), and causing us to  deserve His divine wrath in the form of physical and spiritual death (Ezekiel 18:4).


Salvation

If left to ourselves, all of humankind would be lost. Yet God, who is rich in mercy, sent His only Son, Jesus, to live the perfect life that we could never live thereby fulfilling the law for all people (Romans 10:4), to take upon Himself the punishment of death in order to pay the price that we could never pay (Matthew 20:28), and to rise again in order to defeat the spiritual enemies of mankind (Colossians 2:15). The benefits of Jesus’ work on behalf of sinners (eternal life, salvation, and the forgiveness of sins) are received only by faith (Romans 3:28; Galatians 2:16).


The Means of Grace

Because sinners are unable to exercise faith on their own (John 6:44; 65), God has instituted certain means by which He creates (and sustains) faith and forgives sins; namely, through the proclamation of His Word (Romans 10:17; John 15:3) and the administration of His sacraments: Baptism (Acts 2:38) and the Lord’s Supper (Matthew 26:26-28). These means (Word and sacrament) are not additions to the gospel, they are the very means by which Christ gives to us, personally and individually, what He has won for all mankind in His life, death, and resurrection.


The Church/Worship

The Church is that gathering of believers in which the gospel is rightly taught and the sacraments are rightly administrated according to Jesus’ mandate (Matthew 28:18-20). As the church, we gather together to receive Christ’s gifts of life, salvation, and forgiveness through Word and sacrament (Acts 2:42), responding in prayer (Acts 1:14), praise (Romans 15:11), and thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6).


Good Works

While good works cannot save or redeem a sinner (Romans 3:20) we nevertheless rejoice in performing them because God has commanded them (Exodus 20:1-17) and because our neighbors stand in need of them (Matthew 22:39). Our primary motivation in performing good works is not to get anything from God (Romans 11:6), but instead, to demonstrate our gratitude for all that we have been freely given in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-10).


The End Times

There is a time coming when the Lord Jesus will return, bodily and visibly (Revelation 1:7), in order to resurrect the dead (Revelation 20:11-13), execute judgment on all mankind (Matthew 25:31-46), and usher in His Kingdom where believers will dwell with Him eternally (Revelation 21:1-4) while unbelievers will spend eternity separated from His grace, love, and mercy in hell (Revelation 20:14-15).


The Lutheran Confessions

As Lutherans, we believe in the historic Reformation principle of sola Scriptura; that is, that the Bible alone dictates what we must believe. From Scripture we draw everything which we teach, believe, and confess. All of our beliefs regarding the teachings of Scripture can be found in a collection of documents called the Lutheran Confessions, known collectively as the Book of Concord. These documents are not intended to add to or take away from God’s inspired Word, instead, they simply summarize the teachings of Scripture and clarify what we believe on the basis of Scripture itself.


Our Mission

Hope's Mission is to teach God's Word and Share Christ's love with all.


Our History

Hope Lutheran is a member of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod. The Lutheran Church is a confessional movement within the Christian Church, begun in the 1500s, that includes more than 50 million members worldwide. The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, of which Hope is a member congregation, has about 2.5 million members. It is the second largest Lutheran denomination in the United States, and is known for maintaining a faithful witness to God's word.


The following is a brief history of Hope Lutheran Church and School:

 

On February 4, 1954: Sunday School started in the American Legion Hall located at 159 N. Cullen Ave. under the sponsorship of Concordia Lutheran Church in Azusa. The first Sunday school Superintendent was Mr. Howard Boltz.


On February 27, 1954: Preaching services started in the American Legion Hall with Pastor A.G. Wahl serving. There were 70 people attending.

Hope Lutheran Church (HLC) was formally organized in 1955 when a handful of Lutheran families in the Glendora area, with the help of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, began meeting in the American Legion Hall. The small group, led by Pastor Harry F. Miller, formed a council.


In March, 1955: Five acres were purchased on the NW corner of E. Foothill and Lorraine for $35,000 by the So. Cal. District of the Lutheran Church- Mo. Synod.


On July 10, 1955: A young seminary graduate Pastor Kenneth Molnar and his wife came to Glendora in June. Pastor Molnar was ordained and commissioned to serve the Glendora mission Field.


On August 7, 1955: The name "Hope Lutheran Church of Glendora" was chosen for the new mission.


On September 21, 1955: Hope Lutheran Church was formally organized. Thirty-five communicant members signed the charter paper.


On January 1, 1956: there were 225 baptized members.


On May 26, 1956: The first confirmation class (children) was received into membership.


On August 12, 1956: Pastor Molnar was called and installed as the first Pastor of Hope Lutheran, no longer "mission at Large" for the Southern California District. And plans for a school began.


On October 20, 1957: Groundbreaking for the first church. The building was designed by William Wilke and Hugh Neitsch was the builder.


On June 29, 1958: First service was held in the still uncompleted church when a class of eight juniors were confirmed.


On September 21, 1958: The chapel and educational unit were formally dedicated with the Rev. Luther Schwartzkopf of San Bernardino delivering the message.


In January, 1960: The decision was made to open a Christian Day School.


In July, 1960: Mr. Donald L. Simpson was called as first principal of Hope Lutheran School. That September the school was opened with two classrooms and 60 students.


In September, 1960: Miss Shirley Mosshamer began her teaching duties in charge of the primary grades.


In January, 1961: Plans were developed for a third classroom.


June, 1961: Ground breaking for a new educational unit with two class classrooms and six Sunday School rooms, construction began on July 1.


In August, 1961: Miss Norma Dodge was added to the staff to teach grades 3 and 4.


On February 24, 1963: Pastor Molnar after 7 1/2 years as the first pastor at Hope accepted a call to San Antonio, Texas, preaching his last sermon.


On March 17, 1963: Pastor Harry F. Miller of Santa Rosa, California, called as new pastor. Pastor Miller accepted the call and was installed on May 26, 1963.


On March 1, 1964: Dedication of the new educational building.


On December 1, 1968: Groundbreaking ceremony for new sanctuary.


On August 17, 1969: Dedication of the new Sanctuary (attendance was 517)


On March 14, 1971 - Pastor Edward Busch installed as Pastor Hope Lutheran Church.


On March 26, 1976: Pastor Larry N. Gorrell installed as Pastor Hope Lutheran Church.


On June 24, 1979: Ordination of a member of Hope Lutheran, David Gruoner into the Holy Ministry was held.


On August, 1985: A mobile classroom and a seventh day school teacher were added to Hope Lutheran School.


On December 6, 1992: Pastor Paul Terhune was installed as Pastor Hope Lutheran Church.


In June, 1997: Don Simpson retired as principal. He went on to support the school at St. John’s Covina, returning to Hope in 2000 to substitute until June, 2003.


In July, 2013: Vicar Daniel Lewis began serving at Hope. He left to become a Pastor in October, 2015.


On January 5, 2020:. Pastor Terhune retired as Pastor Hope Lutheran Church.


On March 1, 2020: Vicar Gary Liu began serving at Hope. His primary focus is ministry to the local Chinese population with the goal of someday planting a Chinese congregation at Hope.