The Basics of Christianity

What is a Christian?

A Christian is a follower of Jesus, the Christ.

That requires more explanation.  What is a Christ? Who is this Jesus? What does it mean to be a follower? Christians and other religious folks seem to have a language all their own, don’t they? Fortunately, there’s some help in understanding it all, and you can find some help on our own ELCA website.  Links to those portions are below. But first…

What is the ELCA?

There are many Christian denominations throughout the world. Denominations are groups of Christians bound by adherence to a certain set of beliefs or practices. So Lutherans are Christians who all agree on certain key ideas about God, Jesus and the Bible.  But then among Lutherans there are groups which have formed different sets of beliefs and practices, which is why there are several Lutheran denominations in the United States.

Not all Christians belong to a denomination; not all christian churches are part of a denomination. PFLC is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States. Being part of a national denomination allows PFLC to partner with people around the globe in service and sharing the gospel.  PFLC and the ELCA are active in the One campaign and in fighting poverty, malaria, hunger, disease, oppression, slavery, abuse and all other ways God’s will for wholeness and peace is subverted.  Some of our monetary giving goes to these efforts through giving to the ELCA.


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