The Church of St. Mark- Lutheran has served the Christian community, as well as the greater community-at-large, in the City of Mississauga, since it was founded in 1954 as a mission church by the English District of The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. Since its foundation more than half a century ago, many have found our church to be a genuine community that reflects and demonstrates God's gracious love and forgiveness.
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We are called to be the Church, the Body of Christ, the people of God gathered around His Word and Sacraments, praising and worshipping the Almighty, celebrating His presence with us, and seeking to witness in all we do to Jesus as our Saviour and Lord.
We are to grow in the knowledge and love of God in closer union with Christ our Head.
We are to train for acts of loving service while ministering with the spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit has given each of us.
We are to reach out, in word and deed, with the good news of God's reconciling love to those outside the Church so as to bring them into the fellowship of God's family.
"Changing lives with the love of God to the glory of God."
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We believe in one God, who created all things, and exists in three persons:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
God created us to be in an eternal and glorious relationship with Him.
Man's relationship with God was broken when mankind fell into sin.
Everyone sins; and therefore, everyone needs God's forgiveness.
God loves every human being, is very willing to forgive, and seeks to restore the broken relationship.
God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, from heaven into the world, to restore that relationship. Through the life, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, God took away mankind's sin.
By trusting in Jesus, as our Saviour and Lord, our personal relationship with God is restored. God sends His Holy Spirit to create faith in the hearts of human beings and to sanctify believers unto holiness.
Just as Jesus rose from the dead, so will all believers rise and live forever with God in paradise.
Since God loves all, we are called to do the same… even to love our enemies.
Since God saved mankind through Jesus, we are called to proclaim that good news to the entire world with our lips and our lives.
Since God created us, loves us, has given us all we have and all we are, and gave His Son to die for us, we gather together to worship Him, proclaim his awesome greatness, sing of His love and power, and tell of His wonderful works done through Jesus.
Since it is God's desire that all people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, and since faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved we generously support the preaching and teaching of the Gospel of Jesus so that people can hear and come to faith.
Since God promises to hear our prayers and answer them, we gather for prayer during worship services and during the week.
Confessional Standard
All the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments alone, as the revealed written word of God, are the rule and norm of our faith and practice.
This congregation accepts all the Confessional Writings of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, which consist of the three Ecumenical Creeds, the Unaltered Augsburg Confession, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles, Luther's Large and Small Catechisms, and the Formula of Concord. These writings are collected in The Book of Concord.
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We value the Gospel
As God has loved us just as we are, we are committed to loving, inviting, and welcoming others just as they are and allowing God through His Word and sacraments to work miracles and change in their lives.
We value every lost soul
We are committed to both traditional and nontraditional mission efforts, follow up, and evangelism.
We value spiritual growth
We are committed to the spiritual growth and discipleship of our own members, and the surrounding community, through Christian education, active service and prayer (Bible studies, Sunday School, youth groups, preaching, etc.).
We value diverse worship styles
We are a liturgical church which uses both modern and conventional church music,
instruments, and liturgies. We implement different media forms in worship-- from
projection systems and video to drama and puppet shows.
We value fellowship and relationships
Encouragement, discipleship, and mentoring occur when Christians spend time together. We make efforts to facilitate this fellowship with coffee hours following the service, special dinners, ecumenical services, and other get-togethers.
We value pastors and lay leaders
Pastors and lay leaders are guided by the Holy Spirit to administer wisdom and support to the sick, those in nursing homes, grieving, preparing for baptism or marriage, or who need counsel and aid.
We value social welfare ministry
We have programs supporting: Sudanese Refugee Camps; food clothing and furniture for needy; Christmas Hampers; and various mission projects through Canadian Lutheran World Relief and through Lutheran Women's Missionary League.
We value the family
We teach parenting and relationship skills from Holy Scripture to prepare couples for marriage and provide counsel and aid for families in crisis. We recognize that parenting is a learned role and that both parents and children need the prayerful support of everyone in our congregation. We believe that children and parents can learn much from our older members and that childless adults may be effective mentors to growing teens.
We value intergenerational ministry
We strive to be a congregation where Christians of all ages and stages of life experience can find meaningful roles in the service of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We value the larger Church
The Church of St. Mark- Lutheran began as a mission prayerfully and financially supported by the English District of our larger church body The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. We value the close relationship we have with the other churches in our Synod and District and so support the mission work they do both prayerfully and financially.
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Q. How long are your services?
A. Between 60 and 90 minutes.
Q. What is the difference between the 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. service?
A. The primary differences between the services are stylistic. For example, the music for the 9 a.m. service is more contemporary and makes use of instruments such as the piano, bass, and guitar, while the 11 a.m. is more traditional and utilizes the classic pipe organ. Furthermore, the earlier service also makes use of modern media, such as our projection system, more so than the later service. Both services are liturgically centered upon God's Word and Sacraments with Holy Communion offered at both services on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th weekends of every month. Also, immediately following both services, coffee and refreshments are available in our fellowship hall (this time is treasured by our congregation as an opportunity to chat and get to know each other). Please note that during the summer months there is only one service, starting at 10 a.m., which blends many of the unique qualities of our contemporary and traditional services.
Q. What do I wear?
A. At the two Sunday services you will see people in jeans as well as suits and ties. Most men wear collared shirts (golf or dress shirts) – and no tie. Most of the women wear dress blouse, and slacks or skirts, but you will find some in jeans as well.
Q. Do you have a nursery where my young children can be cared for during the service?
A. The Sunday morning 9:00 a.m. service has a nursery where young children can be cared for during the service.
Q. Can I bring my young kids to the worship service? They might cry or speak loudly.
A. Yes, children are welcome in all our worship services. The noise they make will NOT upset our pastor or our members. We suggest you sit near the back so it's easier for you to take them to the washroom when they 'need to go'.
Q. Do I have to join your church in order to attend?
A. No. We have many 'associate members' within our congregation. They are people who don't have/desire official membership but like to attend.
Q. Do I have to give an offering?
A. No. Offerings made to God are voluntary. You are welcome to give one if you wish but visitors should not need to feel obligated to give.
Q. I'm hard of hearing. Do you have anything for the hearing impaired?
A. Yes. Just ask the attending elder or usher and they will give you a battery operated ear-piece.
Q. Do you have a 'change room' for babies?
A. Our washrooms are clean and child friendly. Both men's and women's washrooms are equipped with safe change tables.
Q. Do you have facilities for those with physical handicaps?
A. There are wheel chair ramps from the parking lot and our church is all on one floor. Both washrooms are equipped with handicap stalls.