BOLDLY INCLUSIVE
WE WELCOME PEOPLE as they are.
WE ARE A DIVERSE congregation melding different life experiences, ages, and church backgrounds.
WE ARE COMMITTED to embracing all types of families and individuals no matter their race, their sexual orientation, their gender identities, or their abilities.
WE WELCOME EVERYONE who feels called to the Lord’s table.
WE DON’T HAVE TO AGREE with one another to love each other and worship together.
WE EMBRACE LAY LEADERSHIP and lay initiative as the engine of a vital congregation.
WE REACH OUT to serve, love and educate the broader community.
INTENTIONALLY CHALLENGING
WE VALUE TEACHING that relates the Christian message to contemporary life.
WE SEEK A FAITH THAT ENGAGES both our hearts and our minds.
WE VIEW questions and doubt as a part of faith.
WE EMBRACE BIBLICAL SCHOLARSHIP, scientific inquiry, and new thinking about faith and spirituality.
WE EMBRACE THE DISCOMFORT that comes when we are challenged to think in new ways.
WE EXPERIMENT with new forms of worship and spiritual practice.
WE SEE CHURCH IN A WIDER CONTEXT of our community and act as a beacon inviting others to experience the radical hospitality of God’s people.
JOYFULLY CHRISTIAN
WE VALUE THE WORSHIP SERVICE as central to the church experience.
WE EMBRACE BOTH traditional and contemporary worship styles.
WE RECOGNIZE that when music and worship come together, it can be transformational.
WE WELCOME CHILDREN as active participants in worship.
WE SEEK TO CARRY the joy and message of worship into our lives all week long.
WE GROW IN OUR UNDERSTANDING of God’s Word through preaching and education.
WE EMBRACE OUR MISSION to represent Christ to others in our community.
A VIBRANT CONGREGATION
Lamb of God Church is many things. We are a neighborhood church…and a destination congregation for progressive Christians. We are a thriving family church with many young members…and a “snowbird” congregation that swells in the winter season. We are an Episcopal parish and a Lutheran church…and a congregation whose identity and membership range well beyond our denominational ties. We are a progressive, thinking church…that embraces the best in our traditions. We are centered around our church campus and weekly worship…and turned outward in loving service to our community. Lamb of God embraces our diversity, as we live out our mission: Boldly Inclusive…Intentionally Challenging …Joyfully Christian.
Lamb of God Church is a joint Lutheran and Episcopal congregation located in Fort Myers, Florida. We grew from the marriage of two congregations founded around 25 years ago, Lamb of God Lutheran (ELCA) Church, and St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church. In 2000, the two congregations began the process of merging, becoming a fully federated congregation in 2004. We proudly embrace our call to a common mission and have grown into a congregation of 494 members strong, going from storefront locations to a beautiful two-building campus. As one of the nation’s first federated ELCA/Episcopal congregations, we have built upon our unique identity to create a vibrant church community with energy for the future.
Our focus on community outreach and mission is essential to our identity. We are bold in our endeavors and have been humbled by the response of our community when we have reached out with open arms. Some of our most successful ministries have had a big impact. The Lamb of God Thrift Store serves economically disadvantaged members of the community. It raises funds for the church and local charities, supporting local community ministries. Feeding the 5000 is our annual Thanksgiving mission. It draws hundreds of volunteers from our church and the wider community. We all come together over one week to prepare and deliver dinners to families in need. Over the past ten years, we have fed over 65,000 people across Southwest Florida! Trunk or Treat, a Halloween community event draws up to 1,000 people. We participate in interfaith and parachurch ministries focused on hunger, the environment, migrant and homeless ministries, and outreach to the elderly.
Lamb of God has also grown to become a progressive congregation and a “thinking person’s church.” We have embraced open table communion, experimented with a diversity of worship and liturgical styles, and become a Reconciled in Christ congregation. Education at all age levels has become a defining feature of Lamb of God. During the week our sanctuary becomes Preschool of the Lamb, providing early childhood education and a children’s chapel to community children. An active youth group serves middle and high school students. Adult education has thrived at Lamb of God. We have sponsored public lecture series, by nationally known authors such as John Dominic Crossan and Bruce Sanguin, and by some of the Florida Gulf Coast University faculty who call Lamb of God home.