About Us

Our Faith.

The Old Apostolic Lutheran Church is not a new congregation or doctrine but as its name implies, it has its roots in the first-born Apostolic congregation that Jesus established behind closed doors when He appeared to His disciples on the evening of His resurrection. He greeted them with the words "Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent Me, even so send I you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain they are retained." (John 20:21-23)

Christ's congregation has been cleansed with His blood and sanctified with His Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, as Jesus promised, "they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Many being pricked in their hearts began to ask, "men and brethren what shall we do?" Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." About three thousand souls repented that day. "And they continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." (Acts 2:42)

We continue to hold fast to this same Apostolic doctrine, which is the words of Jesus Christ and His Apostles found written in the Holy Scriptures. This is the unchangeable word of God unto salvation and is a plumbline for our daily lives. God's word teaches us that within man himself, there is nothing good. "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Rom 3:23) In everything we do, sin is present with us. In his unconverted state, man is therefore an unfortunate and condemned creature. But by His great love, God sent His Son, Jesus, to us. He fulfilled the righteous law of God, which we are unable to do. He took our burden of sin upon Himself and suffered the penalty of death in our stead. On the third day He rose from the dead for our justification.

Through a living faith upon Him, we become partakers of His reconciling work and receive God's forgiveness for all of our sins. "For by Grace ye are saved through faith and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." (Eph 2:8)

Luther says, "Although the power to forgive sins only belongs to God, we ought to yet understand that He exercises this power through the external ministry to which Christ called His apostles." He also says that this power is greater than any other power on earth and that Jesus, thereby, has ordained all Christians as priests, that we should preach the forgiveness of sins to one another. "Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain they are retained." (John 20:21-23)

Therefore, in our church, a sermon of repentance and conversion is preached to all who live in unbelief and sin, but also that God's grace and complete forgiveness in Jesus' name and blood belongs to all repentant sinners.

We hear this testimony of the forgiveness of sins from our preachers when they speak the word of God. Yet at times, when our own sin and corruption make us feel burdened and distressed, we feel a need to hear a personal testimony of forgiveness. Therefore, it is common at the end of the service, that we go to the preachers, as well as other fellow Christians, and ask for forgiveness for our sins and faults, and there personally receive the testimony of God's grace and forgiveness. "Confess your faults one to another." (Jam. 5:16)
Sorrow over sin and joy over God's incomprehensible grace are at times expressed in so-called "movements", just like the Bible tells us that it happened then. "Ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy." (John: 16:20) Sometimes one feels a need to have a private conversation with a preacher or a trusted Christian, where one is able to ease the burden of his conscience and also receive valuable advice and counsel for life and the journey of a Christian.

We confess and believe in the Apostles Creed as did the early Christians:

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary, descended into hell (in Gethsemane), suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried: the third day He rose from the dead: He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty from whence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost, the one Holy Christ's church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

This living word of God, which was taught by Jesus and His apostles, has been passed on from heart to heart through the different periods of awakenings by our church fathers, John Hus, Martin Luther, and during this period of Christianity, Lars Levi Laestadius.

Who was Laestadius?

Lars Levi Laestadius was born in the year 1800 in the middle part of Lapland, Sweden, into a poor settler family. He was, in May of 1825, chosen to be the parish priest in Karesuando, Sweden's most northern parish. He took this position on May 1, 1826.

At that time the spiritual condition was very poor throughout Lapland. Because of a widespread alcohol abuse problem among both the Sami (Lapp) people and the settlers, there were broken marriages, fights, livestock (reindeer) thefts, and misery. Laestadius preached severely against all this, but with poor results. Instead of changing their lifestyle, the people turned against him.

Laestadius, himself, at that time, did not have peace with God. He was living with unrest in his conscience and felt that he would be eternally condemned if he died in that condition. In 1844, however, a life-changing event took place when he held a visitation service in southern Lapland. After the church service, he had a conversation with a Sami (Lapp) girl named Mary, who had also experienced a troubled conscience. She related of her experiences and how a Pastor in Nora, Sweden, by the name of Pehr Brandell, helped her with her doubts. They belonged to a group of Christians called "Readers" that carried in their hearts a living faith from Luther's teachings. Through pastor Brandell's sermon, God gave the penitent Mary living faith. Mary's experiences showed the way of life in Christ Jesus for Laestadius, which he had not learned in the seminaries, and living faith was kindled in his heart, and he was able to experience a foretaste of heavenly joy.

When Laestadius now had experienced a personal and living faith, this affected in his sermons. People who were troubled in their consciences were also able through faith in Jesus Christ and in His suffering, death, and resurrection to experience joy and peace. Those in spiritual distress were able to exchange sin for grace. The people experienced true Christianity in their hearts and a great awakening started, and like wildfire it spread across northern Lapland and the Scandinavian North. After a few years, a great transformation had taken place. Tavern keepers broke and emptied their whiskey barrels, marriage mates were reunited, and livestock thieves returned what they had stolen. In place of curse words, songs of praise were heard to the God of heaven, who in His great love had brought grace and forgiveness to all great sinners.

Spread of the Awakening.

Laestadius soon had help in his labor by laymen who came into faith. Among them, John Raattamaa became the most significant. He and many brothers in faith continued the labor, also after Laestadius' death. The awakening spread quickly to Finland, Norway, and America, as well as Russia in the area around St. Petersburg. By the end of the 19th century, the movement--that others began calling "Laestadianism"--had found its way to all the districts across the Scandinavian North and to America, where there were congregations established from the East Coast to the West Coast. The legal name in America has evolved over the years to its present name of Old Apostolic Lutheran Church.

Today, there are many congregations which are flourishing throughout the United States and Canada. In many areas, congregations are experiencing such growth that existing churches are being enlarged, or new churches are being built. Services are kept every Sunday along with Children's School on various days of the week.

Although this awakening movement has grown in America, a close bond of trust and confidence is kept with our Mother Congregation in Swedish Lapland, where this period of awakening began.

Our Worship Services.

We hold our Sunday services in a simple way, as were the Christian services during the time of the Apostles. Our services are open to everyone, and we gladly welcome new visitors to our church.

Our service begins with a hymn that we sing together, then a prayer is read, and another hymn is sung. Then we listen as a sermon by the provost (Dean) Laestadius is read to coincide with the current church year Sunday. Although Laestadius' sermons are over 150 years old, they are a timeless, living word of God. By doing this, we help preserve the doctrine that has been preached within this movement throughout the times. After another hymn, one of our preachers will speak a sermon, which is often supported by some Bible passage of his choice. He has no prepared sermon but speaks what is revealed by the Holy Spirit. "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." (2 Pet 1:20) Then there is a final hymn. Like Jesus and His disciples, we sing without musical accompaniment.

Children's School is also part of our services. Some localities hold this school during the week, and others on Sunday. The children gather in their classrooms with their teachers and study the topic of Christianity for that day.
We also have special missionary services, usually twice a year. During these services, and also at our Sunday services, we often receive brothers and sisters in faith from other localities, but we especially wish that others would come to listen to the word of God. When we get together, we greet each other with the greeting of, “God's Peace.” It is a greeting Christians have used through the ages. Jesus greeted His disciples with peace, and Luther says this greeting is a sermon about forgiveness, for without forgiveness there is no true peace, and where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation. At the worship service, the women wear a headscarf, as Christian women have done throughout time and still do in many countries and churches in accordance with the teachings of Apostle Paul in his epistle to the Corinthians.

Other Activities.

The sacrament of baptism is often held just prior to the start of the Sunday Service. The sacrament of the Lord's supper is held on Communion Sunday, which is usually the first Sunday of each month.

From time to time, we have gatherings where we can discuss different matters of our life and faith. Our church services and gatherings are open to all.

Our Daily Life.

Even though our daily lives and work activities are much like other people, we want to follow Jesus' example and live a life of faith that is simple and modest, whether it be our dress, our home, or our way of life. "He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked." (1 John 2:6) Therefore, we want to follow the teachings of Christ and His Apostles, as Paul says "We also should walk in newness of life." (Rom 6:4) Accordingly we do not believe it is right, nor do we have a need, to engage in worldly pleasures, alcohol, and other harmful substances. The friendship we have in the church is so much more. There, the young and the old meet in fellowship that spans across ages as well as country borders, where the bond of Christ's love binds us together in peace and accord.

It is this treasure that God has given us in our hearts, which we want to speak of with the people we meet or who come to our church services. We want to have an opportunity to relate how God has taken hold of us and revealed to us our great debt of sin, but also how He, through His great love, has granted us grace and forgiveness and made us His Children. We want to relate of the joy and peace we get to experience even while in the middle of our work and concerns of our everyday life. We want to relate of the friends and the fellowship we have received in God's Congregation, that Jesus, Himself, established, where He is still the head and the cornerstone.

Welcome to Us.

We invite you to come to our services and to hear what God wants to say to you. You are also always welcome to contact any of us to visit about the most important thing in life, our faith and our Christianity.