About Messiah
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Montana District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) began making plans to establish a second church in Missoula. In April of 1964, 3.17 acres of land were purchased on which the church is now located, nestled in the scenic northern area of Missoula known as the Upper Rattlesnake.
A groundbreaking ceremony took place on July 31, 1966, and construction of the church began. Construction on the church was completed on December 10th and the first service was held on December 18, 1966. A name was chosen, and Messiah Lutheran Church was dedicated on January 22, 1967.
Rev. Russell Fitch, currently serving, was installed in February 2019 and is also the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Superior, MT. Pastor Fitch is a graduate of Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, IN.
The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) was established in 1847 by Saxon and other German immigrants seeking the freedom to practice and follow the faith. Our public confessions were written during the time of the Reformation in the 16th century and gathered into the Book of Concord in 1580. We believe that the Lutheran Confessions are a true and right exposition of biblical teachings.
The Lutheran Reformers did not start a new church or any new teachings, but rather we believe and teach nothing more and nothing less than what the Scriptures themselves teach and what Christians have always believed through all times. We consider ourselves to be catholic (small “c”), meaning universal, and evangelical, as the evangel is the Gospel Good News of the death and resurrection of the God-Man Jesus Christ for the sins of the world that is at the heart of everything we believe, teach, and confess. We believe that sinners are justified (declared righteous) before God by His grace alone, which we receive only through faith alone in Christ alone, on the basis of Scripture alone.
Lutherans believe that Baptism is the water included in God’s command and combined with God’s Word. It has both God’s command (Matthew 28:19) and promise (Mark 16:16; Titus 3:5-8; Acts 2:38-39; Romans 6:3-11; etc.). It creates and gives the gift of faith, works forgiveness of sins, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this (Small Catechism).
We also believe from Jesus’ own words recorded in Scripture that the bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper are the true body and blood of Christ. Human reason cannot explain how this takes place; it a matter of faith, taking Christ at His own Word that what we receive in the Supper is His true body and blood given and shed for the forgiveness of sins. The Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are described as the “visible Gospel,” and together with the Word of God read, preached, and heard are the only means by which sinners are brought to faith and preserved in it.