ABOUT US

Mission

We are a Christian congregation that believes God's love has come to us through Christ. Led by the Holy Spirit we serve God and the community by sharing the good news of His grace.

Core Values

The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd shares the following values it holds with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Church Universal:
  • We proclaim Christ through Word and worship
  • We welcome all people into our community
  • We nurture our community in its Christian growth
  • We serve by sharing the good news through acts of compassion, in our community and in the world

New Covenant
Christian School

New Covenant Christian School (NCCS) is a ministry of New Covenant Presbyterian Church, 128 St. Mary's Church Road, Abingdon. Operated in the Classical learning style, the school also has a Grammar School Campus for children in pre-kindergarten through grade 6 at New Covenant Presbyterian and the Upper School Campus is located in our education building.
UPDATE ON FACILITY UPGRADES:
The Communications Ministry Team is working to upgrade our existing church sign with information about our Web site and schools operating in our facilities. Watch for improvement very soon! The team is also ordering some indoor podium-type signs to help direct and inform people, to make navigating our complex easier.

A sign committee, including members of the Facilities Operation Mission Group, Communications Ministry Team, and other leaders, is working to get a permanent lighted church sign at LCGS. The sign committee's goal is to secure the best possible upgraded sign with lighted changeable text. If you would like, you can help by sharing gifts toward a new church sign as you are moved, in honor or memory of those you love.
Announcing a new journey of building a "culture of peace" with Peace Maker Ministries. It is with scriptural foundation and focus on peacemaking that we are becoming better equipped as individuals and a church community to live out the Gospel of Christ everyday in our relationships at home, work, school, church, and community. Upcoming sessions now being formed! Check us out on Facebook.

Profile Committee Update

The Profile Committee would like to thank everyone who provided input to the congregation survey. We have been pouring through the data from the 166 surveys that were returned and formulating responses to the questions in the Ministry Site Profile (MSP) document required by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

The committee will present a draft of the MSP for Congregation Council consideration at the February meeting and will provide a synopsis of the survey results during the FED (Fellowship and Education) Hour on March 7. We invite everyone to join us to learn how we as a congregation viewed whether we are "more formal and programmatic" or "more informal and spontaneous," and what elements of ministry we feel are a priority here.

Good Shepherd History:

The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd (LCGS) had its earliest beginnings in October 1962, when the Rev. Rodney A. Gatzke was appointed by the then Lutheran Church in America to develop a Bel Air mission. On Christmas Eve that year, 25 people met for worship in the basement of the Harford County Public Library. The first worship service of Good Shepherd was celebrated February 17, 1963 in space rented at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship building. On "Organization Day," October 20, 1963, The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd officially organized with 92 charter members.

Over the years, the congregation gave much of its time, talent and treasure to grow in service of the Lord. On May 14, 1967 LCGS celebrated worship in their own building, at 1515 Emmorton Road!

By 1974 the church completed the second phase of its building program, adding more Sunday school rooms and office space. In 1977, Good Shepherd Cooperative Nursery School (now Good Shepherd Lutheran Preschool) opened its doors to the community.

On September 20, 1992 LCGS dedicated a new sanctuary, narthex and other facilities, and with them came more worshippers. By 1996 the congregation had grown so much, an assistant pastor was called to help shepherd the congregation.

LCGS marked her 40th Anniversary on March 23, 2003 with a ground breaking service for the new education and fellowship building. Among the new ministries added in 2003 were contemporary worship and cell groups.

The congregation has dreams for new ministries, programs and the calling of our fifth senior pastor. What began as a tiny band of committed Lutherans in borrowed and rented space, is The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd of today working out of a complex built for the future as we move ahead to widen God's Kingdom.

 

1515 Emmorton Road
Bel Air MD 21014
410-838-8081