OUR FIRST SCHOOL VALUE: BEING CHRIST-CENTERED
Christ is central to everything we do — academics, athletics, small group worship, and friendships. Our school is not perfect — no school can claim that. But we know we have God’s perfect forgiveness, which makes growing up and getting through the difficult years of changes in our youths’ lives much easier. We are a distinctively Christian school that intentionally grounds itself in the rich Lutheran
education tradition. HOWEVER, you do not have to be Lutheran to be a Crusader. We open our doors to students from any faith background, even those without a solid church home.
At Rockford Lutheran School, your child can find many ways to grow in your faith and share your faith with others. As a community, we celebrate when a student comes to faith and chooses to be baptized in chapel with us. The faculty and staff are here for the students. If a student has a problem, they’ll talk with you and pray with you.
OUR RICH PAN-LUTHERAN TRADITIONS
At Rockford Lutheran School, we strive to work within the beliefs of our partner church bodies, The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), focusing on sharing the common ground between them and keeping the gospel of Jesus Christ central in everything, while respecting the diversity within the Lutheran tradition.
COMMON GROUND
Together, the LCMS & ELCA affirm Christ as the living Word of God, and the Holy Scriptures as the rule and norm of faith and practice. The common ground shared by our partner church bodies includes the centrality of the cross as a revelation of God’s presence and mercy in the world; dependence upon God’s grace, in Christ, for salvation; Word and Sacrament as means of grace; the nature of God’s Word as both law and gospel. Through the waters of baptism and the presence of the Holy Spirit, the common ground between the LCMS & ELCA is sufficient to sustain a relationship that is identified as Pan-Lutheran.
DIVERSITY
Within the Lutheran tradition, there is diversity in the interpretation of scripture and confessions that lead to theological differences over matters such as creation, abortion, the ordination of women, and human sexuality. The common ground shared is foundational to the ability to recognize and respect the diversity between the LCMS and ELCA. Therefore, the administration and educators are called to emphasize the common ground, be familiar with the existing diversity, and respect that diversity accordingly. All partners in the Lutheran School Association are committed to attending matters of diversity in ongoing dialogue for the sake of the gospel, partnership in the Rockford Lutheran School Association, and our mutual understanding.
ROLE OF RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION
Religious instruction is an integral component of the educational process at Lutheran High School/ Luther Academy. For students who have active relationships with communities of faith, the school provides this component as a supplement to their faith formation. Primary responsibility for this process rests in the home and the congregation. For students with no active participation in a faith community, the school’s role is to be a primary witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Pan-Lutheran witness provided in both instances must be guided by the reality of the common ground and diversity that exists between the LCMS/ELCA and is in keeping with the principles and strategies of this document.
2024-2025 SCHOOL THEME
Our school-wide theme scripture passage for the 2024-2025 school year will be John 10:10b
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.