...Christian education is a continuation of, and response to, Christ's directive to "Go make disciples … teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."

...Lutheran schools are necessarily established and maintained to assist the family to train and educate their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

...Children are a cherished gift of God and deserving of quality instruction and varied learning experiences to enable acceptable spiritual, mental, social, physical, and emotional growth.

...Lutheran schools with a philosophy, objectives, and curriculum that are Christ centered can best provide a "total" education for the children of the church and for those of the community who share our thoughts about Christian education.

...Christian educators, by the grace of God, see their pupils through the Cross of Christ as members of the family of God and educate them to serve a life of love and service to God and their fellowmen.

OUR OBJECTIVES ARE...

...to carry out the mission of the church, namely to preach and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

...to give the Gospel free course through the Word and the Spirit so that the members of the body of Christ are nurtured, edified, and educated.

...to enable each child of God to fully use and develop his/her God-given talents to grow spiritually, mentally, socially, and emotionally as he/she grows physically.

...to equip God's children through religious and secular training and education to be of service to all men in all walks of life, as critical thinkers and problem solvers.

...to reach out as a corporate body and as individual members of the body of Christ to bring the Gospel to the home, the parish, the community, and the world.

…to prepare Christian children, to assist them to prepare others for the second coming of Christ.

I.  Trinity Lutheran School confesses and incorporates a commitment to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in all aspects of its education mission as it is taught and confessed in the inspired sacred Scriptures and the confessional writings of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.

A.   This faith commitment is explicitly articulated in the school’s charter as expressed

in the constitution and bylaws of the Trinity Lutheran congregation (see church  constitution).

B.    This faith commitment shapes – and is reflected in – the school’s faculty, staff

instructional program, education philosophy, and worship life.  

1.   Faculty and staff confess and reflect in their personal faith, worship life, and professional service to the school the belief that “God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

2.   A Lutheran, Christian world-view shapes, integrates and unites the instructional programs of the school – its courses of study, education resources, and priorities.

3.   Catechesis from Luther’s Small Catechism – teaching of the faith with confession, prayer, and memorization – is central in the instructional life of the school on all grade levels in accord with the school’s confessional commitment. We believe that our school is an extension of the home, existing to supplement the parents, not to take the place of them; to aid, not to oppose them; and to strengthen parent/child ties, not to weaken or destroy them.

4.   The worship life at Trinity Lutheran School uses and teaches the historic forms of liturgy and hymnody as they express and convey the gifts of the pure Gospel in Word and Sacrament (using the Lutheran Service Book).

C.       Regular evaluative strategy is in place to continually evaluate the school’s performance in light of its confessional commitments with established ways and means to implement improvement. The Trinity Lutheran Church and School Board of Education is responsible for such evaluation.

II.  The School demonstrates a commitment to a classical and Lutheran approach to curriculum and instruction, as adopted from The Consortium for Classical and Lutheran Education “Marks of a Classical and Lutheran School.”

A.    The school’s curriculum and instruction is shaped on all levels by a manner of teaching that nurtures the basic language skills – grammar, logic, rhetoric – to progressively equip learners to carry out successfully their own inquiries.

1.   These skills are taught and exemplified by instructional strategies that are

informed and shaped by levels of student intellectual maturity and aptitude – grammar in the lower grades; logic and rhetoric added at learning-appropriate higher-grade levels.

2.   All faculty and staff are committed to the classical and Lutheran approach in education and exhibit an enthusiastic willingness to grow in their understanding, skill, and appreciation of this approach to pedagogy.

3.   Each member of the faculty demonstrates being an enthusiastic ongoing

learner in his/her assigned teaching areas of responsibility in and out of the classroom.

4.   The school’s governance possesses and implements ways and means for the continuing education of its staff in the classical approach – appropriate to the levels of the school’s education program.

B.   The scope and sequence of the school’s curricular and co-curricular programs are normed by the goal to raise up a virtuous, educated person for heavenly and earthly citizenship – the  life of faith in Christ and loving service to neighbor in the offices of one’s vocation.

1.   The courses of study to be mastered by students are shaped by the significant fund of information to be passed on to the next generation for responsible citizenship in the Church and world.

2.   The basic subject areas of English language skills (reading, spelling, vocabulary, and writing), Latin, mathematics, history, science, geography, literature, music, art, physical education, and theology form the primary courses of study on all elementary levels of instruction.

3.   The higher language skills of dialectical thinking and analysis, and then later, rhetorical uses of language (written and oral) are exemplified by instructors on all levels but then, integrated into strategies for student mastery in the higher grades 7-8.

4.  Instruction in Latin, even in the early grades, is integrated into the strategies of teaching linguistic grammar and syntax and serves as a foundation for increased mastery of English and other foreign languages.

5.   The upper grades instructional program (grades 7-8) will reflect an increasingly sophisticated exposure and mastery of the primary resources of the literature of the Western Canon (The Great Books) that are age appropriate.      (reference www.CCLE.org for further information)

III.  The Trinity Lutheran Church and School Board of Education establishes and expresses clearly articulated rules, regulations and responsibilities that are in harmony with God’s revealed orders of creation – for students, parents, and school staff.

A. Children are to be loved and respected and their limitations clearly recognized.  Children must also learn to respect the Lord, parents, other adults and one another.  Jesus said, "Permit the children to come unto Me;  do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to them."  Mark 10:14

B.  Children have responsibilities to God for their words and their actions.  "It is by his deeds that a lad distinguishes himself, if his conduct is pure and right."  Prov. 20:11

C.   Children are born with a sinful nature, and are sinful, by nature and by personal choice. Therefore they need correction early in life.  Although man is created in the image of God, his sin prevents him from realizing his full potential. “For whom the Lord loves, He reproves, even as a father reproves the son in whom he delights.”  Prov. 3:12

D.   The school has written faculty, parent, and student policy manuals and has secured appropriate commitments.

E.  Staff, parents, and students give ample evidence to their knowledge and compliance of the school’s policies for conduct and responsibilities.

IV. With regards to the principles of staffing, all who are involved in the educational process must:

A. Be a Christian.  Without Christ, the teacher is impotent in his ability to teach in a Christ- centered manner due to the absence of the Holy Spirit from his life.  "However, you are not in the flesh but in the spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.  But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him." Rom. 8:9

B. Actively attend and fellowship in and with Trinity Lutheran Church or another LC-MS church.

C. Live a lifestyle in word and deed that is in accordance with the Word of God. Eph. 4:1-3 “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

D. Trinity Lutheran School requires all of its teachers to be certified by the State of Wyoming and/or rostered by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.  It is the policy of Trinity that all full-time teachers have a Lutheran Teachers Diploma (or are working towards such certification). The theological training helps teachers integrate their Christian faith in the teaching of academic subjects. In such instances where an LC-MS certified or rostered teacher is not available, the vacant position will be filled with the most suitable replacement until an LC-MS certified or rostered teacher can be secured. All non-degreed teachers are required to maintain a current Wyoming State Substitute Teacher's Certificate and will be supervised by a rostered teacher.

STATEMENT OF FAITH

I.  The Word of God - We believe that the Bible is the ONLY written Word of God, fully inspired and written without error in the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that it has final authority in all matters of faith and conduct.  1 Cor. 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:16, 17;  2 Peter 1:20, 21

II. The Trinity - We believe that there is one Living and true God, eternally existing in three persons, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Matt. 28:19;  2 Cor. 13:14;  John 14: 16-31;  1 John 5:7; John 10:30

III.  God the Father – We believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. 

What does this mean?  I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, animals, and all I have.  He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil.  All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.  This is most certainly true.  1^st Article of the Apostles’ Creed and Explanation from Luther’s Small Catechism

IV. Jesus Christ - We believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty.  From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

What does this mean?  I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.            2^nd  Article of the Apostles’ Creed and Explanation  from Luther’s Small Catechism

V. Holy Spirit - We believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

What does this mean?  I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.  In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.    3^rd  Article of the Apostles’ Creed and Explanation from Luther’s Small Catechism

VI.  Salvation – Our (Lutheran) churches teach that people cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works.  People are freely justified for Christ’s sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received in to favor and that their sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake. By His death, Christ made satisfaction for our sins. God counts this faith for righteousness in His sight ( Romans 3:21-26; 4:5).  Article IV of the Augsburg Confession from Concordia. The Lutheran Confessions  “A Reader’s Edition of the Book of Concord”, CPH, St. Louis, MO,  2005

VII.  Satan and Hell - We believe that Satan is real and does exist and is the adversary of every believer. We believe that hell is a place of eternal conscious punishment of all unbelievers.  Job 1:6-7;  Matt. 25:46; Rev. 20:14, 15;  I Pet. 5:8

VIII.  Church – Our (Lutheran) churches teach that the one holy Church is to remain forever.  The church is the congregation of saints (Psalm 149:1) in which the Gospel is purely taught and the Sacraments are correctly administered.  Article VII of the Augsburg Confession from Concordia. The Lutheran Confessions  “A Reader’s Edition of the Book of Concord”, CPH, St. Louis, MO,  2005

IX.  Christian Conduct – Our (Lutheran) churches teach that this faith is bound to bring forth good fruit (Galatians 5:22-23).  It is necessary to do good works commanded by God (Ephesians 2:10) because of God’s will. We should not rely on those works to merit justification before God.  The forgiveness of sins and justification is received through faith. The voice of Christ testifies, “So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded say, ‘We are unworthy servants: we have only done what was our duty’” (Luke 17:10).   Article VI of the Augsburg Confession from Concordia. The Lutheran Confessions  “A Reader’s Edition of the Book of Concord”, CPH, St. Louis, MO,  2005

X. Resurrection - We believe in the resurrection of the saved unto life and the resurrection of the lost unto damnation.  John 5:24-29

XI.  Spiritual Unity - We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, and that we should live together in peace, and that it is our Christian duty to promote harmony among the members of the Body of Christ.  Ps. 133:1;  Phil 2:1-5; Eph. 4:3. Upon your request, you may receive from the church office, free of charge, a copy of Luther’s  Small Catechism with Explanation, which explains the doctrine of the Lutheran Church in greater detail.  The pastors are eager to discuss with you any questions you have about our doctrine.