Good Shepherd Lutheran Church – Rapid City, South Dakota

We preach Christ crucified. Okay, that isn’t new. Christ crucified has always been what we’ve preached here, but we are trying to make that clearer to the world. The most obvious way we’ve tried to make this clear is by adding our new cross on the exterior of the church. The Lord provided abundant funding that allowed us to do stone work on the front exterior of the church and install a giant metal backlit cross. This is to show our respect and love for our glorious God and His house. It also ensures that people can see that cross all the way in Nebraska (slight exaggeration). What are we? We are a church, and we preach that Christ was slain for the sins of the world, and we want people to know it.

Of course, there are many so-called churches that have beautiful buildings and large crosses, yet Christ crucified is seldom, if ever, really preached in them. While our new backlit cross is the most visible way we are showing our community that we preach Christ crucified, the more important way is by actually preaching Christ crucified. We want the community to see that our church is not just a building with a cross, but a place where Christ’s sacrifice is continually preached. Along with our usual Sunday service, we have hosted many seminars over the last couple of years. We pick a topic our members are interested in (and that we think people in the community would be interested in) such as anger management, end-of-life planning, prayer, or getting rid of bitterness. We have advertised these events with flyers and on Facebook. We have encouraged members to invite friends and neighbors. Through these seminars, we’ve not only provided practical help, but also shared the truth that sets us free—that Christ came into the world to save sinners, among whom we are included.