St. Mark's Lutheran Church is a member of The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. As a church body, the LCMS is one of the few remaining denominations that still considers the Bible to be completely true, authoritative and without error.  As such, everything that we believe, teach and confess is in accordance with the Holy Scriptures.

St. Mark's has been serving the people of Benson (and the surrounding communities) since 1940.  We are a mission-minded congregation, eager to show the love of Jesus to our neighbors in Swift County.  We also participate in various national ministries (such as Lutherans for Life),  as well the international mission efforts in places such as Liberia and Kenya.

We Believe...
THAT God exists as 3 persons, yet one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Matt. 28:19).

THAT each of us is sinful from the moment we are conceived; due to this “original sin”, we are spiritually dead and are unable to be saved by our own efforts (Rom. 3:20; Eph. 2:3).  
       
THAT God created us, so that we might have a loving, personal relationship with Him.  Since sin separated us from Him, He willingly sent His Son to redeem us from our captivity to sin and set us free to live in a right relationship with Him. (Rom. 3:21-24 ; Eph. 2:4-10).
      
THAT this act of grace towards us was effective, because Jesus Christ (True God) took human flesh and also became True Man.  On account of His humanity, He was able to pay the price for our sin (with His own death); and, according to His divinity, He was able to offer Himself as a perfect sacrifice for all people. (John 1:1, 14& 29; 1 John 4:9, 10).
       
THAT by the power of His Holy Spirit, working through His Word, we receive the gift of faith at baptism.  This is a gift of God, by which we are enabled to believe the promises God made to us in His Word and receive all the blessings He offers us there: including the forgiveness of sins, being clothed with Christ's righteousness and having eternal life with Him. (Acts 2:38, 39; Titus 3:3-7)
      
THAT God continually strengthens our faith in these promises by the preaching of His Word and the Sacrament of Holy Communion (at which time, we truly receive His physical Body and Blood: in, with and under the bread and the wine).  We practice the historical and Biblical tradition of "closed communion", which professes a commonly held faith by all those who partake in it (1 Cor. 12:3; 39; 1 Cor. 11:23-26).

THAT by grace, through faith, we are now judged by God to be innocent in His sight and worthy recipients of the Crown of Life.  Therefore, we need not fear Him or His wrath, because, “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”. (Rom. 8:1; Rev. 2:10)
       
THAT we have reason to be joyful in all circumstances, because we know that, by faith, we are His beloved children- and He is our Heavenly Father! (1 John 3:1-3)