About Us

As a missional congregation, we celebrate Christ's presence, invite people into a growing relationship with Jesus and equip them to serve in a broken world.

 

Desert Cross has been serving the East Valley since 1984. We are a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Desert Cross has always had a heart for mission, but over the past few years we've grown stronger in our identity as a missional congregation. Our vision for the future is to continue on this journey by Serving in Christ's Name, Making Christ Known, and Equipping people for Mission.

Desert Cross Lutheran Church is a community of believers whose faith is centered on the living presence of Jesus Christ in our lives. We are confident of God’s grace and boast of what God has done for us. As we gather around weekly celebrations of word and sacrament, we expect to be called by the Holy Spirit to reach out in love to the needy and hurting of our world. We constantly look for ways to expand our service ministry both locally and globally. Because Jesus is our Lord we focus on the study of scripture, confident that as we grow in our knowledge of the Bible, we will grow in our relationship to him and attain a deeper understanding of his will for our lives. Because life is difficult at times, and complicated, we hesitate to impose answers on others. We welcome opposing viewpoints and love to listen to different ideas. Questions are always honored and never discounted. We encourage participation in small groups, knowing that in community we can find support and explore those deep questions. Everyone is welcome at Desert Cross. What we do together, from Holy Communion to mission trips to small groups, is open to all…we are a mix of conservative and liberal folks who have come together out of love for Jesus and for one another. We strive to be inclusive in every sense of the word and are looking for greater diversity. While we are proud of our Lutheran heritage we don’t allow doctrinal issues or dogmas to undermine the community that we have developed. We believe that definitions often lead to separation and we prefer to celebrate the unity of love that Jesus so clearly expected of his followers.