Mount Carmel is a Christian ministry. Our goal is to teach the Bible in a way that points to Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

Mount Carmel carries out its ministry in two ways:

• We offer Biblical teaching, worship, and Christian fellowship through Mount Carmel’s own events and programming.
• We welcome Christian congregations and other Christian organizations to offer their own programs here at Mount Carmel.

Mount Carmel welcomes individuals and congregations from all Christian backgrounds and denominations. We expect all teaching and worship at Mount Carmel to align with the following principles of the Christian faith, whether led by Mount Carmel or by other Christian congregations or organizations:

   1. God has revealed Himself through His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus is truly God and truly human.
   2. We worship one God in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We proclaim the doctrine of the Trinity as it is taught in the Bible and was affirmed by the early
   Church through the ecumenical creeds.
   3. Through His death, Jesus paid the debt of sin for the whole world, that all who believe in Him will have eternal life. He arose from the dead in the body in which He was
   crucified. He ascended into heaven, where He is now seated at the right hand of God, the Father, as our interceding High Priest.
   4. The Bible is God’s revealed Word to us, spoken in Law and Gospel. God’s Word is the only final authority for us in all matters of faith and life. God’s Word is also the
   vehicle God uses to create, evoke, and enliven faith itself.

When Mount Carmel is offering an event, we have this additional guidance for our teaching, preaching, and worship:

   5. While Mount Carmel hosts a variety of events with different emphases, our focus will always include the following:
       a. Jesus Only – We will always focus on Jesus.
       b. Teaching and Studying God’s Word – Mount Carmel began as a ministry of the Lutheran Bible Institute, which had as its first purpose “To inspire and direct Bible Study.
       This is central and all-governing.”
   6. We expect to have guests at Mount Carmel that are Christian and non-Christian. We expect guests to come from a variety of Christian backgrounds and denominations.
   We expect to have teachers, preachers, and ministry staff that come from a variety of Christian backgrounds and denominations. Recognizing this:
       a. We ask all leaders to teach God’s Word in the most effective way that they can and in accordance with their own understanding of the faith. 
       b. We also ask that all leaders recognize that they are speaking to a diverse group here at Mount Carmel, where people have different opinions about what the Bible
       teaches on certain topics.
   7. When the Sacrament of Baptism or the Sacrament of Holy Communion is celebrated as a part of a Mount Carmel event, that celebration will be done in accordance with
   the teachings of the Lutheran Confessions. People from all Christian traditions are welcome to join us in receiving Communion. 
   8. When teaching about marriage, gender, and sexuality at Mount Carmel events we ask all teachers, preachers, and ministry staff to teach in accord with the following
   perspectives:
       a. God created and continues to create humans as male and female. The physical characteristics at the time of birth identify a person as being male or female. 
       b. Sexual activity belongs exclusively within marriage, a God-created relationship between one man and one woman.

We ask all leaders to recognize that at Mount Carmel events there will likely be people who agree with these perspectives and people who disagree with them. While we want to have consistent teaching in this area, we also ask all to be respectful of those with differing opinions. We ask all to be welcoming and respectful of people who are living in a way that is in conflict with these perspectives.

9. We believe in the Church, the Body of Christ, and the importance for all believers to be a part of a local congregation. Mount Carmel exists to help congregations in their ministry, not to compete with congregations or to replace congregations. Here is how we understand the relationship between Mount Carmel and congregations:
       a. We encourage all who participate at Mount Carmel to also be fully involved in their local congregations. 
       b. We ask all to place the financial support of their own congregations ahead of their financial support of Mount Carmel. 
       c. We believe that a time of focused Bible study and Christian fellowship at Mount Carmel can bring renewal to believers, so that they can serve Christ more effectively in
       their local congregation and community. 
       d. We ask everyone to pray for their local congregations, for the ministry at Mount Carmel, and for the Body of Christ around the world. 
       e. We ask all our teachers, preachers, and ministry staff to recognize the importance of the faith renewal and awakening that takes place at Mount Carmel, but to also
       recognize that the local congregation is the primary place where Christians receive God’s Word of Grace.

We ask all Mount Carmel preachers, teachers, and ministry staff to honor and teach in accordance with Mount Carmel’s Teaching Guidance. We ask all Mount Carmel Proclaimer Congregations and Mount Carmel Board Members to affirm their support for this teaching guidance. 

While there is provision in the By-Laws for modifying or making additions to this teaching guidance, it is Mount Carmel’s intent to maintain a consistent teaching guidance, striving to be faithful to God’s Word.

Click here to read Mount Carmel’s Faith Statement.