Welcome to West Lisbon
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Our Vision
Christ in us: Our vision is for Jesus to be in every heart, head, and hand as we loyally love, learn, and labor together for God.
Our Mission
Move: The members of WLC commit to moving people who love God into deeper discipleship experiences with God resulting in activities and relationships that glorify God and advance the gospel in our community and world.
Our History
The “preparation of the soil” for West Lisbon Church began in the gospel work of Elling Eielson in the
Much more could be said about how God moved people about in the
The congregation, being without a settled pastor, tendered a call to Rasmussen to become their pastor. After having taken a course in
Pastor Rasmussen’s role in God’s story for West Lisbon Church is critical to understanding our history, our present, and our future. He was Norwegian Lutheran for sure, but he wasn’t just that. Before leaving Norway, Rasmussen was part of the Haugean movement. Hans Nielsen Hauge (1771–1824) was a powerful lay preacher in Norway. Clifford Nelson writes in The Lutherans in North America,
Between 1796 and 1804 Hauge preached his message of repentance through Norway, reviving the backsliders and strengthening and encouraging the faithful. From 1804 to 1811 he was imprisoned not only for his criticisms of church and clergy but for his violation of the
The Anticonventicle Act of 1741 forbid lay preachers from preaching and teaching, which the state viewed as only appropriate for approved clergymen. The Lutheran Calendar celebrates Hauge and in its description of his spiritual life clearly indicates that he experienced the new birth. From Hauge and onto Rasmussen and others whom he influenced, there is a clear evangelical thread that has always been a part of West Lisbon Church’s heritage: repentance, spiritual renewal and awakening, the new birth, and lay ministry. Having been ordained as the first pastor of the Lisbon Congregation in 1854, Pastor Rasmussen went on to serve for 44 years. He planted many churches, founded a seminary, and was a pioneer in the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran movement in America.