Our History
In the early 2020s, Amazing Grace Lutheran Church in Panama City, FL wanted to expand their ministry into Panama City Beach. A dedicated group began to lay the groundwork to start a new church on the beach. In 2024, Pastor Evan Chartrand came to Panama City Beach to lead the church planting efforts. In early 2025, Anchor Lutheran was created to bring the good news of Jesus to western Bay County and beyond.
But our local church has a broader reach than just Bay County. Through our partnership with our national church body, we help spread God's kingdom throughout the world.
Our Beliefs
We are a Biblical church
keeping God’s Word first place in our faith and life.
We are a Lutheran church
proclaiming forgiveness for all through Jesus Christ.
gathering to praise God, be strengthened by his Word, and reach out to those around us.
We are a Christian church
What is a Lutheran?
Lutherans have a deep well of teachings, but you can sum up Lutheranism with four words:
Grace, Faith, Scripture, Christ.
Grace:
The Bible is clear. All people have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, so all people need a Savior. Jesus Christ is the Savior you need. Jesus saves you not because of anything you do, but because he loves you. We can’t earn this love. We don’t deserve this love. And yet, Jesus loves us. This undeserved love is grace. We are saved by grace alone.
Romans 3:23-24: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
Faith:
How do we receive God’s grace? Through faith. Think of grace and faith like the water pipes in your home. You can’t get the water without the pipes. In the same way, you can’t get God’s grace without faith. Faith in Jesus as your Savior is what brings you God’s grace. We are saved by grace alone, received through faith alone.
Ephesians 2:8-9: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Scripture:
We believe that we are saved by grace, through faith because Scripture says so. The Holy Scriptures are God’s Word. They are clear and trustworthy, revealing what we need to know for salvation. We are saved by grace alone, received through faith alone, revealed in Scripture alone.
2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Christ:
Our salvation from sin is only possible because of Jesus Christ. He accomplished our salvation with his life, death, and resurrection. He gets all the credit. He gets all our thanks and praise. Grace, faith, and Scripture all point us to Jesus. It’s all about Jesus!
1 Timothy 2:5-6: “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.”
Our Denomination
Anchor Lutheran Church is part of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). The WELS, characterized as theologically conservative, is the third largest Lutheran church body in America. The WELS began in Wisconsin in 1850 with one church. Today, it has grown to over 1,200 congregations in North America, with more than 330,000 baptized members served by over 1,200 pastors.
WELS operates one of the largest parochial school systems in the United States, providing Christian education from infancy through college. The synod also operates four worker training schools to provide pastors for its churches, teachers for its schools, and staff ministers to meet the needs of God’s people. WELS supports mission work throughout the United States and in more than 40 countries around the world.
As members of the WELS, we are committed to a common calling: encouraging each other in our faith and sharing God’s gift of a Savior with the rest of the world. Learn more about the WELS here.
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