Hello, and thanks for visiting us online!
My name is Michael Murphy, Lead Pastor of Lutheran Church of the Ascension in Citrus Heights, California.

Let me tell you a little about our congregation. Ascension is a growing congregation. Our current membership is around 800 plus. Approximately 340 people worship here weekly. This makes us a “large, mid-sized” church. We are a very welcoming, warm, loving and caring congregation. We are also a very mission-oriented and ministries-oriented church.

"We are evangelical, Bible centered, and confessional. By "evangelical", I mean we are a theologically conservative congregation who perceives our divinely ordained mission as being an instrument to bring Jesus and His Gospel to people and bringing people to Jesus. It is our conviction that God's purpose for congregations is fulfilled through the making of disciples of all people, and teaching them to live according to the teachings of Jesus and equipping them for loving works of service.
We take the teachings of scripture very seriously, believing the Bible to be the inspired written Word of God, through which God discloses to us everything we need to know about God, and reveals to us the divine plan for the salvation of humankind. The Bible contains and is the only inspired written record that contains the teachings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In this particular sense the Bible is unique and therefore is the Church’s final authority in matters of doctrine and practice. We also claim to be a confessional church; that is, we confess, teach and preach in accordance with the traditional, historical and orthodox beliefs of the Christian Church as they have been handed down through the creeds of the church and the Lutheran Confessional documents.

We are also a Christ-centered church. We believe, teach and preach that all human beings are in need of God's gracious forgiveness and salvation. A person, receives forgiveness and salvation (eternal life) as a free, unearned gift of God's grace, through faith in the person and work of Christ alone.

We are a very imperfect church, with imperfect members and an equally imperfect pastor who have embraced their perfect Savior.

We are a church with a Lutheran heritage, a part of the largest body of Protestants in the world. History and tradition is important to us; but we are also open to new innovative, but doctrinally sound ways to reach the unchurched and introduce them to Jesus Christ, who is the same today, yesterday, and tomorrow; and who is the way, the only way, the truth and the life! We are a liturgical church, appreciating the traditions of worship, many of which were and are God ordained, and some which have been handed down to us from previous generations, while also using new and contemporary forms of worship to connect with new and contemporary generations of Christians.

At the time Pastor Murphy accepted the call as Ascension’s Senior Pastor he was also serving our nation as an Active Reserve Air Force Chaplain. He had previously served on active duty as an enlisted Air Force Security Police officer from 1969-1973. In 1985 he was commissioned as a category “A” Reserve Air Force Chaplain, and assigned to the 349th AMW at Travis AFB, CA. He was activated and served briefly during Dessert Shield/Dessert Storm. In 1999, he was reassigned as the Wing Chaplain for the 940th ARW at Beale AFB, Ca. On June 20th 2007, Chaplain LT. Col. Murphy retired from the Active Reserves.
Pastor Mike Murphy

The people at Lutheran Church of the Ascension warmly invite you to worship with us. You will find us to be a friendly, welcoming place where you and your family are greeted with a smile. We offer 3 different services every Sunday morning, all serving Holy Communion. Before and after every service, we offer Coffee Hour, which is a great time to grab a cup of coffee and a treat. Please come and worship Our Lord with us, and stay for the fellowship!
Pastor Allen