About
Hope Lutheran Church is a member church of
the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
Hope Lutheran Church is a community of believers growing in the grace and love of God revealed in Christ Jesus. We regularly gather to receive the gifts Jesus has earned for us by His glorious death and resurrection. Our Lord distributes these gifts through the proclamation of the Gospel, Baptism, and the Sacrament of the Altar. Through these means, God freely gives the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. We rejoice in the life given now and into eternity received through these gifts.
Meet our pastor
Reverend Robert A. Lane, the son of Elizabeth and Walter Lane, was born and raised in Niagara Falls, New York. As a young boy, Robert was baptized at the Church of the Redeemer Episcopal Church. In 1969, he was confirmed at Grace Lutheran Church, Key West, Florida.
After graduating from high school, Pastor Lane spent 8 years in the U.S. Navy. He served several tours in the Vietnam War. After his discharge, he moved to North Tonawanda, New York. There he served in the fire service, serving as a firefighter and fire investigator on the North Tonawanda Fire Department. At this time, he was a member of St. Matthew Lutheran Church. He moved to Carlsbad, California and worked as a fire inspector at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in San Clemente. He became a member of St. Mark Lutheran Church holding positions as trustee and taught adult Bible class.
Pastor is a graduate of Empire State College, SUNY with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and Economics. In May 1998, he graduated from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, receiving a Master of Divinity degree. Robert was ordained at Saint Mark Lutheran Church, Encinitas, California on June 21,1998 and installed at Hope Lutheran Church in Billings, Montana on June 28, 1998.
On April 1, 2001, Hope joined Our Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church in Worden Montana as a dual parish. Pastor Lane conducts Sunday worship services at 8:45 a.m. at Hope, then drives to Worden for the worship services which begin at 10:45 a.m. Pastor has served as Secretary and President for the Montana District Pastors Conference, on the Missions Committee and Circuit Visitor of the Southern Circuit.
Pastor Lane and his wife Wendy were married in November 1978 and have one daughter, Laura Bradley. Laura and her husband, Jesse, have one son, Lane.
OUR LEADERSHIP
The men and women at Hope faithfully serve Jesus and His Church.
Key Moments in Hope's History
Our Hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness
Anchored in Christ .
Serving Lockwood since 1973.
Pastor Jerald C. Joersz
1972-1977
Pastor David Boehnke
1977-1986
Pastor James Hageman
1987-1992
Pastor William Ferguson
1993-1997
1967 — Lockwood Mission Vision Begins
A community religious survey identified both a strong Lutheran presence and many unchurched families in the Lockwood area, sparking Missouri Synod mission interest.
Spring 1972 — Mission Work Begins
Pastor Jerald C. Joersz was called to serve as Missionary-at-Large to begin Lutheran mission work in Lockwood.
1972 — Church Property and First Building Secured
Land was purchased on Nightingale Drive. A small red church building purchased in Forsyth, Montana was transported to Lockwood and placed on a newly built foundation.
January 28, 1973 — First Worship Services Held
Three worship services were held with approximately 245 people attending — marking the beginning of Lutheran worship in Lockwood.
March 18, 1973 — Congregation Formally Organized
Charter members formally established the congregation and reaffirmed their confirmation vows.
May 20, 1973 — Church and Parsonage Dedicated
The early ministry foundation was completed with dedication services.
1977 — Pastoral Transition
Pastor Joersz accepted a call to serve the LCMS Commission on Theology and Church Relations.
1977–1986 — Pastor David Boehnke Serves Hope
Hope continued to grow and stabilize through long-term pastoral leadership. Pastor Boehnke accepted a call to serve as pastor of Trinity Lutheran church in Casper, WY. His new church was the “Mother Congregation” of 2 Missouri Synod Congregations in Casper. During the vacancy, Reverend Michael Eschelbach, Assistant Pastor of Mount Olive, Billings, served as Hope’s Congregation.
1979–1980 — New Church Building Constructed
Land was purchased across from Lockwood School on Highway 87. The current church building was constructed and dedicated November 23, 1980.
1987–1992 — Pastor James Hageman Serves Hope
Pastor Hageman served Hope’s congregation until 1992, when he resigned in order to return to the Seminary to work toward an advanced degree. During this vacancy, Reverend Elwood Mather, assistant pastor at Trinity in Billings, served the congregation.
1993–1997 — Pastor William Ferguson Serves Hope
Pastor Ferguson served Hope until October 1997, when ill health caused him to retire. Reverend Arlo Pullman, pastor at St. John’s in Laurel, MT, filled the vacancy. Services were held on Sundays at 4:00 pm.
1998 — Pastor Robert A. Lane Installed
Pastor Lane began ministry at Hope following graduation from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. He continues to serve faithfully today.
2001 — Dual Parish Partnership Formed
Hope Lutheran Church and Our Redeemer Lutheran Church (Worden, MT) began shared pastoral ministry.
2023 — 50th Anniversary Celebration
Hope marked 50 years of ministry with worship, fellowship, and major building improvements, including sanctuary updates, flooring replacement, pew refinishing, and facility upgrades.
What We Believe
We believe the Bible is God's inerrant and infallible Word. It is the ultimate source of authority for faith and life.
We also believe the Lutheran Confessions are a correct interpretation of the Bible.
We join the global Church in affirming the beliefs expressed in the Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds.
apostles' creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life + everlasting. Amen.
nicene creed
I believe in one God,
the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth
and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of His Father before all worlds,
God of God, Light of Light,
very God of very God,
begotten, not made,
being of one substance with the Father,
by whom all things were made;
who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary
and was made man;
and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.
He suffered and was buried.
And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures
and ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of the Father.
And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead,
whose kingdom will have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord and giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified,
who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church,
I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins,
and I look for the resurrection of the dead
and the life + of the world to come. Amen.
athanasian creed
Whoever desires to be saved must, above all, hold the catholic faith.
Whoever does not keep it whole and undefiled will without doubt perish eternally.
And the catholic faith is this,
that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance.
For the Father is one person, the Son is another, and the Holy Spirit is another.
But the Godhead of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is one: the glory equal, the majesty coeternal.
Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit:
the Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, the Holy Spirit uncreated;
the Father infinite, the Son infinite, the Holy Spirit infinite;
the Father eternal, the Son eternal, the Holy Spirit eternal.
And yet there are not three Eternals, but one Eternal,
just as there are not three Uncreated or three Infinites, but one Uncreated and one Infinite.
In the same way, the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, the Holy Spirit almighty;
and yet there are not three Almighties, but one Almighty.
So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God;
and yet there are not three Gods, but one God.
So the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord;
and yet there are not three Lords, but one Lord.
Just as we are compelled by the Christian truth to acknowledge each distinct person as God and Lord, so also are we prohibited by the catholic religion to say that there are three Gods or Lords.
The Father is not made nor created nor begotten by anyone.
The Son is neither made nor created, but begotten of the Father alone.
The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son, neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeding.
Thus, there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.
And in this Trinity none is before or after another; none is greater or less than another;
but the whole three persons are coeternal with each other and coequal, so that in all things, as has been stated above, the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity is to be worshiped.
Therefore, whoever desires to be saved must think thus about the Trinity.
But it is also necessary for everlasting salvation that one faithfully believe the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, it is the right faith that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is at the same time both God and man.
He is God, begotten from the substance of the Father before all ages; and He is man, born from the substance of His mother in this age:
perfect God and perfect man, composed of a rational soul and human flesh;
equal to the Father with respect to His divinity, less than the Father with respect to His humanity.
Although He is God and man, He is not two, but one Christ:
one, however, not by the conversion of the divinity into flesh, but by the assumption of the humanity into God;
one altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person.
For as the rational soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ,
who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead,
ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, God Almighty, from whence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
At His coming all people will rise again with their bodies and give an account concerning their own deeds.
And those who have done good will enter into eternal life, and those who have done evil into eternal fire.
This is the catholic faith; whoever does not believe it faithfully and firmly cannot be saved.