Who We Are
WE ARE CHRISTIANS. There are many Christian churches in Tucson – and we thank God for all of them who are proclaiming the truth about Jesus! If you are currently a member in good standing of a good church in our area, stay put! However, if you are attending a church that teaches falsehood (truth matters!), or does not disciple you in the fullness of what God provides for your spiritual life, you would do well to consider a church like Fountain of LIfe.
“LUTHERANS”. We are, of course, not the only Christians in town. But we are unique in that we are a “Lutheran” church. The Lutheran tradition goes back to the 16th century, when Martin Luther vigorously sought to bring correctives to the church of his day, which had become very corrupt. Luther performed an amazing work for the church, helping to clarify its theology, all the while keeping us connected to the church of the ages, all the way back to Jesus. To be a Lutheran is to remain tethered to the classical Christian church: Always seeking to be relevant to the culture of today, but always anchored in the unshakable testimony of the historic church.
LUTHERAN CHURCH – MISSOURI SYNOD. There are different “brands” of Lutheranism. What you need to know about ours: We still believe the Bible, and how it has been classically understood. (Some Lutheran churches have changed their theology to match contemporary progressivism … that’s not us!). We still believe that “all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), and that we need to be forgiven by God for our sins. That forgiveness comes through belief in what Jesus has done. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). It sounds “old school”, but it’s still true: our sins have separated us from God, but God has come to save us from ourselves, and make us His children. This is what we call “the gospel” (literally, the “good news”).
FOUNTAIN OF LIFE. Some Lutheran churches are very committed to old-style practices. We love some of those as well. While always being committed to the foundational truths of the scripture and our classical heritage, we are also committed to experiencing the fresh winds of the Holy Spirit, leading us to fresh expressions of faith, of worship, of outreach. We don’t want to be just “contemporary”, or just “traditional”. We believe we’re most blessed by having it all!
(Like every church…) A WORK IN PROGRESS. We are so thankful for our church’s past … but even more excited about our future. We aren’t perfect, and never will be. But we believe strongly that we’re heading in a great direction – one that will be an unusually wonderful blessing for all those involved.
We would be thrilled if the Lord led you to join us at Fountain of Life.
Our History
In 1956, Faith Lutheran Church in Tucson was led by the Lord to begin a new church on the far east side of Tucson. That daughter church is us – Fountain of Life Lutheran! The new congregation adopted this name from Psalm 36:9 – “For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light do we see light.” The church was officially organized on January 1, 1958. Worship services and Bible classes were held for three years until the sanctuary on Kolb Road was ready. From humble beginnings the Lord has blessed Fountain of Life, expanding our ministry to reach hundreds of people in both our church and school ministries.
The Lord put in on our hearts to help plant a new church in Vail, Arizona. Since 2005 Christ Lutheran Church in Vail has grown to be a thriving sister church in our area.
Most recently…
In December of 2024 Bill Hartley was called to serve as the Pastor of Fountain of Life. We believe this marks a new day for us as a church, as we seek to reconnect the people of Tucson to the richness of classical Christianity.
For those who don’t know about Jesus, we are eager to explain the good news of what He has done for us, and what being His disciple is all about.
For those who may have never heard about the richness and depth of truly Biblical, classically-understood Christianity, we look forward to sharing the uniqueness of our tradition, and what it can mean to you and your family to become a part of it.
Thank you for your interest in Fountain of Life. The journey ahead is going to be exciting — and we would be blessed to have you join us!
New Members
From attendance to membership – becoming a part of the Fountain of Life family
Stay tuned for when our next new member series will take place!
It says in the scriptures that, “As in one body we have many members … so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.“ The “membership” is true of all Christians, in all churches – we are all “members” of the universal body of Christ.
But the local expression of that “membership” is just as important as the universal ideal. It’s in the local church that we pray, love, learn, proclaim, worship and serve. There is no fulfillment of Biblical membership apart from membership in the local church. Hence, your spiritual life will never be what God intends for it to be apart from the brothers and sisters God has knit you together with at the local level. So, whether it is with us at Fountain of Life, or with the believers at another of the wonderful churches in Tucson, be encouraged to become active members in a local church.
In the meantime, we hope you will enjoy worshiping with us, attending additional gatherings, and getting to know us better. Be encouraged, too, to contact the church office and set up a time to talk with our Pastor, Bill Hartley. He would love to share with you the unique vision of Fountain of Life, and how being a member can and should be a wonderful next step in your walk with Christ.
You can contact the church office Monday through Friday at (520) 747-1213 or email your interest to receptionist@follutheran.org.
Contact us
Interested in learning more about Fountain of Life?
We want to hear from you! Fill out the contact form with any questions or prayer requests, and our staff will reach out to you!