About | Our Redeemer Lutheran Church

Learn About Our Redeemer

Our Vision

As men, women, and children united in faith and worship by the Word of God, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod and Our Redeemer Lutheran Church exist to make disciples throughout the world for time and for eternity, using the gospel in Word and sacrament to win the lost for Christ and to nurture believers for lives of Christian service, all to the glory of God.

Our Lutheran Heritage

The Bible & Lutherans

Nearly 500 years ago, the Christian church was corrupted by many false teachings. A man named Martin Luther led people back to the teachings of the Bible. His work, and that of his friends, is called the Reformation. Through Luther God restored the church to purity of doctrine and a new life of faith in Christ. The doctrines of the Lutheran Church are not new. They are the teachings of the Bible. Thus the Lutheran Church is not a new church. It is not a sect or cult. It is a church whose teaching is based on the words written by the prophets of the Old Testament and the apostles of the New Testament. The Bible tells us about Jesus Christ. The teachings of the Lutheran Church are those of the original, ancient church of the apostles and early Christians.

For more on the basic tenets of the Christian faith, check out: Luther's Small Catechism. For more on the Lutheran Confessions, check out: The Book of Concord

Focus on Scripture

All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 (NIV)

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ. Romans 10:17 (NIV)

So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11 (NIV)

For Spiritual Guidance from Scripture, check out: God's Yellow Pages

Who We Are

We are a member of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), a group of more than 360,000 men, women, and children in nearly 1,300 congregations across the United States and Canada united by a common faith in Christ’s saving love. 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.

Our Redeemer has served the Santa Barbara and Goleta area since 1973.

We Believe

That there is one God, and He has revealed Himself as the Triune God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit
That God has made Himself known to us and all men through the Bible - His true, inspired and error-free Word
That all people, because of the disobedience of the first man and woman, are conceived and born in sin, and that because of sin, all people deserve eternal death
That God sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to be born of a virgin, to live a perfect life, die and rise again to take away the eternal condemnation of sin
That God's grace through Jesus is given to us through faith worked by the Holy Spirit and the Means of Grace - the Gospel in God's Word and the Sacraments
That faith, strengthened by Word and Sacrament, is the living force within us which produces good works which are pleasing to God
That on the Last Day, Christ will come again in all his glory to take us and all believers to live with himself in heaven for all eternity

Meet Our Pastor

Pastor Daniel Schroeder was born in Toledo, Ohio, but mostly grew up in Saginaw, Michigan, where he attended Bethany Lutheran School for his elementary years and graduated high school in 1987 from Michigan Lutheran Seminary. In 1991, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern College in Watertown, Wisconsin. His seminary training was at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon, Wisconsin, graduating in 1995 with a Master of Divinity degree. During his year of internship, Dan served at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Franklin, Wisconsin. Since graduating from the seminary, he has served as pastor at congregations in Jackson, Wisconsin, Chula Vista and Modesto, California, and Palm Coast, Florida. Dan also served at Northwestern Publishing House in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as a Bible study and book editor. In June 2024, Dan briefly retired from the ministry to pursue a long-held dream to attend flight school and possibly become a commercial pilot. Feeling compelled to return to full-time gospel ministry, in June 2025, Dan accepted his current call here at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Santa Barbara, California.

Dan married his wife Linka in 1993, and they have been blessed with five children and nine grandchildren. Dan enjoys working out, playing and watching numerous sports, reading, using and learning technology, cooking and grilling out, and spending time at the beach and in the outdoors.