Our Story
Photograph of the sanctuary when the building was dedicated in 1917. notice the organ pipes, gaslights on the wall and ceiling, and the German inscription above the chancel - "Blessed are those who hear the word of God and follow it."
Our History
TThe seed of the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church was sown in the early part of 1887, when a small group of members of Trinity Lutheran Church conceived the idea of a new congregation in the then growing east side of our city. On July 10, 1887, the first formal meeting was held at the home of Mr. E.C. Meyer with Rev. George Bachmann, pastor of Emanuel Lutheran Church, acting as chairman.
On June 3, 1906 a building committee was established. Members voted to proceed with the plans for a new edifice. In May 5, 1907, the building was begun with a contract price of $21,673.00. This building, which we are still using today, was dedicated on February 23, 1908. Three services were held, two morning services in German and an afternoon service in English. A photo of the sanctuary from that date is shown below.
Our campus has greatly expanded over the past 130 years. On June 3, 1926, a parish hall was built as a place for social and recreational activities.
St. Paul’s has always been committed to providing Christian Education for all adults and children of our congregation and community. Since our inception we have always maintained a Christian Day School. From the first small frame school building that stood directly behind the church, to the old brick school building that stood on the west side of the church until the late 1940‘s, to the structure that was built in 1950, which currently houses our Kindergarten through 5th grades, to the gymnasium and upper grade classrooms constructed in 1988, to the recent refurbished school entrance and elevator, completed in 2016. The original school classroom wing (now our elementary grade wing) was completely remodeled and refurbished in 2023. St. Paul’s has always wanted to give its children the best facility for Christian education.
St. Paul’s has also been committed to spreading the good news of Jesus into our community. We have played a role in the establishment of a number of Lutheran churches in our area, including Grace Lutheran Church (now disbanded) in 1935, Concordia Lutheran Church in 1938, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (also disbanded), Our Savior Lutheran Church and Messiah Lutheran Church, both in 1959, and both now disbanded.
Over the years we have been blessed to have many faithful men serve as our pastors. We have always had a joyful partnership in the Gospel (Philippians 1:5) as pastor and people. This is reflected in the fact that we have only had 14 pastors in our 130 year history. Rev. E. W. Heinicke (1889-1918), Rev. G. D. Hamm (1918-1933), Dr. T. W. Strieter (1933-1945), Rev. E. G. Dobelstein (1945-1959), Rev. Paul G. Mroch (1960-1976), Rev. Walter W. Ullman (1978-2011), Rev. Richard. I. Woelmer (1988-1994), Rev. R. Lee. Hagan (1996-2002), Rev. C. M. Eckels (2003-present), Rev. M. J. Paul (2011-2015), Rev. Matthew B. Schilling (2013-present), Rev. Tich H. Luu (2015-2023), Rev. Gary Liu (2023-present), Rev. Case Farney (2024-present).
