History of Our Church

"Where there is no vision, the people perish." - Proverbs 29:18
 

While we are celebrating the 50^th anniversary of Faith Lutheran Church in 2011, our history goes back much farther than that. Our congregation can trace its roots back to a meeting held on October 4, 1850 when 113 pioneer settlers gathered to form the “Norwegian Lutheran Congregation of Manitowoc” under the leadership of Rev. H. A. Stub. From that original body grew six churches in the area in and around Manitowoc County.

     On Sunday, January 1, 1961 the Rev. Robert Onkka presided over the “Ceremony of Joining Hands” which symbolized the union of three of those congregations County to form Faith Lutheran Church. Those three congregations were:

†        Gjerpen Evangelical Lutheran Church, which was organized four miles east of Valders in 1850.

†        Valders (West) Evangelical Lutheran Church, which was also organized in 1850, sitting on top of the hill just west of Valders; and

†        Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, established in the Village of Valders in 1898.

     The merger came about as the result of the common need for a pastor and the desire to serve the growing educational needs in the community. The wisdom that has made this merger work was the agreement by each of the predecessor congregations to raze their buildings upon the completion of their new structure in 1964. A closing service was held at each of the three churches on August 23, 1964. Faith Lutheran Church dedicated its building, located right on Highway 151, on August 30, 1964. The Faith Lutheran Cemetery Association manages the three cemeteries which bear the names of the historic churches.

     Through the years, education has always been important to the Faith Lutheran congregation. In addition to active Sunday School and Vacation Bible School programs for children, adults have participated in the Bethel, Search, and Crossways! Bible studies. Faith Lutheran has helped establish the Stephen Ministry program in several neighboring congregations since 1997 and presently hosts a Wednesday Night Contemporary Service which averages around 100 worshipers.

     We could write volume upon volume of all the stories of God's faithfulness to his people in this area – but we won’t. We know those stories have common themes. People had the good news of Jesus Christ shared with them by people who cared for them.  These people suffered many trials throughout life, but remained faithful because God was always faithful in providing all the love and forgiveness needed. Those same people sacrificed and worked hard so that many others came to know our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Now, this great calling is ours, and we’d love to share it with you!

 

Read more about our Lutheran tradition at Who We Are

You can also learn more about us by going to: What We Believe