faith lutheran church

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

For 160 years, the founders, leaders and members of Faith have proven that Biblical insight to be true.
They followed God's vision for expanding God's mission and making disciples.

In the year 1850, the Rev. H.A. Stub, pastor of the first Norwegian Lutheran Church in Wisconsin at
Muskego in Racine County, visited Manitowoc to help 113 pioneer settlers of the Gjerpen, Valders and
Manitowoc area organize "The Norwegian Lutheran Congregation of Manitowoc and Vicinity." A letter
of call was sent to Rev. J.A. Otteson, a recent theological graduate from the University of Oslo, Norway.
By 1866, Valders and Gjerpen had their own log churches-other buildings came in later years.

Many pastors and lay people have been involved in Faith's story of faith over the years. We could exhaust
ourselves by keeping extensive logs of the people of Faith and their stories. In the same way, we could write

volume upon volume of all the stories of God's faithfulness to his people in this area.

   We know that the stories would always have common themes. People had the good news of Jesus Christ,
crucified and risen, given to 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!

   The three Lutheran churches, Gjerpen, Valders West and Our Savior's, each functioned as a separate entity until the year 1960, when a merger decision was made. A large reason for merging was the common need for a pastor, because all three congregations were sharing a single pastor, who held two services per week, each at a different church.

   On New Year's Day in 1961, a "Ceremony of Joining Hands" was held and On January 14, 1962, a commissioning service was held at the Valders church for the architects who were

chosen to design the new structure. Groundbreaking for the new church, Faith Lutheran was held on September 29, 1963. A closing service was held at each of the three other churches on August 23, 1964. The dedication of the new Faith Lutheran Church at Valders included a 12-hour prayer vigil, followed by a dedication service on August 24, 1964.