February 18, 1945.  That was the day Pastor Paul B. Frank gathered 36 people at Highland Park Junior High School to begin a new worshiping community of The American Lutheran Church.  One month later Christ Lutheran Church was formally organized.

The church buildings, home to this community of God’s people, have always been located at their present site.  The first facility was dedicated in March, 1946.  Since then, several additions have been added, including the large gym that also serves as fellowship hall, the education building and a new worship center in 1952.  Much of the facility was remodeled in 1984.  In the summer of 2001, the congregation authorized the formation of a building task group to assess our entire facility in light of our ministry and determined the best avenue for further renovation or construction.  

The gospel of Christ has always been at the heart of the congregation’s ministry.  That gospel has been expressed in a variety of ways: from the faithful proclamation of the Word and the administration of the sacraments to our care for children through youth ministry and education to our concern for the elderly and to everyone in between. 

Since Pastor Frank developed the congregation in the closing days of World War II, we have been served by pastors A.P. Nassen, Al Kline, Michael Frye, and William Waxenberg, our current pastor.  In addition, we have been blessed by the ministry of a deaconess and have helped to train seven seminary interns for pastoral ministry.  A youth and family minister, organist/choir director, assistant organist and children’s choir director, a parish secretary and custodian, plus our Child Development Center director and a staff of ten teachers and aides make up today’s ministry team. 

The vision of Christ Lutheran Church is expressed in the following statement, adopted by the congregation in 1999: “Christ Lutheran Church—A Community of Faith, Reaching Out to Change Lives.”  This vision statement was built on the solid foundation of the congregation’s past ministries including our Child Development Center, a child-care and pre-school ministry that has touched countless lives for over fifty years, as well as an emphasis on benevolence giving, including sponsoring displaced families from Latvia, Cuba, and Southeast Asia.

A congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Christ Lutheran Church is a growing faith community, always seeking new ways to live out the gospel of Christ.  We firmly believe that our past encourages us, our present excites us, and the future opens us to where God’s Holy Spirit will lead.

Entry ID: 27  Author: Admin  Entry Date: 09/06/2007  Last Update: 09/07/2007