A Brief History of Our Church

Sixty people attended the first worship service of what would become Faith Lutheran Church. On March 4, 1956, several families gathered in a small house on Hackberry Drive to take the first step in becoming the family of Faith. Official organization was on May 27, 1956, by which time ground had been broken for our current sanctuary at 315 Security Blvd. When the house became unavailable, a large army squad tent was erected on the present parking lot for services. The congregation shared quarters with spiders, grasshoppers and other of God's creatures as we worshipped and observed our sanctuary in progress. Dedication day, November 18, 1956, saw more growth in our membership: 16-day-old Craig Benjamin was baptized and Bill Gerard, Cheryl McCallson and James and Judy Reynolds were confirmed.

We continued to grow, requiring more classrooms. In 1961 an education unit to the rear of the sanctuary was added, and in 1964 a freestanding building to the south of the main unit. In 1990 we built a narthex to join the two buildings, giving a new look to the "little church on Security Boulevard".

Faith congregation was organized as part of The American Lutheran Church, which merged with the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in 1960, retaining the name American Lutheran Church. In 1988 the ALC merged with the Lutheran Church in America and the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches to become the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Faith has a tradition as a volunteer church, which continues today. The paid staff consists only of our pastor, a secretary, a music director and a custodian. All other positions are volunteer. In 1996 a slogan, which summarizes the newly defined vision of these staff, volunteers, and congregation, was adopted. "Embraced by Christ, to embrace our community." It is in faith that we, as Faith Lutheran Church, begin a new century believing that we are, indeed, embraced by Christ and blessed to be a blessing.