A Brief History of St. John's Lutheran
On October 13, 1867, German Lutherans met in a school at 14th Avenue and Main Street and organized St. John's Lutheran, with Gottlieb Fachtmann as the founding pastor.
Our church buildings
Services were held in the home of Mrs. Helen Malchow and then in the school house for two years until a small frame church, seating 165 people and a one-story school house was built at 625 Main Street in 1869.
In 1910, a stone church was built at the present location on the corner of Broadway and Washington.
This building was enlarged in 1938, adding classrooms and offices and refurbished in 2002, with the addition of an elevator and other features to make the church handicapped-accessible.
Our outreach
St. John's has always been active in reaching out to the community to help it in both its spiritual and physical needs. In 1923, it sponsored the formation of a daughter congregation in south Minneapolis that today is Pilgrim Lutheran church.
In 1951, St. John's was one of an association of area churches that founded Crestview Nursing Home.
And in 1959, St. John's sponsored yet a second daughter congregation, Brooklyn Lutheran Church in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.
Our commitment to education
St. John's has also been active in teaching the young of the community. St. John's operated a Christian Day School for 30 years at its original location and then reopened a Christian Day School at its present location from 1975 to 2004. It currently partners with Pilgrim Lutheran Church in offering Pilgrim Lutheran School as a joint outreach to the central city of Minneapolis.
