What is the history of your church?

The conception of Christ Lutheran Church began as early as 1944 when a religious canvass of South Austin was made by Rev. Paul Strickert of Grace Lutheran Church. At that time there were no Missouri Synod Lutheran Churches in South Austin. In the autumn of 1945 the Texas District Mission Board purchased the present church property at 300 E. Monroe Street. The first pastor called to serve Christ Lutheran arrived on March 1, 1946, and on May 5, 1946 the first worship service of Christ congregation was held.

The constitution of Christ Lutheran Church was adopted on December 4, 1946, and approximately one year later, on December 7, 1947, ground was broken to build Christ’s first sanctuary. This sanctuary was completed the next year and dedicated on May 23, 1948. The original cost to build and equip this first sanctuary was $21,313. In 1985, a new, larger and more modern sanctuary was built, designed by one of our members, and is the sanctuary currently used in worship by the congregation.

Over the years Christ Lutheran Church has continued to change and grow as the neighborhood has continued to change and grow. We serve a diverse community of people from a variety of educational, economic, cultural, and racial backgrounds. The one thing that binds us together with each other as a people, with our ancestral roots, and with our future, is the one thing here that will never change, and that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are, always have been, and always will be, a people devoted to sharing the good news of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. That is the essence of who we are… our past, present, and future.