Our Story

mustardseed In December 2016, we kicked off our 25th year of being a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA)!  We have a series of special events planned to mark this milestone.  We’ve come a long way!

We began in 1985 with five families coming together for what was known then as “The New Lutheran Fellowship.” The congregation held worship services at St. John’s Episcopal Church from 1985-1989, as well as various other locations.

December 1, 1991 – Shepherd of the Mountains Lutheran Church organized as a mission congregation of the ELCA.  Over the next few years, the small congregation was served by three pastors: Rev. Fred Westerhold, Rev. John Blom, and Rev. Robert Moylan.

May 7, 1995 – Walking by faith, the congregation made two significant decisions.  3.4 acres of land were purchased in the Indian Trails Addition for a future church building.

May 7, 1995 – The Rev. Jon M. Beake was called to serve as pastor.

August 27, 1995 – A worship service was held to dedicate the land for our future church building. Meanwhile, regular worship continued to be held in various locations around the valley – including the high school gym!

“A Church Built from Crosses” began as a way to raise money to help build a church building and pay off the land mortgage. Cross construction parties have included members of all ages, and to date over 118,000 of the small oak crosses have found homes across the nation and around the world. The fellowship, ministry, and blessings that have resulted along the way are without measure.

June 11, 2000 – After several years, we were ready to build!  We held a joyful ground-breaking worship and celebration.

July 1, 2001 – First worship service in the new church building.

July 29, 2001 – Dedication Sunday for our beautiful church building.

2008 – Rev. Barbara Condon served as interim pastor.

November 15, 2009 – The congregation voted to call Rev. Al Schoonover to serve as pastor.

September 18, 2015 – Rev. Inger Hanson ordained and installed as pastor.

August 14, 2022 – Rev. Tim Stadem came to serve as pastor. He was installed on November 4, 2022.