History of First Lutheran Church

  Above the altar at First Lutheran Church are written words that sometimes puzzle first-time visitors:  “Sagila Aro De Som Hora Guds Ord Och Gomma Det.”            

This phrase, which translates from the Swedish as “Blessed are they who hear the word of God and do it,” describes the small group of Swedish immigrants who met on Christmas Day in 1858—two years after DeKalb’s official founding—to form what they called Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church.   

Nearly 150 years later, weekly worship services are conducted in English instead of Swedish, in a large traditional sanctuary at North Third and Pine streets instead of in members’ homes.  A beautiful, spacious addition completed in 2002 offers worship and ministry options those first members couldn’t have dreamed of.             

They struggled to build their first church at the southwest corner of North Sixth and Pine streets.  That building, as well as their second, was soon outgrown, as the membership grew to 1,000.  The present church was dedicated in 1916, and soon after, services were offered in English as well as in Swedish.  An educational wing was added in 1958.

 During the physical expansion, the congregation’s mission expanded as well.  A pipe organ was purchased and a choir formed over 100 years ago, beginning the tradition of a strong music presence in the worship life of First Lutheran.  A Boy Scout troop, an important component of today’s youth ministry, was organized in 1925.           

As NIU grew rapidly after World War II, the congregation began looking for ways to serve the student population.  A partnership with Lutheran Campus Ministry continues to this day.           

In 1988, First Lutheran Church became a member of the new churchwide body, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, sharing the mission of “Making Christ Known” with Lutherans throughout the world.  In serving Christ by serving others, we actively support hunger and disaster relief, and work with our companion synod congregation in Tanzania, Africa.  This link is personal:  several members have traveled there to help train teachers, build schools, and support churches, and we have hosted Tanzanian guests here in DeKalb.  Also, the congregation is helping to support Randy and Carol Stubbs and their family in their year-long mission work in that country.            

In the local community,  we are dedicated to social ministry, participating in preparing meals for Hope Haven, delivering Meals on Wheels, and we open our spacious new addition for the use of GED classes, meetings of home schooling parents, and many others.          

   In our worship life, we have an active music program, with adult and children’s choirs and a bell choir, as well as the original 1912 pipe organ, rebuilt in 1993.  We are committed to a strong focus on youth and children’s ministry and the development of small group ministry.  In addition to the traditional worship service at 9:00 a.m., an informal praise service is held at 11:15 a.m. each Sunday.  Sunday School for children is held at 10:15, with adult forums for adults featuring Bible studies and single session topics offered at the same time.             

While today the First Lutheran congregation is much more ethnically diverse than in its early days, one thing remains the same. Members still strive to follow God’s word through worship and service, and we welcome all to join us.  We stand firm on the belief that we are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  Our service to others is a joyful response to this grace, as we “…hear the word of God and do it.”