On
January 6, 1974, the Reverend P. Arthur Juergensen began services
at Al and Sally Plusch's house. Services were held at All
Saints Episcopal Church, Mount Hope Community Center and Lower
Marlboro Church.
On
October 3, 1976, twenty-five families celebrated Charter Member
Sunday, establishing the presence of the first Lutheran church in
Calvert County.
The
year 1979 began a very significant period for the church.
The congregation called a pastor, Vicar Harold R. Hoeferkamp, who
became the first full-time pastor. On September 7, 1980,
Vicar Hoeferkamp was ordained as a pastor of the Lutheran Church -
Missouri Synod and installed as pastor of First Lutheran
Church. God continued to bless our ministry as we worshipped
at Mount Hope Community Center, growing our church family to 178
Baptized members.
On
October 3, 1982, our church family met for the first time in our
new facilities to worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
By God's grace, we experienced continual growth under the
spiritual leadership of Rev. Harold Hoeferkamp (1980-1986), Rev.
R. Beachboard (1986-1987), Rev. Robert Hinz (1987-1991), Rev. John
Kassouf (1991-May 2000), and Rev. F. Paul Liersemann (Feb.
2002-Present). Today, our church family has grown to over
600 baptized souls.
In 1997, we dedicated our present worship and fellowship facilities. During 2003, a 24’x40’ mobile unit was added to house our growing youth ministry. On September 12, 2004, we celebrated the remodeling of the upper and lower levels of our first building to facilitate the increased enrollment of our Sunday School, Little Lambs Preschool, and adult education ministries. New hymnals and a grand piano were also purchased to enhance our worship services. During the latter part of 2006, a new sound system was installed in the sanctuary. The Music Ministry also initiated the purchasing of the 2006 edition of Lutheran Service Book to replace the Lutheran Worship hymnals. With the continuing growth of our preschool and education classes, an additional 24’x54’ mobile unit was purchased and dedicated.
As
we look "Forward in Faith", we are beginning to embrace
the vision for the development of our adjacent six acres of
property to meet the needs of our community as we joyfully
proclaim God's Word and enthusiastically share Christ's love!
An
additional history from 30th anniversary "Brief History of First Lutheran
Church"