A brief history of Zion congregation

In the late 1800s, many Lutherans were among the newcomers who moved to the area, and they strongly desired to have regular worship services. In early 1892, Pastor B. P. Nommensen of Milwaukee visited the area and contacted many of these Lutherans. With his encouragement, the group decided to take some definite steps toward organizing as a church. On July 3, 1892, three months before South Milwaukee was incorporated as a village, a group of eighteen Lutherans met for a service at the home of John Ahrens, 1702 Tenth Avenue, a home near the Bucyrus Erie spur track. Immediately after this first service, a meeting was held -- and Zion Evangelical Lutheran Congregation was organized.

After becoming a congregation, the group quickly made plans for erecting a church. Pastor B. P. Nommensen helped Zion to purchase two lots on the southeast corner of Sixth and Milwaukee Avenues. The South Milwaukee Land Company donated the two adjacent lots, and a modest 28' x 40' building was erected right away. The first Zion church building was dedicated on September 18, 1892.

The Reverend J. H. Koch had been serving Zion, but also had his full-time ministry in Waukegan, Illinois. In the spring of 1893, he was called to devote all of his time to Zion congregation. Soon after this, a parsonage was erected.

In September of 1893, one year after the church building was dedicated, a Christian day school was opened. In addition to doing his pastoral duties, Pastor Koch also served as the teacher for ten years. In 1904, the teaching responsibilities were assigned to Mr. R. Kutz, who taught for two months until he was called to be an instructor at our mission in Arizona. Mr. Louis Ehlen took over at Zion.

By 1905, the membership of Zion Congregation had increased and more room was needed. It was decided to move the church to face Sixth Avenue, and an additional 20-foot length was added to the church. It was placed on a one-story brick foundation. The Christian day school occupied the lower level. After Mr. Ehlen accepted a call to the Jerusalem School in Milwaukee, Mr. Huldrich Klatt was called to teach at Zion.

In 1908, Mr. Klatt also took a call to the Jerusalem School, and Zion Lutheran School was forced to close temporarily because a replacement could not be found.

Pastor Koch also left Zion in 1908 after 16 years spent working to build the congregation. In January 1909, Zion extended a call to Reverend O. B. Nommensen. He accepted the call and was installed as pastor of Zion in 1909. He also reopened the school and acted as teacher. Pastor Nommensen remained with Zion for fifty years.

Services were all in the German language at this time. In 1912, an English service was held on a once a month basis, and beginning in 1919, English services were conducted every Sunday.

In 1920, the congregation realized that a larger church was needed, and in 1924, six lots and a house to be used as a parsonage were acquired. On August 3, 1924, the cornerstone of the new church was laid at Ninth and Michigan Avenues. The first service in the new church was on Sunday, January 25, 1925. (Zion's stained-glass windows are featured online).

Due to the increase in enrollment, the congregation voted to build a one-story school across the alley to the north of the new church. In October of 1926, the new school building was dedicated. By 1940, the enrollment had increased, so the building was remodeled to include a third classroom. In 1945, a temporary kindergarten room was set up in the basement. At that time, the school was always filled to capacity.

After World War II, the city of South Milwaukee grew -- from 11,134 in 1940 to 12,855 in 1950 to 20,307 in 1960 -- which resulted in increased church membership and school enrollment. Because of this growth, more pastoral services were required, so a part-time secretary was hired, as well as a part-time vicar (seminary student assistant). In 1951, German services were reduced to twice a month, and within three years, (to accommodate overflow attendance at English services) the German services were discontinued and two English services were conducted each Sunday.

Because of the increase in school enrollment, the building was enlarged in 1950-51. The 52-foot x 58-foot one-story building grew up and out into a two-story structure that was 87 feet by 58 feet. The new building included six classrooms and a multi-purpose room which also served as a gym.

To remedy the lack of playground and parking space, Zion purchased two homes east of their lot at Ninth and Madison Avenues. They made the entire area into a hard-surfaced playground and parking lot.

With the idea of future relocation of the church and school, the congregation began to look for new property. On March 3, 1973, Zion members took steps to provide for expansion of its physical facilities by purchasing five acres of land at 3600 South Chicago Avenue. This property was known as the McCreedy property.

This property became the new location of Zion Lutheran School. The new school, which includes ten classrooms, day care facilities, a large fellowship hall and cafeteria, as well as a high-school size gymnasium, was dedicated in May of 1996. A day care wing was added in 1999. The old school building was sold to Calvary Academy, and is now a private residence.

The church building remained at Ninth and Michigan was redecorated and remodeled for the congregation's Centennial observance in 1992. The 75-year-old Wangerin Pipe organ was completely rebuilt and seven ranks of pipes added in 1998.

In October of 2008, the congregation voted to, one day, build a new church facility on the same campus as our school.

On September 17, 2017, Zion held a special anniversary service and fellowship meal to celebrate 125 years of God's grace to the congregation. Over 400 guests were present. A presentation after the service set a target date for beginning a new church building -- the year 2020. After this, a new digital sign in front of our school was also dedicated as a special 125th anniversary project.

In early 2020, the Ninth and Michigan Avenue church building was sold and the congregation temporarily had services in the lower level of the school. Soon after moving, the COVID-19 lockdowns forced the church and school to shift to virtual services and classes.

During this time, planning on our new buildings continued. A few months later, construction began on a beautiful new Early Learning Center at the back of the school building, and on April 18, 2021, the building was dedicated. Once this work was finished, construction began on the new church building.

The new addition includes a much larger narthex and welcome center (re-purposed from the old ELC), and a spacious church building. This places Zion Lutheran's Church, School, and Early Learning Center all on one campus. We had our first worship service in the new building in December of 2021, and the dedication service was held on January 30, 2022.

A new Rodgers Imagine 351M organ was installed in 2023, and was dedicated in a special service on July 16, 2023 (click to watch the service).

Many pastors have served the congregation during its long history. Pastor Nommensen's ministry of fifty years was the longest; Pastor Paul G. Hartwig served the congregation for twenty years from 1964 - 1984. Pastor Harlyn J. Kuschel was installed in August of 1987 and retired at the end of 2010. Our current pastor is Rev. Bradley Taylor, who was installed on February 4, 2024 (click to watch the service). Mr. James Braun is the principal of Zion School. Zion's faculty includes 5 full-time teachers and two preschool teachers.