ABOVE : The sanctuary of First Lutheran Church , at the corner of Fourth and Jefferson streets , in Ottumwa . Photo by Chad Drury / The Ottumwa Courier
The First Lutheran Church at the corner of Fourth and Jefferson streets in Ottumwa . This building is the third iteration of the building , which was constructed about 100 years ago . First Lutheran was started by Swedish immigrants in 1853 . Photo courtesy of the Lemberger Collection
One thing that hasn ’ t changed about the church has been its location . The immigrants , which formed as “ The Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ottumwa , Iowa ,” became part of the Augustana Synod . Eventually , the group purchased property for $ 450 at the corner of Fourth and Jefferson , where the church has remained ever since .
The first group of congregants primarily spoke Swedish , but over time , more English speakers joined . In 1874 , the first church building was erected , only to be decimated by a fire a decade later after being struck by lightning .
From the start , however , the church grew . Weekly attendance sat at 492 in 1971 , Miller said . Now , attendance reaches 50 . Many things have factored into a decline in church attendance , which is a nationwide issue .
“ The first 50 years were pretty much Scandinavian , then after World War I , it was more of a melting pot , and much of that was the consequence of shifting worship services and everything else to English ,” Miller said .
However , Miller said First Lutheran ’ s decline in attendees mirrored other churches , particularly from the 1970s to the early 2000s . He cited a lack of trust in institutions , cultural shifts and other issues that led to declines .
The church started to stream its services online during the pandemic to try to reach those who didn ’ t want to attend church in person , but Miller said the next 20 years — philosophically — will be key to trying to lure those who drifted back into church .
“ As we were losing members , we took our eye off the ball ( and ) got a little too concerned about keeping members as opposed to the scriptural mandate to make disciples ,” he said . “ When the congregation decided to add membership in a different denomination last year , that was a huge decision .”
That change is driving the church ’ s future . The “ redevelopment covenant ” is already underway .
“ It ’ s a fairly rare thing in the church world ,” Miller said . “ We will be bringing in a new pastor whose primary purpose is using this address and facilities to treat it like they are starting a brand new congregation , and looking at all of the people who don ’ t have church connections in the entire Ottumwa area . And they ’ re going to decide what human needs to respond to , what style of worship would be most responsive to those people .
“ It ’ ll be like starting a brand-new church , except in a building that ’ s a century or more old .”
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