Good Shepherd 60th anniversary slideshow
Brief History of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
The history of our congregation is a history of God's goodness and grace to us over the years. In the late 1950s Pastor Eldor Mueller of Messiah Lutheran Church in Sterling, Illinois, found that he was serving more and more people in the Rock Falls area. Through the grace of God, Good Shepherd began as a mission congregation with the help, direction and guidance coming from Messiah Lutheran Church.
The first worship service was held on October 2, 1960, in the East Coloma School facility. For the next two years, worship services and Sunday school were conducted at the school gym by Pastor Mueller and vicars of Messiah.
The members of Messiah were moved by their trust in God's guidance to continue their outreach efforts in the Rock Falls area. One acre of land was donated, and four additional acres were purchased for $8,000.00. Groundbreaking for the current sanctuary was held on April 1, 1962. Members of Messiah continued to support the mission effort in Rock Falls by operating as a single parish in two places with one Church Council and one Voters' Assembly. The General Fund and Building Fund were held in common. There was one Sunday school staff and many joint organizations. Equal representation from the Rock Falls mission was included until it was officially established as a mission congregation in 1967.
On November 20, 1966, the Reverend Edwin Schlade was installed as pastor of the mission congregation. On January 1, 1968, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church became an independent LCMS congregation with the transfer of 200 communicant members from Messiah forming the nucleus.
By maintaining a focus on God's Word, outreach and missions, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church has continued to grow. Having been a mission congregation itself, Good Shepherd has in the past faithfully shared its pastor with former mission congregations in both Walnut and Dixon. The decade of the 1990s saw Good Shepherd expand its help to missions, both here (county jail ministry, food pantries, "feed the children," etc.) and abroad (Lutheran Bible Translators, Mexico missions and India missions). An emphasis continues on meeting the needs of those less fortunate in the community and throughout the world as we work to spread God's loving Gospel message to all the nations.
Throughout its history, God has been with the people of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in all that we have been able to accomplish through His grace, comfort, guidance and direction. As our cornerstone faithfully declares, "To God Be The Glory."
The first worship service was held on October 2, 1960, in the East Coloma School facility. For the next two years, worship services and Sunday school were conducted at the school gym by Pastor Mueller and vicars of Messiah.
The members of Messiah were moved by their trust in God's guidance to continue their outreach efforts in the Rock Falls area. One acre of land was donated, and four additional acres were purchased for $8,000.00. Groundbreaking for the current sanctuary was held on April 1, 1962. Members of Messiah continued to support the mission effort in Rock Falls by operating as a single parish in two places with one Church Council and one Voters' Assembly. The General Fund and Building Fund were held in common. There was one Sunday school staff and many joint organizations. Equal representation from the Rock Falls mission was included until it was officially established as a mission congregation in 1967.
On November 20, 1966, the Reverend Edwin Schlade was installed as pastor of the mission congregation. On January 1, 1968, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church became an independent LCMS congregation with the transfer of 200 communicant members from Messiah forming the nucleus.
By maintaining a focus on God's Word, outreach and missions, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church has continued to grow. Having been a mission congregation itself, Good Shepherd has in the past faithfully shared its pastor with former mission congregations in both Walnut and Dixon. The decade of the 1990s saw Good Shepherd expand its help to missions, both here (county jail ministry, food pantries, "feed the children," etc.) and abroad (Lutheran Bible Translators, Mexico missions and India missions). An emphasis continues on meeting the needs of those less fortunate in the community and throughout the world as we work to spread God's loving Gospel message to all the nations.
Throughout its history, God has been with the people of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in all that we have been able to accomplish through His grace, comfort, guidance and direction. As our cornerstone faithfully declares, "To God Be The Glory."
Some Details Regarding The Design Of Our Sanctuary
The building was constructed in the shape of a hexagon. The roof forms a six-pointed star, which is the symbol used in Christendom to designate God the Creator of all things. This star also reminds us of the "Star of Bethlehem" which heralded the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. An equilateral triangle is the visual structural principle controlling the design of the building. Twenty four equilateral triangles form the visible support for the ceiling and remind us of the Triune God whom we worship. The equilateral triangle has been the symbol used to describe the Trinity (three equal persons, yet one God), as the equilateral triangle consists of three equal sides that form one triangle. Our facility is air-conditioned and an elevator is provided to assist members in participating in fellowship activities in the church basement.