the First sixty years

Grace Lutheran Church of Dodge Center traces its history back to 1892, when a group of German-speaking Christians began meeting for worship. Initially, the congregation met inside the homes of members and was served by the Rev. Johannes Carl Gustav Rumsch, a local pastor from St. John Lutheran Church in Havana township (west of Claremont, Minn). In 1902, ten years after their first meeting, the church finally had a place to call home. The church building that they made into their home was previously occupied by the Congregational church. Over the next fifty years, the congregation carried out its life and ministry in that brick church, which stood next to the old Dodge Center Public School. In the spring of 2022, the old, vacant church and school were torn down to make space for a new apartment building in town.

1952 to Present

On June 15, 1952, the church officially moved into its present location on Central Avenue. The service of dedication was an exciting time for the congregation as it was a much larger, modern facility that helped accommodate added ministries. In the first twenty years, a variety of organizations for men, women, and children were established. One of the longest, and most notable ministries of the church, has been the Christian day school. Since the school was founded in 1973, it has provided children from the congregation and surrounding area with an early childhood education that includes the teaching of God's Word.