First Lutheran Church of Long Beach, California was founded in 1905 as Erste Evangelische Lutherische Zions-Gemeinde zu Long Beach, California by German-speaking Lutherans. Services were held in German and English, and in January 1941, the church was formally renamed First Lutheran Church. The last services in the German language were held in December 1941, shortly after the U.S. First Lutheran se
rved Long Beach over the decades with a K-8 school, preschool, women's ministries, sports, music, Cambodian and Latino pastors, and much more, with worship services at various times in Khmer and Spanish in addition to English. As a congregation of the national Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod (LCMS), we did the best we could to serve our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the community. We had our ups and downs, but as the neighborhood changed, our leaders and members struggled to keep First Lutheran effective and viable. In 2015, the voters of First Lutheran Church voted to turn leadership over to a service organization of the LCMS to plant a new church with a new pastor and new leadership, in the hope of more effectively serving the local neighborhood. This church "replant" became The Gathering, and resumed weekly services in English. After its own ups and downs, the property was sold to another church, and the last services of The Gathering were held in 2023.
