Zion Lutheran Church of Oshkosh was founded in 1910 by Volga German immigrants, seventy five families strong, from Yagodnaya Polyana, a colony of Germans on the Volga River 400 miles southeast of Moscow. By the second half of the 1800s, Germans and Jews who had been living in Russia for a century or more were looked upon with suspicion as not Russian enough, or not Russian at all. The Volga German
s poured in, with 118,493 Volga Germans of the first and second generation living in the United States by 1920. Zion worshipped in German until 1925 when the switch was made to English. Zion is famous for its amazing building on Sawyer St. close to Titan Stadium. The church complex is designed to be used as much as possible not just by church groups but by the community. At the building’s center is a beautiful sanctuary. The intention from the start was that at the center of the life of the congregation the Word of God would be faithfully taught and the sacraments faithfully administered. To this day and perhaps more than ever, the Word of God incarnate, the Word of God written, and the Word of God preached and taught is central to the life of Zion. Zion Lutheran Church is a charter member of Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC). LCMC is an association of congregations who are “free in Christ” – as Luther said, we are meant in Christ to be free lords of all, and subject to none, but also perfectly dutiful servants of all, and subject to all. LCMC churches see themselves as accountable to one another and rooted in the scriptures and the Lutheran confessions. We are passionate about loving God and loving our neighbor. Zion is open to people of all backgrounds. We have four services: on Saturday at 5 pm, and on Sunday, at 8 am, 9:30 am, and 2 pm. We welcome all who would serve the crucified Lord whom God has raised from the dead. Communion is open to all those baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We are extremely active in the community, with low cost apartments for those 55 and older, a food pantry, a second hand thrift store, two daycare centers, a vibrant music ministry team, a lively youth and family ministry, and a ministry of outreach to those of refugee background.