St. Paul Lutheran Church (Ontario, Or.)

On June 6, 1964, Pastor Robert Hermansen arrived to develop a mission in Ontario, Oregon. An interest meeting was held September 1. Sponsored by the Pacific Northwest Synod and the Division for Mission in North America, St. Paul was chartered on February 28, 1965, and was admitted to the Pacific Northwest Synod on May 24, 1966. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held September 22, 1968, and actual construction of the church building began on October 1. Although the building was not yet completed, the first worship service was held there on Christmas Eve, 1968.

In June of 1964, Robert Hermansen arrived to develop a mission in the Ontario, Payette and Fruitland areas. Sponsored by the Pacific Northwest Synod and the Division for Mission in North America, an interest meeting was held September 1, and the first worship service on September 13 of that year with 54 attending. St. Paul was chartered on February 28, 1965, and the organizational meeting was held on October 24 of that year. Admission into the Pacific Northwest Synod of the LCA took place on May 24, 1966. Five days later the congregation began its first capital funds drive. Early in 1967, plans wree underway for a church, and construction began the following September. The first worship service in the partially completed facility was on Christmas Eve of 1968, and the building was dedicated April 13, 1969. The congregation has been self-supporting since 1976. In 1982, the congregation experienced at 245 growth in baptized membership, placing St. Paul among the four fastest growing congregations in the synod.