This congregation was organized as “Den Norske Evangeliske Luterske Menighed av Flathead” in the Prestbye home in 1895. In 1896 construction of a church began, and in 1904 a parsonage was built. In 1914 the church was enlarged and a basement added. The name was changed to Bethlehem Lutheran in 1918. Construction of the present church began in 1932 and dedication took place October 17, 1937. Bethlehem is the mother church of parishes in the nearby communities of Somers and Stillwater. In 1942 the congregation assisted in obtaining property for a Bible Camp on Flathead Lake, establishing the Flathead Bible Camp Association. Special meetings were held to establish a home for the elderly in 1952, and on July 15, 1956 ground was broken for the Immanuel Lutheran Home.
In 1965 the Simonson Fund was set up to send a missionary to Africa, a program which continues to this day. In 1969 land was purchased for a new congregation in the Northridge area.
From the guide to the Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Kalispell, Montana, Records, 1895-2012, (Pacific Lutheran University)
