The women of Swedish descent in Great Falls were anxious for a Swedish Lutheran church. They would often walk miles with their children to get together, and from this group a desire grew for a church. P. A. Fair, a minister from Helena, Montana, was contacted and came to Great Falls on October 19, 1901. The congregation began meeting on the top floor over the Grove Grocery Store, the first service being held July 16, 1905. In October of that year the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Bethlehem Church was formed with 87 adults. They continued to meet at Grove Hall on Third Avenue North and Ninth Street. In 1906, Bethlehem Church was the Augustana Synod’s largest mission church with 100 adult members and 100 children.
Land was purchased and construction was begun on the church. In 1908, services were held in the basement. Formal dedication of the completed structure was held November 12, 1911. By 1925 all services were in English, and in that year the name was changed to First English Lutheran Church.
In 1921 the women were given the right to vote. In 1934 the church began broadcasting services over KFBB Radio. In 1942 an addition was under construction. First English started a mission in 1951 in the Lower Sun River Community. The mission flourished and is now Bethel Lutheran Church.
From the guide to the First English Lutheran Church, Great Falls, Montana, Records, 1905-2012, (Pacific Lutheran University)
