On August 29, 1960 a call was issued by the Board of Home Missions and Church Extension of the Evangelical Lutheran Church to Rev. Bertram A. Apman to establish a new mission in the greater Bellevue area. Rev. Apman accepted the call and was installed February 5, 1961 as the organizing pastor of what was to become Holy Cross Lutheran Church of Bellevue. This was also the date of the official organization of the congregation. Approximately 40 confirmed members plus 39 baptized children formed the nucleus for the mission. As one of the last missions conceived by the ELC, it soon came under direction of the Division of American Missions of the new ALC. The first church and parish unit were dedicated July 9, 1961. Additional work was done after 1966 and included landscaping of the property, installation of pews, addition of a Fellowship and Sunday School Unit, and remodeling the church kitchen.
From the guide to the Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Bellevue, Washington, Records, 1961-2012, (Pacific Lutheran University)
