Genesee Valley Lutheran Church (Genesee, Idaho)

This, the oldest congregation in Idaho, was organized in 1878 by early Norwegian settlers in Genesee. The first church was called Our Savior’s and was part of the original NELCA. In 1884 Lebanon (Trinity) Congregation, a member of the Norwegian Augustana Synod, was formed. In 1917 these two bodies merged to form Genesee Valley Lutheran Church. The present church was dedicated in 1912, then belonging to the Trinity congregation. For a time the congregation shared a pastor with Moscow. Following the national merger in 1960 they began to share with St. John’s Lutheran in Genesee, originally part of the Old German Lutheran Synod.

From the guide to the Genesee Valley Lutheran Church, Genesee, Idaho, Records, 1878-2012, (Pacific Lutheran University)