Emmanuel Lutheran Church (Shepherd, Mont.)

Emmanuel was organized by Rev. Charles E. Johnson, pastor of American Lutheran in Billings. To begin with, it was served by interns from American Lutheran, and the first resident pastor was Rev. Erling R. Estrem who came in 1947.

The roots of the congregation go back to 1912 when Rev. Halvor S. Quanbeck of the Lutheran Free Church formed a congregation among Norwegian-American settlers who came from North Dakota. Services were held from time to time in schools. Pastor Quanbeck donated three acres of land for a church site and cemetery, but the building was never constructed. The congregation was eventually dissolved in 1920.

In the meantime, the LCMS had started work in Shepherd in 1915. The church and parsonage were built in 1918. This congregation also dissolved in the 1930s. In 1907 the Dutch Reformed church people from Michigan started work among 80 families who had moved out. The built a church but dissolved in 1943. In 1944, Emmanuel finalized arrangements with the Christian Reformed Church at a cost of $2,000. In recent years, additions and improvements have been made to the church plant

From the guide to the Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Shepherd, Montana, Records, 1937-2012, (Pacific Lutheran University)