The first Lutheran church building constructed in Nebraska has occupied this site since 1860. The congregation was first served by Reverend Henry W. Kuhns, a missionary sent by the Allegheny Synod to Nebraska Territory, who preached his first sermon in the front room of the Bates House in November 1858 and formally organized the church on July 22, 1859. The membership immediately made plans for building, but their first effort to move a store building from the abandoned town of Pacific City failed when the structure was destroyed by a prairie fire while being moved to Dakota City. The church was then designed and built by Augustus T. Haase, a local carpenter and member of the Emmanuel Lutheran congregation, at a cost of $2,000. For several years the building also served periodically as a Territorial courthouse, with religious services held on Sunday as usual. Samuel Aughey, a leading scientist of the period, was the second pastor to serve the church. The building stands as a symbol of pioneer religious life and the steadfast purpose of early settlers.