Proclaiming Christ in Mitchell since 1881

Our Story

Learn how our church started, what God has accomplished among us, and our hope for the future.

A Hunger for the Word of God

Zion was founded and grew from pioneering settlers’ hunger for the Word of God in their new home. The William Riggert family settled south of Mitchell, near Enemy Creek in 1879-1880 and soon after wrote to their former congregation, St. Matthew Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lemont, IL, asking if a minister could be sent to undertake missionary work in the Mitchell area.


In 1881, a minister from Chicago came to stay with the Riggert family, traveling around the countryside, staying in turn with various settlers and slowly a Lutheran community was formed. Pastors and missionaries for the LCMS came to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and services were conducted at various times in German and also in English, reaching out to Lutherans of both German and Norwegian heritage.


After over a decade of preaching and missionary work, the Lutheran mission was organized into a congregation and Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church was founded on November 27, 1892. In these earliest days, worship services were held in members’ homes. Then, as numbers grew, services were held in a variety of rented buildings. It was in 1910 that Zion purchased its first actual church building from the Congregational Church and moved to 822 East 1st Avenue.




Continuing Ministry in a New Home

Zion’s ministry in Mitchell continued to flourish and in 1946 property on East 3rd Avenue was purchased and plans were begun for the building of a new church in that location. Construction of our current church building was started in 1952. (See videos of the progress here.) Then, on a day of great celebration, July 12, 1953, the congregation closed the doors of the old church for the last time and walked together in procession to officially open the new church at 620 East 3rd Avenue.


Improvements and expansion continued. Property just west of the new church building was purchased in 1961 and the next year our education wing was built, emphasizing our commitment to passing on the faith to the next generation. Our sanctuary’s beautiful stained glass windows that chronicle the church year were installed in the church a year later, in 1963. (See them here.) In 1991, our north narthex was added on, making bathrooms and gathering space accessible on the main level of the church.




Growth by the Grace of God!

In 2016, the congregation was able to purchase three lots on the northwest corner of our block for future building expansion. Identifying the need for a larger, more accessible space for community meals, gatherings, education, and outreach, Zion began working on a plan to build a separate building that would work in tandem with the sanctuary as one church campus. Several years later, the congregation broke ground on the Zion Ministry Center. Construction began in May 2024 and was completed in March 2025.


Around the same time, the church began to look for new opportunities to work for the growth of God’s kingdom, both in Mitchell and abroad. In 2022, the church partnered with the LCMS seminary in Fort Wayne to receive and train a vicar (a year-long pastoral intern) to both serve local ministry needs and assist the broader church in forming new pastors. Zion has continued to receive a new vicar each year. With the additional space of the Ministry Center, the church has begun and hosted a variety of other ministries to bring the hope we have in Christ to even more people in our community.


Over the life of its ministry, Zion has been served by 21 pastors, 7 vicars, and countless faithful lay men and women who have strived to know Christ better and to make Him known to all. For the growth and blessings that we have experienced in our 132+ years of ministry in Mitchell, we thank our gracious God!