History

“Come, and let us declare in Zion what the Lord our God has done”  Jeremiah 51:10

We are continually looking forward: To God be the glory!

Zion celebrates God’s grace and blessings to us as a congregation. For over 160 years, God’s Word has been taught, people have been baptized into the Christian in Jesus Christ, strengthened in their faith, lived out their faith, and died in the faith that saves us!

Zion Lutheran Church of Columbus, WI started in a public building. Land was then donated on the corner of Newcomb and Birdsey St. to put up our first church. In 1855 we were assigned our first resident pastor. Charter members signed a Constitution on May 3rd 1858, becoming part of what is now the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS).  A larger church was constructed on the corner of Mill and Spring St. in 1878. In 2014 our new church home was put on the same property with our school.

Zion has had a Lutheran school since the founding of the congregation. Students attended school in three locations over the years: the basement of the church, to the Mill St building constructed in 1905, to our current building erected in 1955. Classes were taught by the pastor until the first teacher was called in 1885. 

Our 1,600 pound bell, made from four cannons presented in 1873 by Kaiser Wilhelm III of Prussia, was designed and arrived by train in 1878. It is still very much in use today, with its Latin inscription: “Vivos Voco, Mortuos Plango, Fulgura Frango” I call the living, I mourn the dead, I break the lightening.

The crucifix on the side wall you see on your way into our sanctuary was carved in 1880. Eight original stain glass windows, transferred from the Mill St. site, were originally purchased in 1907. Depicting the life of Jesus, they can prominently be seen upon entrance and from outside of church as you drive up.

Membership at Zion changes as it grows.  What never changes is the love our God has for us, nor the blessings of forgiveness and salvation that are ours through faith in Jesus. With Gods Word, the blessings of belonging to a church is the unity that is shared with its members.  “We are Living Stones being Built into a Spiritual House”  1 Peter 2:5

We worship together. We pray together. We grow in faith together.

We are devoted to God and to each other as we continue to Build Together for Tomorrow.