If you build it, they will come

It was an unlikely place to start an urban church. For starters, it was in the middle of grain fields and dairy farms. Secondly, there weren’t any Lutherans there. In fact, there weren’t any people there!

But the SA Home Mission Board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Australia had faith they would come. This was where the new satellite town of Elizabeth would be established in late 1955 – the largest housing development of its time. Recognising the opportunity for mission, the Home Mission Board applied for a block of land on the main road.

The IMPORTANCE of this mission venture was well recognised by the church.

Their application was approved in March 1956 and the timeline meant the church-hall would be completed at the same time public housing properties around it were ready. The church would be there to welcome the new residents!

On Sunday 18 November 1956 a sizeable group gathered for the foundation stone laying of the mission church-hall, the first church of any denomination in Elizabeth. With only a few pews provided, it was standing room only for many. Young boys found a vantage point on the tray of a truck. Pastor PB Zweck, chairman of the Home Mission Board, laid the stone inscribed with the verse ‘Other foundation can no man lay’ (1 Cor. 3:11).

The importance of this mission venture was well recognised by the church: much of the 1956 Church Extension Sunday offering was allocated to it. The Lutheran Men’s Association and the South Australian Luther League made it their respective mission projects, enabling the purchase of the furnishings.

But the greatest support came from the Cheltenham parish. Even before the church-hall was dedicated on 30 December, their members were reaching out to Elizabeth locals. One Saturday night they showed films in the hall, and announced that Sunday school would start next morning. When nine children turned up the following day, the four Cheltenham Sunday school teachers began practices for a children’s Christmas service – just over a week away! On Christmas Eve more than 100 people gathered to hear their presentation. A youth club was established to provide outreach to young people.

At first only a handful of locals attended the fortnightly services and the religious films shown on alternate Sundays. But numbers grew and St Peter’s congregation was formed in January 1958. This mission-minded congregation went from strength to strength, with the church needing to be extended just seven years later.

Elizabeth has long since become a suburb of Adelaide, but St Peter’s members continue to faithfully share the gospel with their local community.

A youth club was set up to build connections with local young people and pave the way for church attendance at Elizabeth. The club reportedly provided both joys and challenges. A 1958 report in The Australian Lutheran magazine described it as ‘a lively and noisy scene’ and remarked that: ‘To keep this very mixed group – many of whom have little or no real Christian background or home life – interested and occupied is an almost heroic task’.

Lutheran Archives holds original film footage of the foundation stone laying of Elizabeth’s church-hall, filmed by P Luestner. Lutheran Archives is currently digitising 8 mm and 16 mm films just like this one, so that they are preserved for future generations. Can you help us save other significant films of our church’s work and ministry?

To find out more about the ‘Seeds that Sprout’ appeal, visit the website or contact Janette Lange, Acting Director and Archivist, Lutheran Archives at 08 8340 4009 or by emailing lutheran.archives@staging.lca.org.au.

This feature story comes from The Lutheran June 2016. Visit the website to find out more about The Lutheran or to subscribe.