Our History

History of Christ the King Lutheran Church

In the summer of 1959, the United Lutheran Church of American (Northwest Synod) invited Rev. Fred Juilfs to survey the need for a Lutheran church in the Tigard area. He accepted the invitation, and the result was Christ the King Lutheran Church.

The first service was held in November 1959 with Rev. Juilfs as pastor and 178 people in attendance. Charter Sunday was January 24, 1960, and 110 people signed the scroll. Organization day was May 1, 1960. For approximately three and a half years, services were held in the Tigard Grange Hall.

Groundbreaking for a new church building was January 13, 1963, and the first services were held in the new building on August 11, 1963.

A new and bigger sanctuary was added in 1986 with a beautiful new hybrid pipe/electronic organ dedicated on May 21, 1989. Another building phase completed in 1996 was the addition of a large fellowship hall and classrooms.

Christ the King celebrated its 50th anniversary on May 2, 2010.

History of the ELCA

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was formed more than 30 years ago. This new church was formed from three separate and well-established North American church bodies:

• The American Lutheran Church
• The Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches
• The Lutheran Church in America

Beginning January 1, 1988, these churches, with shared beliefs and missions, officially formed the ELCA. Three decades later, this energized church is composed of 4.8 million members and nearly 10,500 congregations across the U.S. and Caribbean. Today, the ELCA reflects the rich and diverse heritage of the people it serves.

But to understand our heritage fully, one must trace our roots back through the mid-17th century, when early Lutherans came to America from Europe, settling in the Virgin Islands and the area that is now known as New York. Even before that, Martin Luther sought reform for the church in the 16th century, laying the framework for our beliefs.