St. Paul Lutheran Church & School - Our History
On April 15, 2022, St. Paul Lutheran Church & School began celebrating 160 years of blessings and service for our church. Sixteen months later, on September 1, 2023, we culminated with another 150 year celebration for St. Paul Lutheran School, rejoicing at the opportunities to teach and share God's Word with children of our members, local residents and children of our military stationed at Ft. Leavenworth.
Lutherans held their first service in the Leavenworth area in a Methodist Church in Kickapoo Township on August 25, 1861. The preacher was a Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod pastor traveling to his home in Iowa from visiting in Junction City, Kansas. Following a winter of organization, St. Paul congregation was chartered on March 9, 1862.
Services were initially held in a public school building, later in the city courtroom, and then by Christmas of that first year in a new sanctuary located between 6th and 7th Streets on Delaware Street.
In 1863, the first Lutheran Parish School in Kansas was established. In 1866, due to growth, the church building was moved to the corner of 7th and Miami Streets and placed over a basement that housed the school. After a fire in 1911, the church was rebuilt and remains at that site today over 100 years old.
The members of St. Paul Lutheran Church & School have seen many changes over the years — new church buildings, new school buildings, and even a daughter congregation in Leavenworth chartered in 1955 — Trinity Lutheran Church, on 10th Avenue at the corner of Thornton Street.
The St. Paul Lutheran Church & School campus is still on 7th Street today. It is approximately one mile west of the Missouri River, and one mile south of Fort Leavenworth.
At St. Paul, we CARE — which means we are "Cultivating Awesome Relationships for Eternity!" We want to know one another now, but what really matters is if we also know one another in heaven. Just as Jesus came to this earth to live among us, we look forward to going to heaven to live with Him there. Eternal life is not the quantity of time we spend in heaven, it's the quality of life we live both now and then.
Let us ask you this: how can we be a part of your life now, so that we can share life forever? That's what we're all about!
Our preschool through 8th-grade programs provide Christian teachers, strong academics, and small class sizes, which allow students a sense of family and personal involvement. The school provides an outstanding education for its students, who achieved the highest Kansas State test scores in Leavenworth County for many years. We welcome students of all religions and backgrounds. We provide a safe and caring learning environment. The combination of Jesus, relationships, and academics is the reason we have continued to serve the Leavenworth community for over 160 years.
If you would like more information about joining the St. Paul family, contact us today!
We C.A.R.E
Cultivating Awesome Relationships for Eternity