St. John's Lutheran Church Marysville, Ohio The woods were dense and the land itself was poor, wet and marshy when the first settlers arrived in early 1832 from Bavaria and Hesse- Darmstadt. The industrious German farmers set to work quickly and began tilling and digging ditches, thus making the area of Union County a most fertile area for farming. Because the pioneers placed great priority on the preservation and practice of the Lutheran faith of their homeland, they began meeting together in homes each Sunday. Their first church building, though never actually completed, was dedicated to the Lord Jesus on Pentecost of 1838, becoming the oldest Lutheran church in the Ohio district. The original congregation of St. John's had 29 families, three of whom were Americans. Soon, regular monthly services were conducted by Pastor Fuhrmann who was a traveling missionary from Springfield, Ohio. Early years brought many struggles to the tiny congregation. Fire destroyed their church building and they were internally divided over the issue of language, causing several families to leave. Still, they longed for the day they could call their own pastor and open a German school. In 1843, teacher and Pastor Adam Ernst heard about this group and rode 30 miles on horseback to assist them. Even though they were extremely poor and could not afford a salary, he agreed to stay and serve them for the first year. They provided him a room in various homes and his food and clothing. Because Ernst had originally been recruited by Rev. Loehe to serve as a teacher, he quickly set out to teach a class of 30 older confirmation students that first spring. He taught them the German Bible and catechism 3-5 times per week as well as preaching two hour sermons twice each Sunday. By the fall, enrollment in the school had already grown to 74 children ages 7 to 17, and the first St. John's school building was dedicated. A second church building was also dedicated in 1843, this time for Germans only. It is recorded that he administered the Lord's Supper to 88 souls on one Sunday and that 12 children were baptized within his first weeks of service. A new constitution was adopted in July. Unhappy with some of the practices and conditions of the Ohio synod to which he belonged, Ernst severed his connection to them and began meeting with other moderate pastors during 1844-1846, to discuss and plan a new synod which had the goals of remaining true and faithful to the doctrine and practice of the Holy Scriptures. During these same years, the congregation once again experienced internal strife and became divided over many issues, one of which was the crucifix hanging over their altar. In 1846, 24 families laid claim to the church building and cemetery and called their own pastor. Despite all the hardships and problems, the remaining 16 families retained the original name and constitution, called Pastor Ernst, and built a third church. They also delegated Rev. Ernst to the April 1847 organizational meeting for the new synod, and thus became charter members of the synod now known as LCMS. ______________________________________________________________ This text was converted to ascii format for Project Wittenberg by Debbie Harris and is in the public domain by permission of Rev. Manfred K. Rembold. You may freely distribute, copy or print this text. Please direct any comments or suggestions to: Rev. Robert E. Smith of the Walther Library at Concordia Theological Seminary. E-mail: bob_smith@ctsfw.edu Surface Mail: 6600 N. Clinton St., Ft. Wayne, IN 46825 USA Phone: (219) 452-2148 Fax: (219) 452-2126 ______________________________________________________________