Our History.

Our History.

The original Hope Lutheran Church Milwaukee started in 1907 as a mission church of Mt. Olive English Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Missouri Synod which was the first English language Lutheran church of either the Missouri or Wisconsin synod churches in Milwaukee. By 1905 Mt. Olive had just dedicated their second church building and a call was placed to Rev. Dr. William Dallmann of Baltimore. On July 1, 1906 Pastor Dallmann proposed a new Mission Church on the west side on 35th and Cherry which became Hope.

In May of 1907 seven men and Pastor Dallmann acting as an advisor met at the residence of Pastor Ernst Ross and organized Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church and by September the church was dedicated. Pastor Ross was the first pastor of Hope . On April 7 1907 he also proposed a new Mission Church on the south side which became Faith church on South Layton Blvd. In 1912 another Mission Church was started on Holton and Chambers which became Charity. These 3 mission churches were known as the 3 graces, Hope, Faith and Charity.

Looking to move west and expand, Hope merged with Mt. Lebanon, a Wisconsin Synod church and formed Sherman Park Lutheran Church in late December of 1923 on N. Sherman Blvd. and W.Center St. Twelve voters of the old Hope Lutheran Church declined to ride along with the merger and determined that the former field should still be served by a Lutheran church and proposed to reorganize Hope Lutheran Church at its old location and with Mission Board approval the new Hope Lutheran church was formed March 27, 1924. It took seven pastoral calls before Reverend Philip Lange accepted and was installed March 16, 1925.  He would end up serving Hope more than 25 years well into the 1950’s.

The original building was expanded in the mid 30’s but was obviously too small for the growing congregation and by 1946 the historic Carpenter Mansion on the corner of 35th and Highland 4 blocks south was purchased. For a history of the mansion follow this link. The mansion was renovated some to become the new church offices and parsonage and soon the basement of the new church was dug and a temporary basement church was done by 1948 and services were now held at the new location and the old church was sold. The basement church ended up being used as is until 1958 while funds to finish the superstructure were raised. During this time the church was known affectionately as Hopeless as people were wondering if it ever would be finished.

By 1957 enough funds were raised to start the construction of the superstructure of the new church and by 1958 it was completed and dedicated. With completion of the ‘new’ church in 1958, Hope was the home-away-from-home church to the young men and women who attended Concordia College, located just two blocks east of the church.  During those years, Hope was a ‘town-gown’ ministry, serving both the non-academic community and the College community. The faculty and staff of the College provided leadership to Hope which was instilled with the enthusiasm of the youth of the College. 

In 1983, when the College moved from Milwaukee to Mequon, 17 miles north of the city, Hope’s personality changed as the College students, faculty and staff moved away. The church struggled to find a new vision and leadership. From 1994 to 2013, Hope was also home to Hmong Hope, a Lutheran church serving Milwaukee’s growing Hmong community which added new, but foreign vigor to the church.  The painful closing of several central city Missouri Synod Lutheran congregations delivered new opportunities, new members and new leadership to Hope.

Over the years, modern-day Hope has had ten pastors who have provided the right guidance at the time it was needed the most.  Today, Hope is the home church to approximately 100 family units. Although located and serving the Near West Side of Milwaukee., Hope’s members come from all over the Milwaukee metropolitan area.  On Sunday mornings, Hope holds Sunday School for children, Bible Study for adults and regular worship services where all are welcome. On Wednesday’s Hope holds morning Bible Study and evening Prayer and Praise services.  As an outreach to the community, Hope is home to a weekly Food Pantry that provides groceries to approximately 160 families per month. The ills of her urban surroundings have also given Hope the opportunity to reach out to community members who have suffered the loss of loved ones due to violence through a Grief-Share program.  The Hope facilities are also home to a Karen Baptist Church which serves refugees from Myanmar as well as classes for English as a Second Language. Today, Hope Lutheran Church is committed to teaching God’s Word to strengthen the church’s connection to Christ, Congregation and Community.

The painful closing of several central city Missouri Synod Lutheran congregations delivered new opportunities, new members and new leadership to Hope between 2014 and 2019, which includes a Joint Parish Partnership with Mission of Christ Lutheran Church as we both share equally, Pastor Dennis Harmon.