Mount Hope Lutheran Church (Shelbyville, Missouri) Records

The first German immigrants that founded Mount Hope Lutheran Church worshipped beginning in October 1868 under a shade tree on the William Graham farm, seven miles west of Shelbyville. They continued to worship under this tree until they had built their own log houses, then worshipping in their homes. In 1870 the meeting place was moved to the Red Star school house. That December, the congregation welcomed its first pastor, Rev. Frederick Munzel. He served in Shelbyville for about five years. He continued to serve the congregation from Quincy, where he accepted a call, until 1879. Rev. Conrad was then called, and he served from Quincy as well, conducting services every fourth Sunday until his health failed in 1900. By 1882 the membership had increased to an extent that it was ready to build a church. The building was completed in the late fall. Early in the 20th century, Mount Hope was served regularly by pastors of Zion Lutheran Church (Macon, Missouri). During a pastoral vacancy in 1938, the congregation decided to enlarge and remodel the old church building. Rev. Emil Janssen accepted the call that October. In 1939, Rev. Janssen's wife Alfreida died. To the glory of God and to her memory, a stained-glass window was installed in the sanctuary. An actual parsonage was purchased in 1945. In 1950, the decision was made to start a building fund for a new church building. It was decided to sell the original building and build the new one on the same property as the parsonage. The dedication service for the new building was held on December 21, 1952. A new study was added onto the parsonage in 1965. On December 18, 1977, the 25th anniversary of the dedication of the church building was held. In April 1983, the voting age of the congregation was changed from 21 to 18. The congregation held its closing service on June 7, 2015.