A 1955 Home Mission on East Highland Acres
Lutheran Church of the Cross sits on East Highland Acres Road in Bismarck, North Dakota, a single building that has welcomed worshippers since the spring of 1956. The congregation itself is older than that by a year: in 1955 Trinity Lutheran Church of Bismarck sponsored a new home mission congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and Rev. Harold Hofstad was called by the ELC Home Mission Department to start it. The first services were held in the current building on March 11, 1956, and LCC has worshipped there ever since.
Today the church is a participating member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and belongs to the Western North Dakota Synod. Its name, Lutheran Church of the Cross, is also its shorthand around Bismarck: members and neighbors simply call it LCC.
The River on Sunday Mornings
LCC's signature Sunday service is called The River, a contemporary blended worship that runs at 10:00 am from September through May. The River mixes contemporary liturgy with upbeat, meaningful songs, and the service is led by a worship team with keyboard and piano accompanists. Peder Gulleson has coordinated Sunday worship and music since January 2025, bringing experience leading music in other churches across North Dakota.
Communion is offered year round. During the summer months the two Sunday services collapse into one gathering at 10:00 am, and the music blends both traditional and contemporary/blended styles for the season between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends.
Living Water on Wednesdays
For people whose week runs better than their Sunday, LCC also offers a Wednesday evening service called Living Water. It meets at 6:15 pm from Labor Day through Memorial Day, and the worship team uses contemporary music to lead a communion service in a more intimate setting. Joel Crane has coordinated Wednesday worship and music since 2020; he joined the team after completing an advanced degree overseas and is also a former choral singer.
On Wednesday evenings during the school year, the night has a rhythm that families can build their week around. A shared meal is served at 5:00 pm, useful for the worship team and for anyone rushing to get kids fed before the service. Living Water worship follows at 6:15, and church school along with confirmation begins at 7:00 pm.
Church School, Confirmation, and the Church Year
The church school and confirmation programs are built into that Wednesday night schedule, and many of the same lessons are reinforced on Sunday mornings. The 2026-2027 church school schedule walks students through the season from the Blessing of the Backpacks and Rally Day in mid-September, through the parables and healings of Matthew, Mark, John and Luke, into Advent and a Christmas program during the 10:00 am service, and on through Lent, Maundy Thursday, Easter, the Great Shepherd, and the Farewell Discourses of John in the spring.
Confirmation is for sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. Each year begins with an orientation that brings parents in alongside their youth, after which small group leaders take over and confirmation meets in small groups during the Wednesday evening program. First Communion takes place on Maundy Thursday, and students who are ready are also invited to a five-session Bible Fundamentals class in the late winter and spring of their fifth-grade year. LCC also presents a Bible to every third grader who does not already have one, with a get-to-know-your-Bible session for students and parents after worship.
For older youth, LCC joins with other Bismarck-Mandan congregations for joint events, including a Middle and High School Mock-in. Vacation Bible School is held on a long weekend in early August. A trunk-or-treat is hosted on the LCC grounds each fall, and a Christmas program is part of the December schedule. On Maundy Thursday the congregation gathers for a first-communion service, and on Good Friday the Tenebrae service marks the day.
Kids' Corner and the Newly Furnished Nursery
Younger families have a dedicated space of their own at LCC. Kids' Corner meets on Tuesdays from 9:00 to 10:30 am in the newly furnished nursery, a relaxed and welcoming playtime for babies, toddlers and their caregivers. The group is coordinated by Eve Kath and is open to friends and neighbors as well as church members, with parking and the entrance on the west side of the building.
Small Groups Around the Building
For adults, LCC keeps a rotation of small groups going through the week.
- Wired Word meets on Fridays at 1:30 pm in the conference room just off the offices (or in the fellowship hall when the group is large). Each week takes a current event and pairs it with Scripture and discussion questions. Members do not need to come every week; they come when they are able. Pastor Lisa sends the topic by email the day before.
- LCC Men's Bible Study gathers on Saturdays at 10:00 am at the church. Each week the discussion centers on the Gospel text for the coming Sunday. Coffee is part of the deal.
- The Gather Bible Study meets on the third Thursday of the month at 10:30 am, using the study from Gather, the women's magazine of the ELCA. Copies are kept in the church library.
- The Book Club meets on the second Wednesday of the month at 1:30 pm in the library. The reading list leans toward works of fiction with a mix of subjects, and conversation is described as lively.
Connections: A Monthly Drop-In
Connections is LCC's first-Tuesday gathering, meeting from 2:00 to 4:00 pm at the church. Coffee, treats, and a rotating program of activities and speakers are offered, though members are just as welcome to come and visit. A volunteer driver network is coordinated through the office so that anyone who would like to come can find a ride, and anyone willing to pick someone up can add their name to the list. The name fits the idea: Connections is a time to get out, share experiences and talents, and bring something positive back home.
Reaching Out in Bismarck and Beyond
LCC's outreach touches both Bismarck and the wider world. The congregation keeps an active list of local partners that members can support with time, food, or money:
- Dream Center, 1805 Park Ave., Bismarck
- Heaven's Helpers Soup Café, 220 S. 23rd St., Bismarck (LCC serves as a drop-off site)
- Great Plains Food Bank, 1315 S. 20th St., Bismarck
- Ministry on the Margins, 201 N. 24th St., Bismarck
- Bismarck Emergency Food Pantry, S. 12th St. and Expressway
The wider reach runs through the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. When catastrophic flooding struck Nepal, LCC members were invited to give through Lutheran Disaster Response, and gifts could be sent to the ELCA Gifts Processing Center marked for that work. Closer to home, the church collects birthday items for Foster Hope, assembling birthday kits with cake mixes, candles, balloons, cards, frosting, and other supplies that the organization delivers to families with foster children. Other small projects rotate through the year as well, such as stock-the-pantry drives.
Streaming, the Building, and the Offering Plate
LCC has gone digital. Sunday services are livestreamed, and broadcasts are kept online for ninety days for anyone who missed the live feed. Upcoming broadcasts appear first, followed by past broadcasts by date, with the weekly bulletin posted alongside each service. Viewers can also use the Boxcast application on Apple TV by searching for Lutheran Church of the Cross.
Inside the building, the building includes a sanctuary, a fellowship hall, a library, a conference room off the offices, and the newly furnished nursery. The fellowship hall is where the Wednesday evening meal is served before Living Water worship, and it is also where Wired Word moves when the group gets large.
Giving is offered in several forms. Offering envelopes are kept on the oak cabinet in the narthex. Online giving is handled through Vanco, with options on the Vanco mobile app and text-to-give to 701-969-7030. Recurring gifts and multiple funds are supported, and the treasurer Art Wheeler sends statements a couple of times a year.
Pastors, Council, and the People Who Keep LCC Going
LCC has had eight pastors and two interim pastors. Pastor Doug Thorkelson served the shortest tenure, passing away eleven months into his pastorate. Pastor Keith Odney had the longest, twenty years. Pastor Lisa Ahlness is the current pastor, leading the congregation in worship, learning, member care, and the rhythms of church life.
The church is governed by a seven-member Church Council, currently led by President Mike Geiermann and President Rod Sargent, with Kathryn Spilman as secretary. Art Wheeler, a long-time North Dakotan who moved to Bismarck in 1980, serves as treasurer. Connie Werner keeps the office running as church secretary, and is the first point of contact for most of what happens at LCC. Eve Kath coordinates Kids' Corner, and the wider team of lay leaders, musicians, ushers, scripture readers, communion assistants, coffee and treat hosts, and dishwasher volunteers makes Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings possible.
On Sunday mornings that is The River at 10:00. On Wednesday evenings during the school year, it is supper at five, Living Water at quarter past six, and church school and confirmation at seven. Tuesday mornings bring the littlest members of the congregation and their grown-ups to the nursery. Saturdays fill the conference room with men around the Gospel. And through the week, the building hums with book clubs, Bible studies, the Connections drop-in, and the steady work of serving neighbors in Bismarck and beyond.