Five miles northwest of Hudson, Iowa, on the paved stretch of Grundy Road, Zion Lutheran Church rises from a quiet stretch of Black Hawk County farmland. Founded by German immigrants in the summer of 1878 and still drawing members from Hudson, Reinbeck, Dike, and Cedar Falls, the congregation has met, sung, taught its young, and buried its dead in the same general location for nearly a century and a half. Sunday worship begins at 9:00 AM, with Holy Communion served every week. For those who cannot make the drive, the service is also broadcast on Facebook Live and YouTube.
A congregation planted by German immigrants
Zion began, as its constitution records, as "the German Lutheran Church of Hudson." Frederick and Gustina (Muller) Gutknecht gave five acres of land for the new church and parsonage, and the gift was filed on February 23, 1878. Sixteen charter families - the Gutknechts, Andorfs, Nagels, Stumpenhausens, Engelhardts, Millers, Vieregges, Schroeder, Steinbeck, and Zach - pooled their pledges to keep the first pastor, the Rev. H. Scheffelmann, for the opening years, with gifts ranging from three to twenty-five dollars per family. Services were in German, and a parsonage-church combination building, with the pastor's quarters on the first floor and the sanctuary above, served the early flock.
Through the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the congregation kept step with the rhythms of a working rural parish. The first tract of land on what was called "God's Acre" for a church cemetery was purchased on October 7, 1880, from Charles Muller (Miller), for twenty dollars an acre. Children from outlying farms boarded with the pastor during the long winter school term, their parents sending apples, potatoes, hams, crocks of lard, wood, oats, hay, and straw. In 1905, during the pastorate of Rev. E. R. Melchert, the present church was built at a cost of $6,200, with a 100-foot spire and a bell cast in St. Louis that rang each Saturday evening at six o'clock to remind the parish of the coming Sabbath.
For more than sixty years the language of the sanctuary was German. The shift to English came only in 1940, under Rev. H. Wilke, with a used Kimball pipe organ installed that same era. A full basement with kitchen, fellowship hall, and restrooms was added in 1948. A Hasse pipe organ was dedicated in 1962. A new narthex and education wing were dedicated on July 13, 1969, under Rev. John Sime. Stained glass windows were progressively replaced beginning in the early 1990s, the congregation constitution was updated, and a platform lift was installed to make the building accessible.
The congregation celebrated its centennial in 1978 and its 125th anniversary in 2003. After a period of discernment, Zion voted to leave the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on June 2, 2010, and joined Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC). The Rev. Dr. Mark G. Decker, who was installed on January 1, 2011, retired in July 2022 and was succeeded by the current pastor, Scott Strachan, who was officially installed in late February or early April 2024.
Sunday morning at 9:00 AM
The order of the morning at Zion is settled. Adult Sunday School on the Bible from Genesis to Revelation begins upstairs at 7:30 AM, with coffee and childcare in the room. Worship in the sanctuary follows at 9:00 AM, with Holy Communion served every Sunday. Hot coffee and fellowship fill the time before and after the service. Sunday School for the children starts at 10:30 AM during the school year, and Confirmation meets the same morning for sixth and seventh graders.
The sacraments are central. The congregation teaches that the Lord's Supper is a means of grace by which God continues to nurture the baptized in faith and bring forgiveness for the amendment of life, and that Christ is present in, with, and under the bread and wine. Continuous communion has been practiced at Zion since 1987. First Communion instruction is offered once or twice a year for children ages four and older whose parents and pastor agree they are prepared to receive the gift.
Baptism by request
Zion teaches that Baptism is one of the miraculous means of grace through which God creates and strengthens the gift of faith, and that anyone wishing to be baptized - child or adult - may contact Pastor Scott to arrange the service. The congregation holds to the biblical command to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
Children, Sunday School, and Confirmation
Children are woven into the life of the parish rather than set apart. Sunday School meets at 10:30 AM each Sunday during the school year (with the exception of Easter Sunday), and the children lead the Christmas program each December. A dedicated team - Cindy Appleton, Molly Volding, and Fidei Whitehead among them - guides the Sunday School rooms.
Confirmation gathers two Wednesday evenings each month during the school year, with additional Sunday sessions, for youth in sixth and seventh grades. Karen Wulf leads the instruction. First Communion for younger children is described above and is set up once or twice a year as the families and pastor decide.
Vacation Bible School
Vacation Bible School has become an annual tradition stretching four evenings, with Bible stories, games, singing, and crafts for children from Pre-K through sixth grade. Supper is served at 6:00 PM and programming runs from 6:30 to 8:00 PM each night. The closing evening has ended in past years with a family-style campout behind the church and s'mores, with families invited to bring a tent. Participation is free, and free-will offerings are welcomed.
Year-round learning for adults
Adults at Zion dig into Scripture alongside the worship schedule. A Sunday-morning class at 7:30 AM works steadily through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and runs every Sunday of the year, with coffee on hand. The class meets in the upstairs adult-education room. The congregation also connects members to a free RightNow Media library, a streaming collection of Bible studies, sermons, and family-friendly video content available through the Zion page on the RightNow Media app.
Missions, the food bank, and an annual car show
Zion supports an extensive roster of mission partners, including LCMC, the LCMC Iowa District, Riverside Bible Camp, Lutheran Bible Translators, Kids Against Hunger, the Northeast Iowa Food Bank, Heifer International, Global Health Ministries, Food Resource Bank, Crossways International, the Salvation Army, and Bremwood, among others. Volunteers from the congregation spend one Saturday each month at the Northeast Iowa Food Bank in Waterloo packing elderly nutrition boxes.
Each year the church holds a benefit car show on the grounds, with games and activities for kids, free hot dogs, chips, and water, and trophy awards in car, truck, and motorcycle categories. Vehicle entry fees go directly to the congregation's mission partners outside Zion. The Great Clergy of the cemetery committee - Marilu and Rod Degener and Lori Gutknecht - oversee "God's Acre," the historic burial ground that has grown on the property since 1881, when ten-year-old August Ernst Christopf Stumpenhausen became its first recorded burial.
What we believe
Zion holds salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and the Bible as the inspired Word of God. The congregation confesses the Triune God and Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, with the gospel as the power of God for the salvation of all who believe. Because of what Jesus has done, the congregation teaches, Christians are free: free to have fun, to make mistakes, to say no, and to serve God joyfully, out of gratitude rather than guilt or obligation. The church exists primarily for those who do not yet belong, and members are encouraged to invite every person to consider a living and personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Music and parish life
Tammy Bern serves as organist, and she leads a Praise Team of Lori Gutknecht, Whitney Laube, and Julie Sorensen. Worship and Parish Life is chaired by Karen Wulf. A pastoral support committee - chaired by Sam Gutknecht and Jane Miller, with about a dozen additional members - surrounds the pastor and family with the practical help and care a smaller congregation provides. Ed Juhl serves as Council President, with Stacy Lee as Vice President, John and Teri Neil as Treasurers, and Jennifer Brandhorst as Secretary.
Getting to Zion
The church sits at 5831 Grundy Road, Hudson, Iowa 50643 - on the west edge of Black Hawk County, less than ten miles outside of Cedar Falls. From Highway 20, take Exit 220 and head south on Grundy Road for two and a half miles. From Hudson, take Hudson Road north out of town to Strayer Road and turn west for three miles; at the stop sign, Zion is just around the corner to the right.
The building is accessible from the west-side front entrance, where there are no steps. A lift in the main entryway reaches all levels for those with mobility limitations, and a handicap-accessible restroom is located on the lower level. Coffee is on before worship, and childcare is available during the 7:30 AM adult class. Live worship can be found on the congregation's Facebook page and YouTube channel for those who cannot attend in person.
Zion's doors open each Sunday morning onto the same rural section of Grundy Road that the charter families chose in 1878, with the cemetery, the parsonage, and the 1905 sanctuary still at the heart of the parish.