Trinity Lutheran Church
Miles City MT

Welcome to Trinity Lutheran Church of Miles City, Montana. We are a congregation of approximately 425 souls which believes strongly that our Holy Triune God has richly blessed us to be a blessing to others in our community as well as in the world.

Chief among our blessings is God's Holy Word as revealed to us in the person of Jesus Christ and contained in the Old and New Testaments of The Holy Bible. We earnestly endeavor to allow this blessing of God's Word to permeate every facet of our corporate life together, as well as our service to God and our fellow human beings.

It is the will of the Lord Jesus Christ that His Church should make disciples of all nations by administering His Sacraments in accordance with His institution and by teaching His Word in all its truth and purity. (Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Acts 1:8).

The purpose of Trinity Lutheran Church of Miles City, MT is to give honor and glory to the Triune God, to carry out His will and mission, to administer the Office of the Keys as His church (John 20:21-23, Matthew 18:15-20), to witness to all men (Acts 1:8), to help each other grow in the Word (Ephesians 4:11-14), to unite in worship (Hebrews 10:24-25), to practice fellowship with one another (Acts 2:43), to serve the needs of all men in Christian love (Ephesians 4:7-16, Mark 10:42-44, John 4:35, Galatians 6:10), and to maintain decency and order in the church (I Corinthians 14:40).

https://www.lcms.org/about/beliefs

 

http://trinitylutheranchurch.360unite.com  

 

You may park your vehicles on Center Avenue and Pearl Street. We also have a parking lot in the back of the church by the ally.  

Handicap parking is available on the east side of church on Center Avenue. The unloading zone for wheelchairs is located in front of the church on Pearl Street.  

In Montana, German Lutheranism has roots that run deep into the history of eastern Montana and can be traced directly to Miles City. Trinity Lutheran Church, LCMS was established in 1906 in the heart of 'Old Trail West Country'.

Rev. Herman Glaess, a 25 year old Concordia Seminary graduate, was commissioned in 1883 to travel to eastern Montana and investigate the possibility of mission work. Wherever he should find German Lutherans, he was to preach the Word and administer the Sacraments.

When Rev. Glaess arrived in Miles City in March 1884, he was greeted by a town populated by heavy drinking cowboys and soldiers and teaming with places of "low repute" that may well have outnumbered the churches and other places of business almost two to one. Missionary Glaess could little know that one day within earshot of the very railroad platform he stepped on to would stand Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church as a testimony to another kind of life and another kind of world.

Through many struggles within the synod and the newly formed Montana-Dakota District another missionary, Rev. Henry T. Rauh, came to Montana with a special assignment. He established German-speaking congregations in eastern Montana.

It was in 1907 that Rev. Rauh published a request for the names of German Lutherans living in the Miles City area. For all his efforts, he only received two names: Mr.A.G. Birkholz of Shirley and Mrs. M. Wehinger of Miles City. This proved to be enough interest and Rauh, who became known as the founder of Trinity," began holding regular worship services. It was on March 13, 1907, that Rev. Rauh started with an afternoon service at Pine Hills and an evening service at the Custer County Courthouse with 24 souls in attendance.

On September 6, 1908, Rev. J.F.M. Essig was installed as the first pastor-in-residence in Miles City. Rev. Essig served Miles City, Pine Hills, and Beach, North Dakota until 1912 when he found the roughand-tumble lifestyle of a "cow town" to be too difficult and he moved eastward with his family. Our congregation has been served by many other stalwart and dedicated pastors and missionaries over this past century and is presently led by Rev. Howard Schreibeis.

One of those dedicated men, Rev. M.C. Kretzmann, who was installed in 1913 at Miles City, foresaw the need for the congregation to have a permanent worship facility. He was instrumental in the 1916 purchase of the former Presbyterian church for $2,000 cash. The new Lutheran congregation was incorporated on July 11, 1916 with their first order of business being to complete the purchase the old Presbyterian church. The Ladies' Aid Society helped raise the initial $300 cash needed for the deposit. To the glory of God and the service of man, Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church was dedicated on October 8, 1916, by Rev. H.T. Rauh of Billings. The original worship structure still stands today at the same location having survived fires in 1927 and 1991.

Early in 1987, survey work was begun to determine the possibility of opening a Christian School within the community. More than a year later the congregation reviewed the results of the survey and voted to open a Christian Preschool at Trinity. On October 3, 1988, Trinity Lutheran Preschool officially opened its doors under the direction of Linda Merritt, wife of the pastor at that time, Rev. Glenn F. Merritt.

Presently,, Trinity Lutheran Preschool serves the congregation and community with a capacity of more than 70 students, offering both morning and afternoon classes, weekdays throughout the school year. Its motto, "Shepherding Jesus' Lambs," reflects the mission and ministry of the school since its inception and opening.

In January 2002, the congregation voted to build a new addition to the church for the purpose of providing classrooms for a new school. Groundbreaking took place on March 30, 2003 and the Laborers for Christ volunteers arrived in April that same year, completing the building in October 2003. Dedication of the new wing took place on November 23, 2003.

By the spring of 2004, under the leadership of Rev. James Mavis, the congregation prayerfully decided to begin the necessary work to determine the feasibility of the long awaited elementary school. After conducting surveys the congregation made plans to open Trinity Lutheran Classical School in the school year 2008-2009.

Since 2008, Trinity Lutheran Classical School has expanded its teaching curriculum up through the 8th grade. This school's motto is: "Train Up a Child in the way he should go, and he will not depart from it." Our Lord Jesus Christ has truly blessed this congregation for more than a century. Come join us for worship!