History page

		First service, Clardy Elementary School - October 22, 1967. King of Kings Lutheran Church was first organized as Bethlehem Lutheran Church on May 31, 1967 to serve the booming Kansas City North area north of 72nd Street. Pastor William Krenning was the first pastor of the congregation with 153 in attendance at the first service.

		In 1968, the congregation initiated the purchase of 5.6 acres of land on the northwest corner of North Main Street and Barry Road. On February 9, 1969 groundbreaking ceremonies were held for a new multipurpose building housing the Sanctuary and Fellowship room. In March of 1974, Pastor Krenning received a "Call" to become pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church of Seattle, Wa. Pastor Thomas Reeder accepted the call by King of Kings and was installed October 6, 1974.

		On March 19, 1978, groundbreaking ceremonies were held at 96th St and North Woodland Ave for a new church building. Dedication occurred on March 11, 1979. The Sanctuary will seat 325, with additional lower level rooms for meetings and classes. The large cross near the driveway entrance was originally located on the grounds at Barry Rd and N Main. Pastor Reeder accepted a call to become pastor at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Ballwin, Mo on June 9, 1985. Pastor Paul Schult, St. John Lutheran Church, Omaha, Ne accepted the call to King of Kings and was installed April 6, 1986, and continues to serve as our pastor.

Architect's conceptual west elevation of existing church with new fellowship hall addition construction, finished February 2002.		NEW CONSTRUCTION! On Sunday, November 12, 2000, groundbreaking ceremonies were held for the new Fellowship hall, with a new first floor entry, kitchen and rest rooms. The new downstairs area includes much - needed space for additional rooms for classes, music, and youth.

Lutheran Church Missouri Synod History

United for a purpose

The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod traces its origin to 750 Saxon immigrants, who settled in northeastern Cape Girardeau County, Missouri in 1839. They were seeking freedom from religious rationalism in Germany. On April 26, 1847, under the leadership of a young pastor named C. F. W. Walther, these German immigrants joined together with a number of pastors sent to America by Wilhelm Loehe in Neuendettelsau (Bavaria) to form "The German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States."

These 12 pastors representing 15 congregations signed a constitution that established "The German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and Other States." Meeting in Chicago, they had traveled by horseback, stagecoach and boat from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and New York. (Also attending were 10 advisory pastors, four laymen, two theology candidates and seven guests.)

They were men of faith and conviction. Some were German immigrants who had come to the United States to preserve their Lutheran confession of the faith, as inspired by the teachings of Martin Luther, free from government intervention. They were stirred for mission, especially to reach German immigrants, and, for some, the desire to bring the Gospel to Native Americans.

In its 150th year, The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod (the name was shortened on the 100th anniversary) counts 2.6 million members in 6,145 congregations. The original constitution was written in German (and German continued to prevail in worship and writing until World War I). Today, the list of pastors includes names like Schmidt and Nguyen and Perez and O'Connor and Zyskowski and King and Pacilli. While English dominates now, on any given Sunday, there may be worship in at least 20 different languages--including Spanish, Hmong, Eritrean, Russian, Finnish, Slovak, Chinese, even German.