St. James Lutheran Church was organized on Trinity Sunday in 1847 by nine German immigrant families who chose the name, “St. Jakobi Geminde”, (St. James Congregation). The Second Article of the congregation’s first constitution, entitled “Sprache” (Language), reads “In unsere Kirche soll nur allein duetsch gepredict werden” (In our congregation, only German alone shall be preached).
For its first fifty years, the congregation did hold services only in German and served German-speaking immigrants and their German-speaking descendants, but by the 1890’s the need for English services was already realized. The congregation began to offer monthly English services for the grandchildren of the founding families who were no longer so conversant in the German language. The last regular German service was held in 1943.
The congregation’s first church was a log structure built by the members and dedicated on the Tenth Sunday of Trinity in 1848. The foundation stones can still be seen in the garden surrounding our church sign on the northwest corner of our cemetery. Our current church building was dedicated in 1872.
St. James has grown over the years and today finds its ministry serving the growing suburbs that now surround this formerly rural congregation. The Brats and Crafts Festival has been an annual tradition for over 30 years, celebrating the congregation’s German heritage. The German worship service has become a desired part of this celebration that is attended by many German-speaking people in the Columbus area, as well as a few others who enjoy honoring our founding families by singing a few German hymns.