"I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord." Psalm 122:1.
1844 was the year of the great flood. In June, the Missouri River spread from bluff to bluff. The water covered all but the highest ground in the bottoms. In such times, people always turn to God for guidance. As the waters receded, the people viewed the devastation of their homes and crops and, after prayerful consideration, determined to establish a church in the community. The church was organized the same year, and was originally called the German Evangelical Church. This was changed in 1851 to St. Peter's Evangelical Church. In 1865 the congregation was admitted to the Evangelical Synod of North America and the name was changed once more to St. Matthew's Evangelical Church. For a time in the 1920's and 1930's the church was also called St. Matthew's Evangelical Lutheran. Then with the merger of the Evangelical Synod and the Reformed, the name was changed to St. Matthew's Evangelical and Reformed Church. In 1957, with the merger of the Evangelical and Reformed and the Congregational denominations, the name of the church became St. Matthew's United Church of Christ, but the church's doctrine and theology did not change.
In 2009 the church severed its relationship with the United Church of Christ and changed its name back to St. Matthew's Evangelical, honoring our historical roots and biblical principals.
We searched for 2-1/2 years for a denomination that would be compatible with our history, traditions, and beliefs, that would honor the authority of the scripture, and that would offer us resources, encouragement, and spiritual support. Acknowledging that our Constitution and Bylaws had always included the Augsburg Confession and Luther's Catechism, and that the newly formed North American Lutheran Church (NALC) seemed to be a compatible fit in many ways, on October 2, 2011, the church voted to become affiliated with the NALC. Shortly thereafter, we were officially welcomed into the NALC and our pastor was certified as an NALC pastor. We are now known as "St. Matthew's Evangelical Lutheran".
In its early days, our church, at that time known as St. Peter's Church, was served by a circuit minister, the Rev. Conrad Heckman, who was born in Bissendorf, Germany and educated in Totterdam, Holland. In a letter of the day, he tells of his work:
"Though the weather has been stormy, and the rivers sometimes high, I have still been enabled to meet all the appointments in my widely extended circuit My heart feels grateful to God who has kept and guided me, and has given me such good health. I never supposed I could undergo such hardships; but God's promise has been verified, 'My grace is sufficient for thee.' I have administered the sacraments in all my appointments this quarter . . ."
God has "kept and guided" St Matthew's for 170 years. And while the weather has at times been "stormy," He reminds us still, "My grace is sufficient for thee."
If you live near Riverside, Missouri and are seeking a church home that combines warm Christian fellowship with sound biblical teaching, we invite you to consider St Matthew's. We would welcome your becoming a part of this fellowship today and a piece of its history tomorrow.
Back to St. Matthew's Evangelical website.
