125 years and counting
In the early 1850s, missionaries from neighboring Evangelical Association churches came to Chippewa County to preach occasionally in the homes of interested families. Christian services were held in family homes for several years.

Missions were established in several area communities where Evangelical preachers regularly visited, and churches were eventually built in places such as Eagle Point and Tilden.

An Evangelical congregation in Chippewa Falls was organized in 1881. Its pastor, the Rev. H.J. Kiekhoefer, later served 20 years as president of North Central College in Naperville, Ill.

A church rises
The congregation’s first church building was erected in 1885 at the corner of Elm and Superior streets (Zion’s current home). At the time, it was on the outskirts of Chippewa Falls. The area was a wilderness, with swamps all around. Native American tribes lived in the area where Irvine Park now stands.

By 1920, the Zion Evangelical Church had outgrown its one-room wooden structure. The church was no longer on the outskirts of the city, and several homes were built on the surrounding west hill. Being the only Protestant church in that area of the city, the congregation decided to build a larger church on the same site. The new building was dedicated in 1922.

Mergers and growth
In 1946, the Evangelical Association merged with the United Brethren in Christ Church in Johnstown, Pa., and the local congregation then became known as Zion Evangelical United Brethren Church.

Ten years later, Zion’s membership had so grown that a Christian education building was approved as an addition to the existing church. The addition was dedicated in 1957.

The congregation became Zion United Methodist Church in 1968 with the merger in Dallas, Texas, of the Evangelical United Brethren and the Methodist Church.

Toward the future
Our current church building is a gift from God, where the Holy Spirit welcomes us to experience inspiring worship, meaningful education, and nourishing food and fellowship.

Our church trustees continue to care for our building, keeping on eye to the future that God has in store for us. No matter how beautiful the building, however, we are reminded that the church is not its building but its people!

– Excerpts taken from 100 Years of Christian Service, Donald Sumwalt and Mildred Backus, 1981.