Our Story

St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized in the year of our Lord 1903 under the direction of Pastor O.J. Oehlschlaeger. The first worship service was held on July 19th, 1903 at the  Zastrow home. Twenty-one people gathered for worship at that first service. 

In the beginning, services were held at the home of members. When the number of worshippers grew, service were moved to the courthouse. Land for the church building was purchased in 1924. In 1943, under the direction of Rev. Frank Koehler, the church building was erected by members of the church. In 1994, under the leadership of Rev. Robert Wind, the parish hall addition was built with the help of the Laborers for Christ. 

Rev. Oehlschlaeger and other early Pastors traveled to Amelia by train. In the early years, from the early 1930's until 1942, St. Paul shared a pastor with Farmville and Meherrin, VA. In 1942, Pastor Frank Koehler began serving St. Paul. He continued for another seventeen years. In the period after Pastor Koehler, St. Paul was served by a number of pastors. Pastor Koehler continued serve St. Paul, Amelia during pastoral vacancies. All together, Pastor Koehler ministered to the members of St. Paul, Amelia for 30 years. In 1993, Rev. Robert Wind began ministering to the St. Paul congregation. Church services were not held every Sunday until 2003, when Mr. Herbert Harts, a certified Lay Minister, was called to conduct worship two Sundays a month.

Pastor Wind continued to serve the church until his official retirement approximately 10 years later. Since then, Lutheran pastors from the area have provided coverage. In early 2022 Rev. Brian Martin became the church's every Sunday pastor.

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