History
In the fall of 1966, through the efforts of Mrs. Miriam Schultz, a tiny mission congregation - made up of a handful of families - was born in Anchorage. Through the General Board for Home Missions of the Wisconsin Synod, Pastor David Zietlow was called to be Faith's first resident pastor. On Dec. 17, 1967 Pastor Zietlow was installed by Pastor A.B. Habben. Nineteen people attended that first church service which was held in a rented Seventh Day Adventist Church. At the first congregation meeting, April 7, 1968, Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church was chosen as the name of Alaska's first WELS congregation. That same month land was purchased at 5200 Lake Otis Parkway. Construction on the parsonage began in May of 1968; with help of many members and with Pastor Zietlow doing all the mason work, the house was finished one year later and much earlier than expected. That same month, ground was broken for the church, and the sanctuary was dedicated on May 24, 1970.
The congregation grew despite the fact that Anchorage had a very transient population with many church members in the military stationed here just a few years. By January 1969, average worship attendance was 45. (The average communicant member's age was 25.) At the end of 1977, membership stood at 170 communicants, 290 baptized members. The average Sunday worship attendance was 145. In addition to this growth, Faith's influence extended far beyond Anchorage itself. In the next few years, mission churches were started in Fairbanks, Eagle River, Sitka, southeast Anchorage, Wasilla, Kenai, and Juneau. Faith has had only four pastors in its history. Pastor Zietlow served from 1967-1991. Pastor Walt Elgin served as an associate pastor from 1985-1989. Pastor James Oldfield has served since Pastor Zietlow's retirement, 1992-present. In August of 2002, Pastor Stephen Mueller was installed as our Spanish Outreach Pastor.
God continues to bless Faith's mission work. In 1993 a member of Faith befriended Spanish speaking neighbors and started holding Bible classes in various homes. In 1995 other members of Faith started translating Pastor Oldfield's sermons into Spanish. In 1996 "Curso de Doctrina" classes were held at Faith with attendance of about 15 adults. A Spanish Outreach Fund was established in 1999. Weekly videotapes from Pastor Otto of St. Thomas, Phoenix, provided Spanish-language worship services. In September 1999, Pastor Otto conducted our first Spanish worship service in which 12 adults were confirmed. Since then 4 other bilingual WELS pastors have served us. They conducted services and classes, did visitations and offered us their counsel. Roger Sprain, experienced world missionary, was called to serve in this ministry from May 1 through October 31, 2001. Pastor Mueller arrived in 2002 to take up the reins of our Spanish outreach ministry. Other mission efforts have included signed services for the deaf and a "Jesus Cares" program for the developmentally disabled. Currently a service is held on Sunday afternoons for a growing group of Hmong Christians.
Faith Lutheran School has been a ministry of our congregation for three decades. We currently have a faculty of five full-time teachers: Principal Bryan Schneck, Mr. Tom Zarnstorff, Mrs. Kelly Salzwedel, Mrs. Cindy Zarnstorff and Mrs. Deanna Schneck. At present about 60 students are enrolled in grades K-8.
