The Church was erected during the summer of 1838 at a cost of $2178.64! The first Pastor at Christ Lutheran Church, the Reverend Jacob Wampole, also served as the Pastor at Lutheran congregations in Chester County, and in Limerick and Trappe congregations in Montgomery County. Difficult as the workload was, the Reverend Wampole served Christ Lutheran Church until he resigned in May 1834, having refused to accept a salary during his tenure as Pastor. He would return as Pastor to Christ Lutheran Church three years later and serve until his death in 1838.

Several Pastors later, and having survived the dissention that often accompanies growing pains, the congregation of Christ Lutheran Church embarked on a new mission to build a new church on property purchased from Michael Fritz. The new church was consecrated in April 1912. Later that year the old church building was sold at public sale. The profit from the sale totaled $152.40. During this period in the history of Christ Lutheran Church, it shared its services with another congregation, Trinity Lutheran, in Lansdale, and held its worship services in both German and English. In the autumn of 1918, it was decided that all services would be conducted in the English language. In 1919, the congregation called a seminary student, Homer A. Weaver, to be its Pastor. He would serve in that capacity at Christ Lutheran Church and at Grace Lutheran Church in Hatfield until 1946, when Grace Lutheran called its own Pastor. Pastor Weaver was then dedicated exclusively to Christ Lutheran Church. He served the congregation for 48 years through which the congregation and the church expanded greatly. In fact, Weaver Hall, or officially, The Homer A. Weaver Fellowship Hall, was built under Pastor Weaver’s leadership. He died in 1975.

Christ Lutheran Church has seen many changes in the fundamental structure of the Church since its beginning including electing the first woman to Church Council in 1969. The first lay leader of Church Council was also elected in 1969, as was the formal establishment of a Mission and Goals Statement.

That structure was to become the foundation for the current governance structure of Christ Lutheran Church: A Church Council to oversee the mission and vision of the congregation, and Ministry Teams to accomplish the goals set by each Team and reported to the mutually set and agreed to by the Pastor and the congregation. All of this was accomplished under the leadership of Pastor Russell L. Brubaker, Jr. who served as Pastor from 1967 to 1972.

His successor, the Reverend Richard Stephens began his Pastorate at Christ Lutheran Church in July of 1972. Under his twenty-eight year leadership, the church built upon the strong foundation layed by Pastor Brubaker and tremendously expanded the size of the congregation, the physical building, the mission, its outreach, and its social ministry.

During Pastor Stephen’s tenure, the congregation called its first Associate Pastor, the Reverend Asha George-Guiser in response to the growing numbers of families and individuals who were joining the church.

The Reverend Ellen Meissgeier, who served as Associate Pastor for six years, succeeded her.

The Reverend Doctor Thomas E. Kadel was called to Christ Lutheran Church as Associate Pastor in 1994.  Pastor Stephens retired from Christ Lutheran Church in June 2000 after nearly thirty years of service to the congregation. After his retirement, Pastor Stephens remained active in the synod, the parish and the congregation until his death in 2010.

In 2001 Pastor Kadel was called as Senior Pastor. In 2002 the Reverend William F. Petry was called to Christ Lutheran Church as Associate Pastor. He served with Pastor Kadel until his retirement in 2008. As a licensed therapist, Pastor Kadel led the congregation in active disaster response to Hurricane Katrina and developed a training program for disaster chaplaincy. His passion for hunger ministry inspired the congregation to open the Shepherd’s Shelf Food Cupboard in 2004.  

After twenty-two years of service at Christ Lutheran, Pastor Kadel retired from active ministry in 2015, but continued to actively combat hunger through Bread for the World. In 2017 Pastor Kadel published a book, “Keeping the Book Open: Beyond the Basics of Disaster Spiritual Care.” He served as a leader and trainer in disaster spiritual care until his death in 2018.

The Reverend Serena Sellers was installed as pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in 2017. In recent years the congregation has responded to changing needs by opening use of the building for community activities, expanding the Shepherd’s Shelf cupboard, and engaging in ministry to the homeless. Internet access was added to the sanctuary in 2019. During the pandemic, the church pivoted to doing ministry online. In changing times the church has strength from God to stay the course.

Christ Lutheran Church has been continually blessed for almost 190 years with dedicated leadership in Pastors and lay leaders of vision and purpose. Our Church continues an almost two-century tradition of looking to the future while never losing sight of the present. As always, there is much work to be done: new goals to be set and accomplished, new ministries to begin and new members to welcome. With the grace of God, we shall continue.