Welcome to First Evangelical Lutheran Church of Houston. FIrst Lutheran was founded in 1851 in downtown Houston and has been in Midtown since 1927. It served as the central gathering place for German Lutherans in Houston for the first several decades of its life. It continues to serve as a gathering place for followers of Jesus who desire to worship, learn, and serve their Lord together.  

While the first observation one may have of the congregation is its historic and beautiful campus,  the congregation is much more than a historic building. It is disciples committed to the Great Commission of making disciples and baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. While every congregation has this same mission, the vision of each congregation is influenced by its people, context and unique opportunity. At First Lutheran, we emphasize five ministries.

• Worship and Teaching - The worship is rooted in the historic liturgy and music of the Lutheran tradition. The teaching focues on Bible study, apologetics, and contemporary movements in society and the Church at large.
• First Friends -  This Parents Day Out program is for infants, toddler and Pre-K children. It uses a Christian curriculum and serves families with young children.
• Jesus 101 -  This college outreach ministry is aimed at reaching the next generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It uses the tools of apologetics and free lunch to stimulate interesting conversation.
• The Bonhoeffer House - This program, still in its planning phase, will house and help train seminary students for future ministry. It is inspired by Dietrich Bonhoeffer's classic work Life Together.
• FIrst Word Debate Series - These events will bring together intellectuals and public figures to debate the philosophical, moral and religious issues of our day.

On Sunday mornings, we invite you to visit our 11:00 a.m. service and our 10:00 a.m. Sunday School class. In Sunday School, you will hear Lutheran teaching on historical, biblical, social and moral issues of our day. In worship you will experience wonderful music in the Lutheran tradition, meet friendly parish members, listen to inspiring and thoughtful sermons, and receive Holy Communion, which is open to all baptized Christians.

At First, you will find the Lutheran pillars of Law and Gospel and the objective Word of God that has been handed down to us for 2,000 years. You will find at First Church a simple message — that in Jesus Christ, the entire world, and you yourself have a friend, Lord, and Savior. First Church is a recent addition to the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). We look forward to seeing you soon.