Our congregation dates back to 1950, when, in obedience to God’s command our pastor faithfully testified to his flock, then a member congregation of the Missouri Synod, about the creeping heterodoxy in that church body and laid numerous memorials of official protest before its convention, representing the combined effort of a considerable number of concerned pastors and laymen. Heedless of warnings from synodical officials to “keep quiet” and to stop “making trouble” in the synod, he was unscripturally deposed from his pastorate in November, 1951, in a carefully orchestrated plot secretly hatched by a group of local members and officials of the Northern Illinois District. Nevertheless a faithful remnant of the congregation still recognized the pastor’s call to be valid before God and reorganized itself as our present congregation, taking as its name the blessed bond which they enjoyed together in the unity of the Spirit (Ephesians 4:3). The fledgling church immediately joined the Orthodox Lutheran Conference of like-minded congregations, co-founded by our pastor at that time, the parent organization from which our present fellowship of churches, the Concordia Lutheran Conference, sprang in 1955. (See article on Our Fellowship above.)

From November, 1951 until April, 1964 the congregation met for worship services and Bible classes in temporary facilities --initially in the homes of members and then in the parsonage building erected in the summer of 1952, where a parochial school of eight grades was also maintained until 1956

In the fall of 1963, the congregation, still a small but forward- looking flock, embarked upon the ambitious project of erecting a permanent church building on its acreage acquired in 1952. It was dedicated on April 4, 1964, and from 1969 to 1984 was home to the Concordia Theological Seminary of our Conference. It still serves as our congregation’s sanctuary. Then in 1990, with the pressing need for Christian education and fellowship facilities making modest expansion of the building almost a necessity, the congregation constructed an addition with Sunday School classrooms, meeting rooms, washrooms, a large fellowship hall, and a combination church office and pastor’s study over a full basement for future finishing. This addition was dedicated in September, 1991.

In 1987, just one year after our present pastor was called to replace his father, who had retired from the ministry in 1986, another congregation of our fellowship suddenly lost its pastor of many years and was unable to find and call a replacement. Peace found itself with a “remote contingent” of dear brethren in Midland, Michigan, in need of a faithful shepherd. While our efforts there were at first viewed as a temporary measure in an emergency situation, the group soon joined our congregation and established a regular schedule of services and classes of instruction for all ages. Early In 2006, after eighteen years of bi-weekly trips to Midland on the part of our Pastor and the diligent efforts our Michigan contingent to reach out to the community, but with dwindling attendance at our Midland chapel, the members there opted to transfer their membership to a closer congregation of our fellowship; and our operation in Midland closed in January of that year.