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HISTORY OF HOPE LUTHERAN CHAPEL |
Hope Lutheran Chapel traces its beginnings to the intial Sunday drive-in worship service on July 4, 1958, at the facilities of the Glaize Drive-in Theater adjacentto KRMS Radio Station in Osage Beach. The Reverend A. Herbert Muhl, then pastor of Bethany Lutheran Church in Eldon, Missouri, led the first service.
By December,1964, the need in the central Lake of the Ozarks area prompted the Hope Chapel to purchase a site across the road from its present location. By April of 1965, the acquisition was completed and remodeling of an existing house for use by Hope Chapel began.
Hope Lutheran Chapel,designatd by the Missouri District as a joint parish with Bethany Lutheran Church of Eldon, held formal indoor Sunday services at 11:00 a.m. on November 27, 1965, led by the parish pastor, The Rev. Donald Veitengruber. A church organization committee was formed on December 20, 1965 and Hope Chapel,and resulted in the chartering of Hope Chapel on March 27, 1966. Pastor Veitengruber served the 25 communicant member church until August 1968. Rev. Gustke was installed on December 15, 1968, and served through October, 1970.
Reverand Ralph Egolf served the joint parish from December 1970 through September, 1984. In January of 1979, Hope Chapel separated from the joint parish arrangement and became a separate, self-supporting parish. Upon the retirement of Pastor Egolf, Reverand John C. Dautenhahn was called and installed as the first "full-time" pastor of Hope Chapel on August 26, 1984.
With a full-time pastor, Hope Chapel soon grew out of its facilities in the remodeled house and purchased a new site back across the road on the adjacent to the radio station where it began. Construction of the new church took just 58 days, and services began in it on September 18, 1988.
After much prayer and planning, Hope Lutheran Chapel decided to call a pastor to help Pastor Dautenhahn and to serve as the new Lake area Mission Pastor. On March 14, 1995, Rev. Ronald Lehenbauer was commissioned as the New Lake Ozark Mission Pastor. Then on July 13, 1995, Christ the King Lutheran Church became the new mission church in Lake Ozark, Missouri. Christ the King was chartered on January 12, 1997. The Lord God, blessed this mission church and Hope Lutheran Chapel.
In the Fall of 1998, Hope Chapel decided to form a team ministry. Rev. Everett Stewart Pepper accepted the divine call to be Hope's first Associate Pastor on February 16, 2000. During Pastor Pepper's service at, the volunteer Mothers' Day Out program transformed into what is now Lambs of hope Lutheran Preschool. He served until the fall of 2004 when he accepted a call to another congregation.
In the fall of 2004, Pastor Dautenhahn decided to retire after 21 years as Hope's Pastor. Reverend Guillaume Williams, Sr. accepted the divine call to become Hope Chapel's new pastor. He was installed on July 10, 2005.
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