Over 75 years have passed since the Reverend A. J. Lange, Pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Summit decided that a Lutheran Church was needed in the village of Willow Springs. One May 27, 1928, the first Sunday School session was held in a home in Willow Springs. As the quarters of the home became too small, the auditorium of the Willow Springs Public School was used while awaiting the completion of “The little white church on the hill”. A 24 x 40 foot white frame structure was erected on the corner of Nolton and Cedar Street at a cost of $1,713.50, and was dedicated on December 16, 1928.

As the years passed and the congregation grew, it became evident in 1961 that a full-time pastor and a new church building would have to be considered to meet the congregation’s needs. Rev. Walter C. Kalbhen served as the first resident pastor from 1961-1965. The new structure, as you see it today, was completed and dedicated on March 31, 1963. Simple in design, the sanctuary imparts a feeling of peace and tranquility. The laminated beams of the wood decked roof soar toward the heavens, but one’s eyes are drawn almost immediately to the life-size chancel crucifix, a copy of one of the famous crucifixes of Oberammergau, Germany, hand-carved by the well known woodcarver, John O. Torrell of Palatine, Illinois.