Back in the 1970’s when US 17 was still a two-lane road there were many faithful Lutherans that traveled more than 20 miles each way in this area to attend church. It was hard to be a part of the church family except on Sundays. After many persistent years of appealing to the North Carolina Lutheran Synod, they sent Rev. Jack Martin to establish a parish in the Shallotte area in July 1987.
On January 15, 1989 St. Luke held its first worship service at the Shallotte Middle School in downtown Shallotte. The church charter signing was begun in May 1989 with the date of November 14, 1989, as the official organization date of St. Luke Lutheran Church. The church family grew steadily during the next years with Pastor Jack Martin installed as the first pastor of St. Luke on April 29,1990. Sunday services remained at the Middle School. Youth, committee and fellowship meetings were held at parishioner’s homes as were the Lenten midweek services.
Two years later plans began to develop for the construction of our own building.
September 4, 1994, was the official groundbreaking ceremony for our new church located on Highway 17 in Ocean Isle Beach. The dedication service was held on Palm Sunday, April 9, 1995.
The church continued to grow steadily in the next ten years. A separate sanctuary was soon in the development stages and was officially dedicated on August 2, 2009. Today our campus includes the Sanctuary, Administration building, Fellowship Hall and Columbarium.
While St. Luke isn’t a church rich in history we are a family deep in faith and fellowship. We welcome everyone to join us as we begin our fourth decade of worship.
Our Pastors
Rev. Claude J. “Jack” Martin, Mission Developer 1987-1989
Rev. Claude J. “Jack” Jack Martin 1990
Rev. Don R. Safrit 1991-1997
Rev. Matthew L. Ernst 1998-2005
Rev. Henry B. Rehder 2006-2018
Rev. Dr. Christian Eichorn 2020-
