Our History
Our Savior Lutheran Church – A Brief History
May 12, 1947
The Board of Directors of the Iowa District East (IDE) of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) called E. A. Breiholz of St. John Lutheran church, Wellman,
Iowa, to serve as a missionary in Bettendorf with the purpose of starting a new
congregation. During the following months Rev. Breiholz conducted a religious survey of
Bettendorf north of Central Avenue which indicated over half the families in the area were
unchurched.
October 5, 1947
the first worship service of the new Bettendorf mission was conducted in
the seventh grade room of the Washington School (former Children's Museum) located at
the corner of 16th Street and Mississippi Boulevard. Approximately forty people were in
attendance. A week later a Sunday school was begun with ten children
participating. January 1948, the IDE Board of Directors purchased property on the
northwest corner of 23rd Street and Central Avenue. A temporary chapel was dedicated on
this property June 12, 1949
June 29, 1948
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Bettendorf, Iowa, was officially
organized. Missionary Breiholz was formally called by the congregation as its first
pastor. July 19, 1948, the Voters Assembly adopted Articles of Incorporation, which were
filed with the Secretary of State of Iowa on July 22, 1948. August 16, 1948, at the regular
Convention of IDE, Our Savior was formally received into membership in the LCMS.
November 22, 1953
Rapid growth led to the construction of a church building on property adjacent to the
chapel. This building was dedicated November 22, 1953. Continued growth led the
congregation to relocate on 11.7 acres at 3775 Middle Road (out in the country) with the
vision that this new location would become the geographic and economic center of
Bettendorf.
April 18, 1971
The first unit, a worship-education building, was dedicated on the Middle Road
site April 18, 1971
October 28, 1979
A new sanctuary was built and dedicated
1997
Two significant events occurred in 1997: debt was retired, burning the mortgage in the final
50th anniversary service, October 5th; and in November a second worship service on
Sunday morning was introduced to meet the needs of a growing number of worshipers.
August 31, 1998
Our Savior Lutheran Preschool opened its doors for the first time to
seventeen preschoolers. Jennifer Bullock was hired as the first preschool Director/Teacher.
Sharon Davis was hired as Director/Teacher in 2001. Lisa Piotter was hired as Director
August 2006 with a staff of eight serving 115 children. A Parent’s Day Out Program was
introduced in 2005, Dawn Nickles hired as Director/Teacher and one assistant to serve
twenty children. By September 2010 the preschool ministry grew to require use of almost
every classroom in the facility, and Parent’s Day Out changed to 2-3 year old preschool; a
staff of twenty-one serving over 200 children. By 2016 the preschool grew to its maximum of
310 children and a staff of thirty-two.
May 14, 2000
a groundbreaking ceremony was held to inaugurate an extensive expansion
project to the southeast side of our campus. The 32,000 square foot addition/renovation
was completed by summer of 2001 and dedicated to the LORD’s service on September 9,
2001. October 2000, a pastoral call was extended to and accepted by Rev. Arthur “Jack”
Goldberger of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Rochester, Illinois, to serve as the
congregation’s first associate pastor. Pastor Goldberger was installed on Sunday, February
11, 2001, and retired June 3, 2018. The congregation voted to call a seminary graduate
from Concordia, St. Louis, and in May 2019 was assigned Caleb Weight as associate pastor;
Installation service June 30, 2019. Pastor Weight took another call in June 2022.
April 22, 2002
A third service on Sunday afternoons was added but discontinued in 2005.
2005
In 2005 the congregation approved to participate in Concordia Univ. Seward’s Director of
Christian Education (DCE) Internship Program. Jason Phelps was assigned as our DCE
intern. In April of 2008 the congregation called its first DCE, Larry Yochum, who was
installed to the position of Director of Youth Ministry in June 2008 and served until 2013.
Eric Brei was then called and installed as Director of Youth Ministry in June 2014. He served this role until August of 2024. In June 2023, we received another DCE Intern, Lauren Krueger, from Concordia Nebraska. Dalton Rau, a new Seward graduate, was then called to Our Savior and installed in August of 2024.
September 2008
A third worship service on Saturday afternoons was added, which has been
well received ever since
January 2016
Due to facility/staffing needs and future growth potential, the congregation carried out a major capital campaign to retire debt and provide seed money for a ministry expansion program. On October 25, 2016 the congregation approved a
building project to renovate and add another 16,600 square feet. A month later the congregation payed off the building loan, and a mortgage burning celebration was held at the Thanksgiving worship service, November 23, 2016; a building loan was taken out and the ground breaking was scheduled for April 2017. Dedication of the new facilities took place on Palm Sunday 2018. The congregation once again celebrated a mortgage burning and debt retirement celebration at the Thanksgiving Eve worship service on November 26, 2025.
Previous Pastors
The following pastors have served Our Savior Lutheran Church since its birth.
Edwin Breiholz
July 1948 – April 16, 1950
Otto Schumacher
July 2, 1950 – July 26, 1959
Erwin Wiedbush
September 6, 1959 – December 1, 1963
Alfred Bertke
June 28, 1964 – June 4, 1967
Robert Schroeder
February 4, 19
June 4, 1989 – June 15, 1994
Keith Piotter
January 29, 1995 – present
Jack Goldberger
February 11, 2001 – June 2018
Caleb Weight
June 30, 2019 – June 12, 2022