The history of Mellingers congregation begins in 1861 with the construction of Mellingers Metting House, now the Slavic Baptist Church (also formerly Valley View Mennonite Church). The structure was build on land donated by Henry Eberly. All denominations that helped in construction were allowed to use the building, but no one congregation could meet there on Sundays more often than any of the other denominations. The original four congregations that met in this building were the Dunkards, Mennonites, German Reformed and Lutherans.

Little information remains about these early years but the following facts have survived. The Lutheran congregation was organized by the Reverend Michael M. Haerpel who preached his inaugural sermon on December 22, 1861. On June 8, 1862, thirty-nine people celebrated the first Lord’s Supper with Rev. Haerpel officiating. The first Catechetical class was taught in the spring of 1863. Rev. Hearpel seems to have served until late in 1870 when Rev. S. S. Engle became pastor, serving until 1876. Rev. C. A. Fetzer served as pastor from 1876 until 1883 when Rev. E. S. Brownmiller was installed. Rev. Brownmiller served until 1889.

During the first 28 years of its existence, Mellingers Church grew in membership. By the time that Rev. E. S. Brownmiller let to serve a congregation in Berks County in 1890, the congregation had grown to 125 members. In May of 1890, Rev. J. O. Leibensperger began 11 years of service at Mellingers. In November of 1901, after accepting a call to a congregation at Bethlehem, Rev. Leibensperger preached his farewell sermon at Mellingers.

Rev. D. L. Fogleman preached a trial sermon on November 30, 1901. On December 8, 1901, Dr. Hassler led the service and Rev. Fogleman was unanimously elected as pastor. His first service at Mellingers was on Sunday, January 12, 1902. April 30, 1915 was a grand day for Mellingers. On that day the first organ was installed in the church. It was donated by Mrs. Susan Fausnacht of Schoeneck. The organ was dedicated on July 25, 1915. Special dedication services were held in the morning and afternoon by former pastor E. S. Brownmiller.

Shortly after the installation of the organ, a choir was formed at Mellingers. Jacob Stober was the leader and Daisy Henly served as organist. Later, Florence Romig was organist. Neither organist or choir director were paid for their services. On a Saturday afternoon in May, 1922, a meeting was held to discuss “the matters about remodeling the church.” What the actual discussion was like, we may not know, but about  three weeks later, June 6, work began on remodeling. In mid June the issue of installing electric lighting was decided with a vote of 23 “for lights” and 5 “for no lights”. Services of consecration were held from November 12 to 16, 1922.

In May 1923 a new reed organ was received and installed in the church. Rev. Fogleman celebrated one more anniversary in April 1934. He was presented with 32 carnations in honor of his 32 years of service as pastor at Mellingers. Rev. Fogleman died in December 1935. In the Spring of 1936, Rev. Harold F. Minnich was called to serve the congregation. He was installed on June 21, 1936 and held his first communion service at Mellingers in October.

The Sunday School was organized in January of 1938. Ten years later, 1948, Vacation Bible School was begun at Mellingers. During Jun 1942 a new electric organ was donated to the church. A piano was donated during August of the same year and in August 1943, new choir vestments were consecrated. Chimes were dedicated in December 1946 as a memorial to the men who had served during World War II. The Junior choir was organized in October 1947 and first appeared in church in November of that year.

The Church was incorporated in December 1946. The Luther League was organized in December 1948 and the Lancaster Conference Luther League Rally was held at Mellingers in January 1951. By 1947, the congregation recognized the need for a larger church building. In response to this need, a three acre plot of ground was purchased, the site of our present building. The services of architect J. Alfred Hamme were engaged in spring of 1951, and by the next year sketches of a new church were approved.

Ground breaking was held in October of 1952, followed by the laying of the cornerstone on November 2, 1952. The contents of the cornerstone were The Holy Bible, a copy of “The Lutheran”, the Christian Flag, an American Flag, coins in the current use, an issue of “The Ephrata Review”, a copy of the Constitution of Mellingers Church, the names of the baptized membership, the names of the communion membership, contributors’ names to the building fund, members of various committees, the officers and members of the Auxiliary organizations, and bulletins from both the Ground Breaking and the Cornerstone Laying Service. The Church was dedicated on June 14, 1953.

In November, 1958, Mr. Hamme was again contacted, this time to draw up plans for the Educational Wing. Ground Breaking for the wing was held in September of 1959. Dedication of the new structure was held on the 7^th Anniversary of the new church dedication, June 1960. Several organizations were formed by Mellingers during these years. They include: United Lutheran Church Women, 1958; Cub Scouts, 1959; Girl Scouts, 1960; and a softball team in 1961. In 1960 the Crusader Class, after having contributed over $5,000.00 to the building fund, was reorganized and renamed, the “Helping Hands”.

In November of 1968, Rev. Harold F. Minnich passed away, after serving our congregation for 32 years. Following Rev. Minnich’s death, Rev. John Bonser, Vice Pastor, assumed all church related duties for Mellingers Congregation until another Pastor could be found. On May 18, 1969, Rev. W. Robert Kurz was installed as Pastor of Mellingers Congregation. In 1975 two important events occurred in the Mellingers congregation. At a special meeting of the Church Council on July first, approval was given for Mellingers to sponsor a refugee family from Vietnam. By mid July Son Thanh Pham, his wife and two children had arrived and moved into a mobile home. This was the first of three refugee families sponsored by Mellingers.

The second event of 1975 celebrated the end of a long struggle for the congregation. At a special service held on November second, the bulletin stated: “We rejoice in the retirement of our Building Debt with all expenses honored and fulfilled. The indebtedness retired is $120,000 for the church building and $85,000 for the church school building. We praise God for His Great Blessing for us and to which He has brought us this night!”

By the fall of 1981 the need for major repairs or replacement of the organ was required. October council minuted note that the organ, “was foundering on Sunday,” and by January the old organ had to be removed. A new organ was purchased and dedicated on Palm Sunday, 1982. The 125^th anniversary was celebrated in 1986 by the Mellingers congregation. This important milestone was celebrated by a month of special Sunday services, a congregational banquet, and an exhibit with items of historical interest. The climax to the anniversary events occurred on Sunday, November 2, 1986, with the planting of tree in honor of the Saints of Mellingers.