• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Redemption Lutheran / Liberty City Church

In 1937, the newly ordained Reverend Elbert W. Nuelken was tasked with establishing a church mission in the Von Steuben neighborhood by the Michigan District of the Lutheran Missouri Synod. The first services for Redemption Lutheran were held at Von Steuben School in February of 1937, with 98 people in attendance. By August the small church had raised enough money to break ground on a small English Gothic style chapel on the corner of Seven Mile and Strasburg.

In 1943, the church had to get permission from the War Production Board to build a two-room day school next to the church. Part of the rationale was that it would free up more women to work in the factories supporting the war effort. The remainder of the education building wouldn’t be finished until 1960, when the library, gymnasium, and kitchen were added.

The new sanctuary was formally dedicated in May of 1949. Built at a cost of $207,000, the sanctuary could seat 900. In 1952 the church had over 750 members, as well as a Sunday school enrollment of 500. But by 2010, the confirmed membership had fallen to just 46 members. Redemption was formally disbanded in September of 2013.

In early 2018, Liberty City moved to a different building. After a relatively short period of vacancy, the building was reopened by Open Door Church of God in Christ in September of 2019.