Tunbridge Lutheran Church and Cemetery with a sign noting the founding date of the congregation as 1888.

Story of Tunbridge
Lutheran Church

Tunbridge Lutheran Church is a manifestation of the faith shared by Norwegian families who arrived at the place the Great Northern Railway named Rugby Junction in 1885.
Before there were churches, Lutheran homesteaders met in homes, often without pastoral direction. That changed in a Rugby restaurant in April 1888, when young Rev. J.U. Pederson of Trondheim, Norway, and 15 charter members organized Rugby Skandinavisk Luthersk Mehighed.
Rev. Pederson soon moved on, and the congregation hired Rev. Bernhard I. Hagboe as its first fulltime minister. For an initial annual salary of $21.60, Rev. Hagboe baptized, confirmed, married, counseled and buried church members, leading worship services in and around Rugby and seven miles to the west in Tunbridge.
In 1905, the congregation decided to split along geographical lines. The Rugby group established Bethania (Bethany) Mehighed. And in 1906, the Tunbridge group built its first church on a two-acre tract of land donated by Anfin Jelsing. Unfortunately, lightning struck in 1911, burning the church to the ground. It took two years to raise enough money to rebuild, but at a special subscription meeting, members committed $3,050 to build a new church in the footprint of the original structure.

Cover of a children's Bible storybook featuring an illustration of Jesus, Mary, and a donkey similar to materials used in Tunbridge Lutheran Church Sunday School classes.

In 1914, the congregation voted to change its name and a year later dedicated Tunbridge Lutheran Church. Like many rural churches, Tunbridge Lutheran Church was a center for worship, social life and education. In its early years, the congregation conducted six weeks of summer parochial school. There were Young People Society meetings - later called Luther League, Family Nights, and the Ladies Aid and Suremus Circle engaged in Bible study as well as good works.
Eighteen pastors served Tunbridge Lutheran Church, most shared with neighboring congregations. In 1968, the congregation voted to worship during the winter months at Bethany Lutheran Church in Rugby. In 1971 the congregation affiliated with the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations, and between 1975 and 1980 it appeared the church might close, but the Women’s Missionary League remained active and the congregation rallied, celebrating its centennial in 1988.
Regular services ceased in 1988, but the church continued to host special events over the years. And in 2019 former members and decendants of members organized the Tunbridge Lutheran Church Preservation Society.