King of Kings Lutheran Church

King of Kings Lutheran Church of Mason, Ohio began as an outreach mission of St. Paul Lutheran Church of Madisonville, Ohio. Worship services were first held in a blinding snowstorm on January 8, 1978, at the Resort Inn at Kings Island. The pastor and vicars of St. Paul Lutheran Church served the congregation in its early months.

The members of St. Paul donated five acres of land to King of Kings in 1980. On February 14, 1980, the King of Kings charter was signed by over 30 charter members. Rev. John Lutze was installed as the first full-time pastor. Following Pastor Lutze’s retirement, Rev. Mark G. Press was called as pastor and was installed on January 22, 1984.

The congregation worshipped at J.F. Burns Elementary School until May of 1985, when Luther Chapel, two offices, restrooms and storage areas were dedicated. Financial support was given by other congregations, grants from Forward in Remembrance, the LWML and a loan from the Lutheran Church Extension Fund.

The congregation took several bold steps in mission in 1987 and 1988: elimination of subsidies from St. Paul and the Ohio District, the beginning of a building program, and the birth of a daughter congregation. The fellowship hall, offices and kitchen were dedicated on December 4, 1988. That same month, Royal Redeemer Lutheran Church, Liberty Township, signed its charter.

In 1991, Rev. Press accepted a call to Zion Lutheran Church, Seymour, IN. Rev. Albert Mann served as vacancy pastor until May of 1992, when Rev. Steven Ahlersmeyer was installed as pastor.

In 1995, King of Kings began an Early Childhood Education Ministry. It has grown from one classroom to six, with an enrollment of 250 students. Mr. Gil Schepmann serves as our director.

King of Kings’ third building program began with a groundbreaking for a new Christian Education Center on August 31, 1997. It included classrooms, a multipurpose worship facility and a new kitchen. The cornerstone was laid on June 6, 1999 and the facility was dedicated on August 27, 2000.

During this period of building and growth, Rev. Anthony Cook accepted the call to serve as Associate Pastor and was installed on August 1, 1999. In August of 2000, Rev. Ahlersmeyer accepted a call to St. Peter Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, IN. Rev. Cook assumed the role of Senior Pastor.

In 2001 a program of equipping the congregation to carry forth the mission of the church began. The church hired Ministry Facilitators to assist members in their ministries and a computer lab was developed to assist with educating confirmation students, DELTO vicars, and others. As part of our new mission focus, Rev. John Mueller was called as our Associate Pastor and was installed in October of 2003. In August of 2005, Rev. Anthony Cook accepted a call as the Director of Technical Education at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis and Rev. John Mueller assumed the role of Senior Pastor.

As we trust in God’s promise and rejoice in His grace, our progress and growth continues at King of Kings Lutheran Church.