St. John's United Church of Christ
 St. John's church was organized in 1891 by a small group of settlers in our community that were of German ancestry. The services were held in a school house until 1901, when the present church building was constructed at a cost of $1,089.25; the six acres of land on which the building stands was donated. The bell was set atop the church at a cost of $384.
On January 5, 1895, the congregation chartered as St. John's German Lutheran church. The group was not able financially to support the pastor so found it necessary to combine with Salem Evangelical at Tulare. The salary paid the pastor in 1894-95 was $87.40, and by 1912 had increased to $600, plus the provision that each church was to supply 50 bushels of oats and some hay for the pastor's horse.
In 1902 St. John's affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Later our denomination merged with the Congregational denomination and because of this, since 1962, we have been St. John's United Church of Christ. In 1965 St. John's along with Tulare's United Methodist Church and Salem United Church of Christ formed the Tri-Church Parish, with one pastor serving the three congregations. Pastors were furnished alternately from each denomination. This arrangement worked well for many years, with each congregation keeping their own identity.
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"The Parts of Our Heritage"
This church is located 7 miles
west and 1 mile south of Tulare SD
With the coming of the first world war, German was still used in the church services at St. John's and by the older folks at home. In 1920 the native language of German had to be set aside and this was the last year the notes of the congregational meetings were written in German. The change was noted in the church, as one Sunday a month the service was to be in English, the Lord's Supper was to be observed alternately in English and German and the Sunday School was to be solely in English.
Plans for a new parsonage was begun in 1927. The house was built with volunteer labor and personal donations at a cost of $2910.74. It was at this time the Women's Guild (then Ladies Aid) and the youth group were organized.
For seven years the congregation was without a resident minister. In spite of this the congregation completely redecorated the sanctuary interior. An organ was purchased in the year 1949. A basement was dug under the church and finished which gave additional space for Sunday School and social gatherings.
The past several years has brought much flooding around the area where this church is located. This has brought more change as the building has sustained more damage than can be feasibly repaired. Thus this congregation has joined with two others to form the new Tulare United Church.
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