Henry Lusche and Chas. Reinke, along with John Held, were among the first group of thirteen settlers who founded Columbus, Nebraska in 1856. The Reinke home was located along Shell Creek just to the north of where St. John's Lutheran Church later was built and the Lusche home was a dugout in the north bank of the creek, a little upstream to the west. John Held first built near the Columbus site, but later also moved along Shell Creek and built his log cabin to the east. The names of all three of these men appear on the early church records. Of the farms homesteaded in this area, there are at least ten that have been in the same family for a hundred years or more. It was not uncommon to find the early settlers opening their homes to newly arrived families until they could build a house on their own homestead.There are no records of the early beginnings of this church which had been organized in this German community located approximately eleven miles northeast of Columbus, Nebraska in Bismark Township. But the story that is handed down tells of these early settlers, finding a need of a church in their community, organizing St. John's. First services were held in a schoolhouse assumed to be District 2 located near the Henry Lusche homestead. The seventeen families that formed the first congregation were served from time to time by traveling pastors. Their first officers were Henry Schutte, president; Henry Rickert, secretary; and Henry Lusche, treasurer.
By July of 1881, the congregation had grown to 25 families and a call was extended to Pastor Christoph Moessner to be their first pastor. According to the call letter, he was to receive a yearly salary of $300. Since this was a German community, the church services were to be conducted in the German language.
The cornerstone for the church was laid by the Pastor on September 10, 1881. On the east side of the church were wooden hitching posts and rails which were used to tie the horses while the people attended the services. Hitching posts were known to be at one time also along the south and east bounderies of the church lot. The rails were not only used for the horses, but the children also enjoyed playing and exercising upon them. Horseback and horse and buggy were the mode of transportation in those days. Five years later, a buggy shed was built for the pastor's use. In the early years, long red wooden barns were built to accommodate not only the pastor's horse but also those of the congregation when they came to church or school. The minister also used these barns for poultry and other livestock that he raised, particularily a cow for milking.
Names appearing in early records were: Benning, Dicke, Distler, Engel, Esslinger, Gertsch, Groteluschen, Heggelman, Heiden, Henke, Karlin, Klug, Labens, Loseke, Luckey, Lueke, Lusche, Lutjeharms, Lutjelusche, Muhle, Nauenburg, Plugge, Rickert, Runge, Schreiber, Schutte, Schwarz, Vetter, and Voss.
Some of the "firsts" at St. John's were: first baptism: Ida Wurdeman, August 21, 1881; first baptism in church: Anna Klug, February 12, 1882; first funeral: Anna Botsch, October 2, 1881 (6 years, 18 days); first funeral in church: Louis Klug, May 11, 1882 (6 years, 7 days - kicked by horse); first wedding: Ernest Fielder and Marie Burkhart, October 27, 1881 (Henry Lusche home).
It was decided in 1888 to build a schoolhouse, 24 feet long, 18 feet wide and 9 feet high. The schoolhouse was located southwest of the church and in 1912 an additional 12 feet were added. In the early years, each church member and each scholar was to pay twenty-five cents for fuel for the church and school.
The schoolhouse was used for many other things beside schooling. Mission Festival dinners were served there with the Ladies Aid members preparing the coffee on kerosene stoves in a temporary lean-to on the back of the schoolhouse and then passing the coffee pots through the back window on the east side. Choris held practices there as well as the Laides Aid and Luterh League using it for meetings. The schoolhouse was sold March 1945 for the sum of $363.20 to Mr. Lusche.
On September 23, 1891, St. John's decided to leave the Nebraska Evangelical Lutheran Synod and joined the German Nebraska Evangelical Lutheran Synod.