About
Ascension Lutheran Church is located in Mitchell, South Dakota on the north side of the city. In the spring of 1974, a spark was struck which began the idea of a new Lutheran church in Mitchell. Pastor Robert Beckmann wrote a letter to the Home Mission Board of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, and asked that a study be made of the Mitchell area. After some consideration, Pastor John Engel was authorized to make that study of the Mitchell area and he began to explore the mission possibilities. An initial group of just fifteen people began to gather for worship on Sundays in the Milliken Funeral Home courtesy room. After accepting a call to another congregation in Canada, Pastor Beckmann was succeeded by Pastor Larry Nast, who continued the mission study. Once the study was finished and information about the mission prospects in Mitchell was recieved by the General Board for Home Missions of the Synod, the little group of believers was granted "mission status" and formed a new congregation.
