Church History
 
Rev. Wilbert V. Holt, a former missionary in China and Hong Kong, was commissioned as Missionary-at-Large to the Chinese people in San Francisco on Sept 26, 1963. The Lutheran Women's Missionary League of the California-Nevada-Hawaii District allocated $4200 to begin work in a Chinatown store front. On March 26, 1964, the first Lutheran Chinese-English service was held at 606 Jackson Street, San Francisco.

In 1969,the thriving congregation moved to 1725 Washington Street on the outskirts of Chinatown and the Lutheran Women's Mission league at its 25th Anniversary convention gave $100,000 to the Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit to renovate this new building. The church continued to grow and many new immigrants attended the bilingual worship services and Bible fellowships. In 1987 an extension site was established at 46th and Noriega streets in the Sunset District. Help-U-Learn after school tutorial was established here.

In 1996 Pastor Holt retired from active ministry and he became Pastor Emeritus of the congregation. At that time the congregation called one of its own sons, Rev. David T. Chan, a graduate of Concordia Seminary in St Louis, to be its pastor.

As the area around the Washington street church continued to change and the majority of its membership had established homes in the Sunset and Richmond areas of the city, Pastor David T. Chan, with a vision of a wider mission field to bring Christ to the Chinese in the Sunset area, led the congregation in an awesome move to sell the Washington street church and purchase a site at 2400 Noriega Street in the Sunset area. The congregation dedicated its new church building on October 1, 2002.

In 2004, Rev. David T. Chan accepted a Call as Missionary to the Chinese in the Peninsula area. Under the capable leadership of its Board of Elders, Church Council, Director Amy Mui, and other leaders, the congregation continued to grow.

In 2006, the congregation called Rev. Shiu Ming Lau of St Louis, MO to be its pastor. The congregation, with a vision for greater opportunities to share the Gospel in the Sunset area, embarked on a “Together We Build” campaign to build a larger church on its present site. In 2009 the congregation called Rev. Christopher Ng, a graduate of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, to be Associate Pastor, to expand the work among English speaking members and youth of the congregation. We praise God for the opportunity to reach out to the Chinese community with the Good News of Jesus Christ! To God be all the Glory!

Aware that additional space was needed to expand the present ministries and prepare for future ministries, the congregation entered into a building mode “Together We Build”. They raised money within the congregation sufficient to tear down the old building and build a new church building at 2400 Noriega Street. The new building was completed in April 2012, and was dedicated to the Glory of God on April 22, 2012.

Rev. Dr. Wilbert V. Holt
Church Founder, 1964–2003
Jackson Street
Washington Street
Old Noriega Street Building
Current Building


© 2023 Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit
2400 Noriega Street, San Francisco, CA 94122, USA
Phone: (415) 661-1120
Fax: (415) 661-1820