CNH District Schools Begin Another Year

The new school year is underway at Emmanuel, Maui

August is a busy time for Lutheran schools in the CNH District. It is an exciting time of new beginnings for administrators, teachers, and students as they begin another school year. The unique aspect of any school year is the opportunity for a fresh start. For Lutheran schools, this opportunity is not just educating students, but the missional outreach to those students and their families. They have the chance to guide people into a deeper relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ on a daily basis.

Lutheran schools have always been an important ministry in the CNH District. From the very beginning of the establishment of Lutheran churches in California, Nevada, and Hawaii, churches started schools. In the early years, instruction was in English and German. The first Lutheran church in what is now the CNH District was St. Paulus in San Francisco (1869). Shortly after it was chartered, they began a Lutheran school in 1873. Zion Lutheran Church in Piedmont started in 1881 and opened their school in 1882. The first Called (rostered) teacher to our District was J.H. Hargens, who served at St. Paulus, San Francisco from 1881 to 1923.

The 1946 School Picture from St. John's, Napa

It is almost impossible to count the many churches that had schools over the history of our District, but most of them at one point had a school ministry. Zion in Piedmont closed in 2013, but only after 131 years of ministry. The oldest continuously active Lutheran school in the CNH District is St. Peter Lutheran School in Lodi, California, which was started in 1904 and is starting their 121st school year.

Picture of the current staff at St. Peter's, Lodi for the 2025-2026 School Year

Currently, we have 67 schools in the CNH District (46 preschools, 20 elementary schools, and 1 high school) serving 6500 students. These schools are blessed with almost 1000 faculty and staff servants daily sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our Lutheran schools are some of the strongest mission outposts in the CNH District. May God bless their work as they start another school year!