Kountze Memorial Lutheran Church, Omaha

Kountze Memorial Lutheran Church is located at 2650 Farnam Street in Midtown Omaha. Organized on December 5, 1858 as Immanuel's Evangelical Lutheran Church, the church is thought to be the first Lutheran congregation organized west of the Missouri River. In the 1920s the church was credited with being the largest Lutheran congregation in the United States.

The current building was opened in 1913, and the church continued to grow, adding neighborhood Sunday Schools across Omaha. Many of these "Sunday Schools" were later developed into congregations. In 1916 the church claimed to be the largest Lutheran congregation in the world, withover 2,000 members. The General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United States was held at the Church in 1887. In 1940 Kountze hosted the annual convention of the United Lutheran Church of America. Extensive remodeling and repair work coincided with the 100th anniversary of the building in 2006. Kountze celebrates its 150th anniversary as a congregation in 2008.