Peace Evangelical Lutheran Church: the WELS congregation of 1972

SINCE 1972 · 16791 CLEVELAND ROAD

The Lutheran seat on this ground dates itself plainly: Peace Evangelical Lutheran Church, at 16791 Cleveland Road, states on its own record that it has been "sharing the message of Jesus with the people of Michiana since 1972." It is a congregation of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, and its early course touches the synod's mission pattern in the record of a sister congregation: Our Shepherd Lutheran Church of Merrillville's own history records that in 1975–76 its exploratory work was in the charge of Pastor Thomas Liesener, working from Granger — the young Peace congregation's pastor doubling as the mission explorer for the next field, the ordinary economy of a small synod planting churches across the region. The congregation carries a school on the same Cleveland Road ground — Peace Lutheran School, counted among the place's private schools in the Story of Granger section and carried in the Schools section; the school's own founding accounts conflict (a regional Lutheran schools record says the school has provided Christ-centered education since 1979, with preschool added in fall 2011; a school-directory profile says it has operated since 1992), and that conflict belongs to the Schools section's record, flagged here because the church's 1972 and the school's dates are different facts about the same campus and must not be merged. The church's current pastor in the University of Notre Dame's places-of-worship directory is Pastor Caleb Gustafson, and the congregation stands active at its Cleveland Road address in its own current record, church and school under one telephone number, in November 2026.

Sources:

1. Peace Evangelical Lutheran Church, the congregation's own statement (peaceingranger.org) — "sharing the message of Jesus with the people of Michiana since 1972"; the church's current record at 16791 Cleveland Rd, Granger, church and school (574) 273-8260.
2. Our Shepherd Lutheran Church, Merrillville, congregational history — Pastor Thomas Liesener's exploratory charge from Granger, 1975–76.
3. Southwest Michigan Lutheran Schools and school-directory profiles — the school's conflicting founding dates (1979; 1992), flagged to the Schools section.
4. University of Notre Dame, Campus Ministry places-of-worship directory — Pastor Caleb Gustafson, contact for Peace Lutheran, Granger.