The history of our congregation begins with an unfortunate incident in the home of Frederick Meir. It was in the fall of 1864 that the Rev. C.H. Schliepsick was called to Yates Township to conduct a funeral service for the young daughter of Frederick and Dorothea (Jacobs) Meir. Five families attended this funeral: The bereaved family, Christian and Sophia (Wahls) Jacobs, Frederick and Elizabeth (Meir) Jacobs, John and Dorothea (Wahls) Seeman and John and Fredericka (Meir) Rhoda. These five families asked Pastor Schliepsick to conduct a divine service in their homes once a month. This was the beginning of St Paul Evangelical Lutheran Congregation. As more families joined this congregation, divine services were conducted in school houses, northwest of Chenoa and northeast of Colfax on Sunday afternoons.

The first church was built southeast of Chenoa in 1882, at the cost of $2100. Pastor John Schliepsick was now serving the congregation holding services once a month. Pastor C.H. Schliepsick served this congregation together with Bloomington, Cayuga, and the two congregations at Dwight until 1889. Pastor Pflug served the congregation from 1889 to 1901. Professor Streckfuss, of our Springfield Seminary, served the congregation in the year 1902. In the year 1902, the church building was struck by lightning and was destroyed by fire.

Seven months later a new church was built at the cost of $5500. In 1902, the Rev. Christian Brauenig was asked to serve the congregation. In 1909 a parsonage was built at the cost of $4325. Under the direction and guidance of Pastor Mennicke, the congregation used English intead of German language in its services. Services were held at Gridley and Weston in an attempt to establish missions in those areas. The first pipe organ was purchased in 1925.

The twenty-fifth anniversary of the church was celebrated in the year 1928. The Rev. Fred Schole served the congregation from 1935 to 1946. The Rev. Kenneth Frankenstein served from 1946 to 1949. Pastor Cecil Skibbe was then called.

In the year 1954, the congregation observed its 90th anniverary. Elsie Wahls and Clara Erdman gathered historical data for the Anniversary Booklet. Under the guidance of Pastor Skibbe, the congregation resolved to begin a daughter congregation in the town of Lexington. The new congregation was organized in 1954. Services were first held in the public school of Lexington. A new house of worship, parish hall and educational unit were built and dedicated in November, 1956. Since the nave of the church was not finished at the time, services were held for a number of years in the parish hall. 

Pastor Skibbe accepted a call to Indianapolis in 1956. During the long vacancy the congregation was served by the circuit counselor, Pastor Glock of Washburn and students from our Springfield Seminary. In June 1958, Pastor Walter Schultz, from Jefferson, Iowa became the Pastor of the congregation. 

Since the parsonage was being used as an educational unit for Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, a house was rented in Chenoa which was to serve as a parsonage for a time. After thorough planning by various committees of the congregation it was resolved to initiate a building program. A planning committee of eleven members and a resources committee of six members did a lot of work to make our present facilities possible. The Building Committee consisted of the following: Melvin Schuler, Orivle Asper, Myron Erdman, Franklin Rhoda, John Streid, Clarence Wollenzein, Arthur Schaumbury, Ruby Pils, and Pastor Schultz. 

Under the direction of this committee, and with the faithful efforts of all the members of St. Paul the work was blessed by our God and Lord. Groundbreaking services were held in September 1959. Pastor Kenneth Frankenstein preached the sermon. The groundbreaking was done by Mr. Edward Nagel; the oldest member of the congregation, Michael Morris; the youngest child in the Sunday School, Melvin Schuler; chairman of the Building Committee and Orville Asper, co-chairman. Work was started on the foundation on December 10, 1959 and completed in ten days. Work was resumed in April 1960. On June 12, 1960, the cornerstone from the old church with its orginial contents was placed behind the date stone of the new church. Pastor Milton Beer preached the sermon for this service. The bell from the first church of the congregation was placed in the bell cote of the new church. The statue of Christ and the lectern from the old church were placed in the chapel of the new church.

During the week of April 16, 1961, the present facilities of the congregation were dedicated to the glory of God, for service in His Kingdon, and for the fellowship of His people. Four services were conducted with the following pastors as speakers: Rev. Walter Schultz, Rev. Kenneth Frankenstein, Rev. Cecil Skibbe, and Rev. Carl Mennicke. 

The old church was sold to an Apostolic Christian congregation and moved south of Fairbury. The actual cost of the new facilities with all equipment was $160,500, plus the many hours of volunteer labor by the members of the congregation and the generosity of many suppliers. The appraised value was $230,000.

It was decided to build a new ranch style parsonage northeast of the church in 1962 at the approximate cost of $24,000. Groundbreaking ceromonies were held on April 7, 1963. The parsonage was complete with the help of volunteer labor, and the generosity of many suppliers at the cost of $25,000. Dedication services were held on October 20, 1963. The Building Committee members were: Homer Clevenger, Milo Olson, John Streid, Clarence Wollenzein, Violet Peterson, and Bernadine Rhoda.

The Lord's gracious guidance and blessing upon our congregation throughout the years is seen in many areas. Being a rural parish, many members moving from the rural area, were transferred to other congregations and hence the membership during the years did not change much. Many members transferred to St. Paul Congregation of Lexington when it was organized. The congregation has also experienced some very difficult times in its history during which the Lord of the Church has been especially gracious and merciful to us. The congregation has always taken a keen interest in gaining people for Christ not only in their own community but also through its support of the total mission program of the church. The records of the congregation show that our people were able to contribute twice as much for missions as they gave for home purposes for a number of years.

The 150th anniversary was celebrated in 2014.