Paint it black! What's happening with the old church at 9th and Fremont?

In 1914, a group of Volga Germans purchased the lot at NE 9th and Fremont, and built a church for their newly formed congregation. Services at the Zion German Congregational Church were held in German until 1958. Over time, the younger generations, who did not understand German, began to move away in search of newer housing and English-language church services. During the 1960s, the church merged with other dwindling Volga German congregations and in 1972, they sold the building and moved to a new facility in outer east Portland.

In 2009, the Greater Gresham Baptist Church purchased the old Zion church, with plans to renovate the building and "change the lives of the people in this community." As they noted, the old building is "within a 3-mile radius of 250,000 people, ninety-five percent of whom are not actively involved in a church." 

When the renovation did not progress as quickly as planned, Greater Gresham formed a partnership with Door of Hope, a church that was seeking to establish a ministry in inner northeast Portland. Door of Hope is currently renovating the church and plans to open for Christmas Eve services.

More details about the church history are available on volgagermans.net.