On Sunday, June 23rd, a nervous Vicar Willie preached his first sermon to 29 souls in a school room in the Havelock Community Building.  A desk served as the altar, and a cross (drawn in chalk on a blackboard) served as the altar cross.  A row of discarded, wooden Marine Corps folding chairs served as the altar rail. Mrs. Karl Podlich played the music for the hymns on the only musical instrument available, a piano that badly needed tuning.  Although the piano was out of tune, and though they were few in number, they sang their praises to God with a loud voice.  What they lacked in musical ability, they compensated for with volume.  As King David said in Psalm 100, “Make a joyful noise to the Lord!”  The following Sunday (June 30th), they held their worship service in the Community Chapel (the former Havelock Town Hall).  The fledgling Lutheran congregation shared this building with a Methodist congregation until our present Sanctuary was dedicated on July 2, 1961.

On June 28, 1959, the Church Council met with Mr. Andrew Pendleton, A.I.A., of Statesville, North Carolina, to arrange a contract for our proposed new church.  We engaged a man who has made a study of architecture.  When in need of medical advice, we consult a physician.  When in need of legal counseling, we see a lawyer. When building a church, let us draw upon the knowledge of those who know architecture.  There is quite a difference between the style of a Methodist Church and a Lutheran Church.  Our central doctrine is this: that man is justified by grace alone without the merits of man.  A true Lutheran Church reflects this in its style.  Having obtained the dimensions, the location, and the lay of the land, he was told to go to work at once designing a church for the St. Paul congregation in Havelock. How our spirits did soar!  We had visions of being in our new church by Christmas.

Sunday (March 27th) was a day for which we had waited these many years. After the regular Sunday morning service, the entire congregation reassembled on our property on Highway 70 for the ground-breaking ceremony.  It is not possible to express the joy that all but overwhelmed us as we humbly prayed that God would continue to help us reach that final goal when we could humbly say, “This house we have built for Thee,”…” May all  the glory be God's-not ours.”  

During the summer, construction continued on our new church, and we finally reached a point where plans for the dedication of the cornerstone could be made.  Sunday, September 25th, was selected to be the historic day. 

Sunday (July 2, 1961) was a momentous day for our church.  In the morning, we dedicated our new sanctuary (Liturgist-Rev. R. P. Sieving, Executive Secretary of Missions; Speaker-Rev. William Bruening. The first Communion Service in the new sanctuary was conducted on Sunday (July 16th), and 35 members participated in the sacrament.

On June 25, 1967, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the St. Paul congregation.  The Sunday service's guest speaker was the Southeastern District President, Reverend William H. Kohn.  That afternoon, a congregational picnic was held at Fort Macon State Park.

By September, we had outgrown the allotted space for our Sunday School.  On September 26th, St. Paul engaged Mr. Peterson, New Bern, to draw up a contract for the addition of six rooms to our present structure.  A large portion of this addition was to be used for a Parochial Kindergarten.  Bids were opened on November 19th.  The low bid was $23,098.  Several other churches had attempted to establish Kindergartens, but all had failed. Our first Kindergarten began with 17 children; gained one; lost seven through transfer; thus we completed the year with eleven children.

Plans were made for our second Kindergarten class for the 1965-1966 school year.  During the first year, transportation of the children had been a problem and to, perhaps, increase the number of students, the church bought a school bus for $2,302.54. Enrollment increased to 50 children with more on the waiting list.  
Even this bus proved to be too small, so in 1966 we purchased a larger bus.

On the evening of March 9th, tragedy struck the St. Paul congregation.  A fire, started by an overheated electric baseboard heater in the First Grade room, severely damaged the church's Educational Wing.  A passing motorist detected the fire, stopped at the Zip Mart, and reported the fire to Mr. Don McIsaac.  The fire was reported to the Havelock Fire Department at 10:50 P.M.  The First Grade Classroom was almost destroyed, and the adjoining Kindergarten Room, School Office, and Nursery were damaged, but not as extensively as the First Grade Classroom.  The Pastor’s Study and Fellowship Hall had charred doors and heavy smoke damage. The loss was set at $45,000.00.  

In November, Whaley Construction Company was awarded a contract for repairing the fire-damaged areas and other alterations to our physical plant.  Work was scheduled to commence on December 1st.  The school rebuilding proceeded much faster than anticipated, and during the week of April 16th, the school moved back into the reconstructed facilities.  The rededication of our building was on April 30th, 1972.

During 1974, the Voters’ Assembly decided to discontinue our Kindergarten program. It was a tough decision to make, but we did not receive sufficient applications from the community to continue this educational activity.

On June 6, 1982, the Feast of the Trinity, we celebrated the Silver Jubilee of the founding of St. Paul Lutheran Church in an afternoon service.  The preacher was the Reverend James Roseman (a former pastor at St. Paul, Havelock). The Liturgist was our Pastor, the Reverend Richard Hill.  The District Representative was the Reverend Richard T. Hinz, President of the Southeastern District.  The organist was the Reverend James Pierce of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Wilson, North Carolina. A Silver Anniversary Supper was held in the Fellowship Hall following the service.  Each month during our twenty-fifth year, every family belonging to the congregation was given a silver symbol of our faith to display

On January 27, 1988, while Pastor Bingenheimer was away at the Timothy Series, fire struck our church for a second time.  The oil furnace overheated and destroyed the furnace room, sacristy, roof, and the wall behind the Choir Loft.  After the Havelock Fire Department saved the building, the cleanup began.  The fire insurance covered all the damage, but everything damaged or destroyed had to be annotated on an inventory.  The tile floors had to be replaced, and since they were installed before the danger of asbestos was known, the removal of the tiles had to be accomplished in accordance with the rules for handling hazardous material.  The first Sunday after the fire, we met in the Fellowship Hall to thank God for His many blessings.  The following Sunday, we gathered at the Forest Oaks Mausoleum and conducted Sunday School in the mortuary. 

In April of 1988, we were back in our church after all renovations and repairs were made to the building.

On June 25, 2006, the Southeastern District President, Reverend Jon Diefenthaler, was the guest speaker to kick off our 50th anniversary celebration. Each month for the next year, St. Paul had the joy of having former Pastors or Chaplains who served the congregation over its 50 years as a church family.  

Our church family has had many fellowship opportunities, sharing the love of Jesus in our community, and boldly proclaiming the fantastic news of Jesus near and far.  We have held church cruises, dinner dances, fall and spring festivals, and many events for members and the community.  We have been able to comfort people in times of sadness with grief support groups, share the gift of life through blood drives, and care for those affected by several major hurricanes that destroyed parts of our city.  We have supported our troops in times of war and fed and clothed those in need through our gifts to the Havelock-Cherry Point Ministerial Association food pantry, Havelock Pregnancy Resource Center, and the Coastal Center for Hope and Healing. 

On Sunday, February 10, 2019, we broke ground to expand our church building.  The plans for this expansion had been in the works for many years, but in God's time, we could contract with C.A. Lewis from Greenville, NC, to serve as the contractor and builder of our new facilities.  The new building includes offices for the Pastor and Church Secretary, a new kitchen, and an expanded fellowship hall.  It was decided that the new building would bear the name "Luther Hall", and our old fellowship hall would be called "Founders Hall" in memory of the faithful members who built our church and kept it going through good times and bad.  Luther Hall was dedicated with great joy and community involvement on November 10, 2019.