St. Matthew is not the first Wisconsin Synod church in Port Washington. In the late 1850’s, three Lutheran pastors served about 40 families at different times. (Koehler, History, 46) A church named “Friedens” was built which mimics the classical style of the Catholic church in town, only much smaller. It is still standing. In the late 1860’s, another pastor was serving here, but took a call elsewhere. Unable to find a quality Lutheran pastor, the congregation went with a Reformed fellow. (Koehler, 49) This is another situation which must have burned inside of President Bading’s heart and led him to a greater resolve for the Wisconsin Synod to start our own worker training school. Interestingly, in 2002, it was a WELS person (a member of St. Matthew) who noticed that the Friedens church was on fire and called for help which saved the building.

In 1889, an LCMS congregation began in Port Washington and grew to a fairly decent size. For decades, St. John’s served the confessional Lutherans in the area. Then came The Split. The Split was not as quick and smooth as it may have been in other places since the LCMS pastor in town was a relative with a WELS pastor and they had been interacting for many years. In1979, the District Mission Board began investigating Port Washington as a possible place for a new church. At the same time, Pastor Adolph Buenger had just retired from serving at Friedens, in Kenosha and as District President. In retirement, he followed up on names of Wisconsin Synod people who moved to the area as well as canvassing neighborhoods. The first service was held on November 4, 1979 with a nucleus of 24 adults. They chose the name St. Matthew (not St. Matthew’s because they wanted to make the point that the congregation does not belong to Matthew, but to Jesus and his people.)

Because of heart troubles, doctors would not permit Pastor Buenger to preach. So, Professors Jeske and Balge from the Seminary rotated preaching. Some have commented that Pastor Buenger’s introductions to the readings were about as long and emotionally charged as any sermon. They rented the Knights of Columbus Hall in downtown Port Washington. The K.C. Hall, as it was called, was built by a group of Methodists in 1845 as their worship facility and served them until 1912, when the congregation was dissolved. The Knights of Columbus then purchased the building for a meeting hall. It has now been razed to make room for a parking lot.

In spring of 1980, Seminary graduate Dan Simons was assigned to serve at St. Matthew. With a full-time and energetic pastor, the congregation enjoyed quick growth. Lukewarm Lutherans in the area awoke. Community connections were made. Prospects were nurtured. To be fair, there were also a good number of transfers from other WELS churches. St. Matthew was featured in the “Northwestern Lutheran” (now “Forward in Christ”) as well as a special WELS Missions Calendar.

In 1982, the church purchased property in this place especially because they were told that the street immediately south of the church (Norport) was to continue westward and we would be on a main thoroughfare of the city. Unfortunately, hat did not happen. Outreach has come through personal connections which, in a sense, has always been true. The church building was dedicated in 1985.

In February 1990, Pastor Simons accepted a call to “Historic Salem.”

In July 1990, Pastor Don Thompson accepted the call to serve at St. Matthew. He, also, continued a spirit of outreach. When Ozaukee County built a new prison on the south side of Port Washington, Pastor Thompson quickly organized a prison ministry which continues today. A Wisconsin synod pastor has always been the leader of the ministry so that most of the preaching and teaching is done by WELS people. In 1988, St. Matthew doubled its footprint by building for a preschool and child care. The vast majority of children enrolled were prospects and a few families joined the congregation. Over the years, St. Matthew has also been heavily involved with the Seminary Early Field Training (EFT) program and has also worked with a number of vicars who had special circumstances.

In June, 2001, Pastor Thompson took a call to Jupiter, Florida. Pastor Martin Wildauer accepted the call here and was installed on September 9, 2001, two days before 9/11. Participating in the Fish Day and Christmas parades gave us even greater exposure to the community. Early in the 2010’s, the school district planned to start offering preschool but did not have the space. They were going to rent from operating preschools and child cares. St. Matthew was eager for this opportunity until the city told us to restrict “Jesus time” to the first and last 15 minutes of each day so families could opt out if they wanted. We could not agree to such plan. Our enrollment struggled and the child care was reluctantly closed in the spring of 2016. Even so, there has been no shortage of opportunity for outreach. We now offer our building to the community for regular blood drives and voting. Surprisingly, it seems as if our immediate community recognition has increased since the child care close. In the spring of 2025, the congregation embarked on a complete remodeling of the fellowship hall. The larger doorway, more soft colors, spaciousness, prominent coffee bar and other things are designed to give the member and visitor a more welcoming feeling and to promote friendly interaction. The greatest struggle is to faithfully use the gifts and opportunities the Lord has placed in front of us as we trust the Lord of the Harvest to do his work.