Our History and God's Faithfulness:

1998 - Present

This brief record documents the beginning of Lake Country Bible Church, but more importantly, it shows how the Lord, through His patience, faithfulness, and provision, brought this local church into existence. Our goal is to honor the one true Head of the Church in all that we say and do. As we look back, it is evident that God was at work and that His timing and providence are perfect.


The idea to plant a church in the Nashotah area began in 1990, while Country Christian School (CCS) was in the process of finding a new facility. It was the strong belief of several individuals on the CCS building committee that good stewardship meant sharing a facility with a like-minded, evangelical church. The thought was that both ministries would share in the cost of operating the facility.  After many in-depth discussions about a joint venture, the Lord seemed to close this door.

In 1994, a group of six Christian men came together with the conviction to plant a Christ-centered, Word-driven local church in the Lake Country. These men met weekly for almost a year to pray, study God’s Word, and fellowship together. There was no consensus and no confirmation of God’s direction at that time, but the Lord was establishing a foundation.


But God was at work! From 1994 to 1998, several families continued to believe that God would establish another gospel witness. There was also a growing group of people frustrated with the "pragmatic church growth movement" that was making massive inroads in numerous area churches. The "growing wider, not deeper", "seeker-friendly", approach to ministry, though popular, is not biblical. A number of godly couples in the Lake Country/Waukesha area began to sense God’s leading to plant a church where the Word of God would be taught in a verse-by-verse, expositional manner, and where God-honoring, theologically rich, joyful worship would be presented through “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.” (Colossians 3:16; Psalms 33:1-3).



The Lord brought this group together on June 21, 1998, at the home of one of our founders. Another of our founding families felt the confirmation of God to begin this new work in Isaiah 43:19. It says, “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” The Lord brought renewed joy and a sense of biblical purpose to this new body. The small, new church family eventually moved to the larger accommodations at Country Christian School in Nashotah in August of 1998.


The Lord continued to care for this infant church, and after much prayer and discussion, the Constitution and By-laws were drawn up by godly lay leaders. 


Pastor Sal Massa was called to serve as pastor in December of 1998. During his lengthy tenure, Pastor Sal emphasized both biblical fidelity and the importance of the New Testament one anothers. LCBC needs to be unapologetically committed to the inerrancy, authority, and sufficiency of Scripture, but it should also be marked by genuine care and service among the Body of Christ. As the old saying goes, All truth and no Spirit and the church dries up; All Spirit and no truth and the church blows up; Both “Spirit and truth” and the church grows up (per Eph. 4:11-16; Col. 1:28-29; Matt. 28:18-20).

In 2005, a property in Nashotah became available.  A vision was cast to someday build a permanent church building on the property. Due to legal hurdles and infrastructure challenges, building plans had to be postponed. The church continued to meet at Country Christian School until 2005 and then moved to Lake Country School in Hartland. In 2007, after a number of years in a cramped office in Delafield, we were blessed with a roomy office suite in Hartland to serve as our Ministry Center.


In 2013, the legal hurdles were removed and plans for constructing a building could finally move forward. Ground was broken for the construction project in June of that year. By the grace of God, a new facility was dedicated in October 2015.



In 2016, Pastor Sal announced that he would be retiring from LCBC and devoting his attention to teaching and ministering with our missionary partners in India. The elders immediately formed a search committee to secure a new senior pastor.  After much prayer, intense vetting, and the Lord’s leading, the elders presented an official candidate to the congregation. In March of 2017, Pastor Caleb Kolstad (the Master’s University and Seminary) was called to be our next (second) Senior Pastor. Pastor Caleb joined the staff in June of 2017.



From 2017 on, the ministry at LCBC continued to grow spiritually as well as numerically. This biblical church growth is from the Lord alone (1 Cor. 3:6-9). Over the past many years, several young adults, newly married couples, and young families have joined our church family. The special gospel partnership between long-time members and newcomers has been a beautiful sight to behold! With that said, as the congregation grew in size, space issues became more common and increasingly challenging. After much prayer and many meetings, an exploratory building team and church leadership presented an official building expansion project to the congregation. The flock approved the building expansion plan, and in the spring of 2024, the church moved into its newly renovated facilities with an expanded sanctuary, foyer, and new education/fellowship wing.


Pastor Caleb’s mentor, John MacArthur, captures the heartbeat of LCBC. “You take care of the depth of your preaching ministry and leave the breadth of your ministry to God. You focus on the shepherding quality of your pastoral ministry and leave the quantity of sheep you care for to the Chief Shepherd.” Amen and amen!


We continue to be in awe of the way God is working in and through Lake Country Bible Church. To Him be the glory, great things He has done!

Share by: