On September 12, 1847, a group of immigrants, living in Uptown New Orleans, met for their first service as a German-speaking Lutheran congregation. On March 18, 1849, the congregation dedicated its first church building at 1833 Euterpe Street, near Baronne Street.

On March 13, 1854, Zion dedicated its first Christian Day School building. In Zion’s history, the church actually maintained two schools for awhile, in the late 1800's, and, at times, did not have a day school (1901-1908). In 1909, the school re-opened, under the charge of Prof. Paul G. Moerbe, who served the congregation for more than 36 years, until his death on January 10, 1946. This year was also the final year for the school. The highest enrollment was in 1892 and 1893, with 250 students. The lowest enrollment was in 1927 and 1932, with 19 students. Even before the Christian Day School, Zion has always maintained a Sunday School. The first recorded date for the Sunday School is March 7, 1852.

On December 6, 1871, Zion relocated to her present site and dedicated the new church. The church lost the original steeple in the hurricane of 1915, and, for safety reasons, the present, shorter steeple replaced it. By 1928, all of Zion’s services were conducted in English.

During the 1920's, Zion, in conjunction with the Southern District of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, had three daughter congregations in Uptown New Orleans; namely, Hope, Messiah, and Gloria Dei Lutheran Churches. Zion also served as one of the founding congregations for the Lutheran High School, now located in Metairie, Louisiana.

In our one-hundred-and-sixty-year history, the congregation has faithfully presented God’s Word and His Holy Sacraments to thousands of Christians every Sunday and on special Holy Days. Well over 4,000 souls have been baptized at Zion. Zion began with approximately 43 adults and 43 children, and reached its membership peak in 1897, with 496 communing adults and 177 under confirmation age. She maintained this level of over 400 communicants through World War II, when the membership gradually began to decline, due to population changes in the latter half of the century.

Today, Zion is a diverse congregation, with close to 100 members and friends living all over the metro area. Zion offers traditional worship, in addition to a special campus ministry at Tulane University, as she welcomes visitors from all over the world.