around the church
We have a lot of unique areas on our property we want you to know about and use!
Take a look around & keep scrolling for an artist rendition of our campus!
MAIN BUILDING
Our church is located at 1525 Three Cross Rd in Milford, IA
With tons of space, we have room for all kinds of activities in and around the building!
PRAYER GARDEN
Our Prayer Garden is located on the east side of our main building.
In the spring, summer, and fall it is the site of some special church events and worship opportunities.
It is available for Bible studies, parties, meetings, receptions, etc.
Contact the office for availability.
WALKING TRAIL
Northeast of our property, is our “Mission Mini-Mile” walking trail.
With a few different routes you can take, there are plenty of opportunities to walk in God’s creation here.
The trail begins by the sign pictured along Three Cross Road.
COMMUNITY GARDEN
Part of our property is designated as a community garden for the southern part of Dickinson county.
All are invited to become part of this garden project and participate in the planting, maintaining, and harvesting
Contact the church for more information: Office@3cross.org.
BEES
Maintainted by members of our Okoboji community, we are blessed to be able to offer some of our property to be used for a bee box.
#savethebees
OUTDOOR WORSHIP
During the summer months, we offer a unique way to worship in the beautiful outdoors! You may drive, bike, or walk in and led through worship from the stage of our new outdoor building.
Join us on Sundays at 8:30 AM from Memorial Day Weekend to Labor Day Weekend!
CROSSES ON THE HILL
In between our Drive-In hill and our community garden are three crosses.
We invite people to come to the crosses to sit, reflect, and pray whenever they need to.
Community Prayer Box
Joys or challenges in your life? We want to support our community and visitors through
prayer. A Community Prayer Box has been installed on the corner of Three Cross Road and Heritage Avenue, just across the street northeast of the church. Prayer request papers are provided at the box.
prayer. A Community Prayer Box has been installed on the corner of Three Cross Road and Heritage Avenue, just across the street northeast of the church. Prayer request papers are provided at the box.
Three Cross Memorial Gardens
Three Cross Memorial Gardens allows the congregation to remember and honor loved ones directly on our church campus.
The memorial gardens surround a granite columbarium and benches. A columbarium provides a sacred space for the cremated remains of those whose involvement in the church as an important part of their life on earth.
Prairie Restoration in Progress
The people of First Lutheran conclude each worship service by reminding one another of our mission statement, “Gathering to know Jesus, serving to make a difference”. We believe that part of our “serving to make a difference” includes being stewards of the land upon which our campus is located.
Recently we’ve begun plans to restore the walking trail area north of the drive-in to native Iowa prairie, including native grasses and forbes (wildflowers). In addition to a more beautiful and colorful landscape across the growing season it will afford many other benefits. The native prairie plants will improve the soil health, act as a natural filter for water, increase biodiversity and wildlife habitat while also reducing erosion and nutrient runoff.
This conversion will involve several steps including an initial controlled burn of the present vegetation (Spring 2025) and later herbicide application to make way for an early winter seeding of native prairie seeds to take root and come up in the spring of 2026. We will invite congregational participation for seeding, care, and education as the opportunities arise in the months ahead.
By spring of 2026 we’ll only be seeing the first fruits of this restoration project. Prairie conversion takes several years to achieve. There’s an old adage that goes: First it sleeps, then it creeps, then it leaps.
2026 – Year 1 “Sleeps” – Many prairie plants, like perennials, spend their first year establishing a strong root system, rather than focusing on above-ground growth.
2027 – Year 2 “Creeps” – In the second year, the plants start to emerge and expand their foliage, continuing to develop their root system.
2028 – Year 3 “Leaps” – By the third year, the plants have reached maturity and exhibit a full display of growth, including vibrant blooms and foliage.
At that point our focus will be on developing a maintenance schedule so that generations to come will be able to steward and enjoy First Lutheran’s native prairie area.
Our intent is for the walking trails to remain in place throughout the conversion and restoration. Depending on the stage, there may be times when access to the trails is temporarily closed for safety or to limit disturbance. Please adhere to any signage in order to aid in the success of the restoration and re-open trail access as soon as possible.
If you have further questions, call the church office or visit with Pr. Brian.
