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Sometimes referred to as the "patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America", Muhlenberg came to Philadelphia from Germany in answer to a call from the Lutheran congregations of Pennsylvania.
Born in Hannover in 1711, he had attended the University of Gsttingen where his work among the poor folk led to the foundation of the orphanage there.
He was a scholar and a gentleman, a theologian and an organizer, and was soon practically overseeing all the Lutheran churches from New York to Maryland. In 1748 he organized the first Lutheran Synod in America, the Evangelical Lutheran Ministerium of Pennsylvania (in 1735, 60 Lutheran congregations of the Raritan valley had formed a conference).
He and his eleven sons were prominant patriots during the Revolutionary War. One of his sons, John, was a Major General in the Army and another, Frederick, was the first Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Muhlenberg failed however in his endeavor to get the Lutheran pastors to preach in English. Perhaps this slowed the growth of Lutheranism, but it also insulated the church from revivalism and it's various doctrinal errors.
Muhlenberg has a Lutheran College named after him.
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