Salem was incorporated as a mission congregation of the American Lutheran Church (ALC) on October 27, 1967, and was begun as a daughter congregation of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Sweet Air, MD. Rev. Partee Bollock, who was pastor of St. John’s in 1967, suggested the name “Salem” for the new church because of the former German congregation of the same name that had existed about 1 mile north of the new Salem Lutheran. That older congregation was designated as “Lutheran” on some old maps from the 1800’s, but apparently was affiliated during much of its existence with the local Methodists according to some accounts.
Ground was broken for the original sanctuary on April 28, 1968. Pastor Wayne M. Dornbirer, II, was called to serve as the first pastor of Salem in May 1968. Together with parish worker Joan Christman, he visited families in the Jarrettsville area to invite them to this new congregation. Pastor Dornbirer conducted the first pastoral act in September 1968, and the church celebrated its first service on October 13, 1968, at Jarrettsville Elementary School. The congregation was formally organized on February 9, 1969, and dedicated its new building on May 18, 1969.
As the congregation grew, Salem extended its community outreach to children in and around Jarrettsville and opened a nursery school in the autumn of 1974. Ground-breaking for the educational wing began on March 20, 1977, and the new building was dedicated on November 22, 1978. Since that time there have been at least two additions and other modifications to the church and educational complex.
In 1981, Salem Lutheran Children’s Center added the Daycare Ministry to its program. SLCC now provides education and day care to about 200 children during the school year, and conducts a variety of summer programs for children in the area.
Clergy
| 8/22/1968 – 1/1/1972 | Pastor Wayne M. Dornbirer, II |
| 8/25/1972 – 8/25/1992 | Pastor William L. Lindsay |
| 7/11/1993 – 3/6/2011 | Pastor David H. Myers |
| 1/1/2012 – 7/2/2017 | Pastor Bette Jeanne Larsen |
| 1/2/2019 – 8/16/2026 | Pastor Betty Lou Deuchler |
| 8/17/2026 – present | Vicar Monica Fetzer |