Salem Lutheran Church, 1500 Salem Rd., Brenham, Texas, was founded November 22, 1856, by 17 charter members, including their first pastor, Johann Georg Ebinger. Pastor Ebinger was one of six missionaries sent to America by the Pilgrim Mission near Basel, Switzerland, in November of 1851, and he was one of 8 men who helped organize the First Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Texas in Houston, on November 10, 1851.

On founding day, the base, or cornerstone, was laid for Salem’s first church building. The current site of Salem Lutheran Church is very near the site of the first church dedicated in March of 1857, on what was called "the prairie 3 miles south of Brenham". Salem’s current membership is 881 baptized members and the pastor is Charles Parnell.