Grace Presbyterian Church began as a small gathering of French and Belgian people brought together by the Reverend Henri Morell in the early 1870s. On September 16, 1873, this fellowship organized as the French Presbyterian Church under the leadership of the Reverend Leopold Lavasseur, a Presbyterian clergyman educated in France. In August 1874, the congregation purchased the property of the German Methodist Church in Green Bay and erected an improved building on the site in 1885. The church was located there until 1907 when the property was condemned for construction of the Brown County jail. The site of the present building at Stuart and Monroe Streets was purchased in 1905 but a church building was not immediately erected. The church was incorporated and the name changed to Grace Presbyterian. Also in 1907, services were conducted in French until 1908, when the congregation decided to conduct morning and evening services in English and afternoon services in French.
The first 36 years of Grace Presbyterian Church's existence were unstable. Nine pastors served the congregation during that period, most of whom were of French-Canadian descent from Canada. They were: Lavasseur, 1873-1876; J.B. Muraire, 1876-1882; Eugene LaPorte, 1882-1884; Rene Valette, 1884-1885; Ishmael Brunneau, 1886-1889; William Parent, 1890-1894; G.C. Mousseau, 1894-1902; Pierre Beauchamp, 1903-1906; and J.E. Lods, 1907-1909.
The Rev. Louis Girloux arrived from Canada on December 17, 1909 and found members of the Grace Presbyterian Church attending other churches in Green Bay because the congregation lacked a permanent meeting place. He encouraged the members to reunite, holding services in the upper schoolroom of the Lutheran Church, and on March 10, 1910, a building committee was appointed. A new church was built and dedicated later that year by a congregation of 140 members. A more stable organization for the church was established, governed by a Board of Elders, who supervised the direction of the church, and a Board of Trustees, mainly in charge of financial matters. A Board of Deaconesses was established in 1927 to supervise the Sunday School, visitation, and community work. The church enjoyed steady growth; and membership reached nearly 500 by 1938. A new sanctuary was added in 1929 and substantial remodeling was undertaken in 1948. Further renovations were made in 1966. Ministers who followed Reverend Girloux were: Howard Talbot, 1914-1917; Edward Raue, 1917-1918; Owen Jones-Robert, 1919-1920; Roland Blue, 1920-1926; Marvin Walters, 1926-1942; De Loyd Huenink, 1943-1959; Bernard Jeffries, 1960-1969; John C. Cole. 1969-1970; and William Osick, 1971- . The church celebrated its 100th anniversary with a week of special events, September 9 to 16, 1973.
