The history of St. Joseph Parish in Offerle is connected to two previous St. Joseph Churches that were constructed at different locations in Ford County. These churches were commonly identified on parish reports as St. Joseph's, Offerle, because of the proximity to the town. A new parish church known as St. Joseph, Ford County, was constructed in 1908, six years after Bishop John J. Hennessy closed “Old” St. Joseph by interdict. A disagreement, however, developed over the location for this church. The location of “New” St. Joseph was due in part to a group of Volga Germans who moved into the area from Rush County in 1903. This group was not part of the congregation of the first St. Joseph, which was predominantly Austrian. When the St. Anthony Chapel Car visited Offerle on October 18, 1907, the question of location of the church came up. George Hennessey, Superintendent of the Chapel Car, recorded the following in the log book: “...at Offerle the car provided itself a real Messenger of Peace in settling a dissension over a church building which has troubled the diocese for some time.” A deed transferring 10 acres of land three miles east of Offerle to Bishop Hennessy was filed the same day. This was two miles east and a mile south of the “Old” St. Joseph church site. Evidently the issue wasn't settled for some, as the apostolic delegate received some correspondence about the subject. On November 30, 1907, Bishop D. Falconio, responded to the sender in the following manner: “I find that the reasons brought forward by you in regard to the site chosen for the erection of the church, are the same as those presented to this Delegation in the year 1902. However, I have not failed to seed information on the subject, and I find that conditions now existing are identical with those in the year mentioned. Hence, I can but repeat what was said in a letter of the 13th of January 1903, addressed to a certain Mr. Mellecker, namely, that the Bishop has proceeded with perfect regularity in his action and that there is no ground for complaint. You must therefore be submissive to the orders of the Bishop, whose every action is guided by a desire to promote your spiritual welfare. A frame church was then constructed and was dedicated by Bishop Hennessy on September 23, 1908. Unfortunately, ill feelings between the Austrians (Germans) and the Volga Germans (Russians) persisted. But Father Vincent Smith's census report to Bishop Hennessy in 1913, included some promise of normalcy. “The congregation are gradually becoming reconciled though it may take years before the Russians and the interdicted element (Germans) become fully reconciled. The devotion to the Sacraments and to any religious ceremony the priest has in the church is the special gratification to be found amongst them.” For several years, the parish was served by the pastors assigned to Spearville, Belpre and Kinsley.

In 1916, Father August Zink became the first resident pastor. He lived in the sacristy while a rectory was being built. Father Zink was succeeded as pastor by Father William Paul in 1921. Over time the church needed repair, but work was delayed for so long that at one point the building actually cracked. The congregation once again faced the issue of rebuilding or relocating. A majority of the people desired a new edifice in the town of Offerle, while others wanted to rebuild at the country site. Father Paul took up the matter with Bishop August J. Schwertner. Offerle had developed into a nice little town between Kinsley and Dodge City. The townspeople, as well as those who lived in the country, were in need of a church. The burden of traveling to church by horse and buggy eased with the advent of the age of the automobile. All things considered, Bishop Schwertner found Offerle to be a centralized location for a new church and gave his approval to build there. The laying of the cornerstone took place May 28, 1927; Bishop Schwertner returned to the community to dedicate the brick structure November 3, 1927. He called the church “a beautiful gift to a Provident God.” “Its dedication,” he continued, “was the crowning achievement to a long, romantic series of historic and dramatic events.” The church, an example of Romanesque architecture, was designed by Brinkman and Hagan of Emporia. It was constructed by Joseph Sebacher of Offerle. A room at the base of the imposing 70-foot bell tower was designed as a winter chapel. It is now used for the sacrament of reconciliation. The interior of the church was destroyed by a fire on February 4, 1939. The cause of the fire was a faulty furnace. Insurance covered the loss and the church was remodeled. Msgr. F.J. Morrell, chancellor of the Diocese of Wichita, rededicated the interior of the church on May 15, 1939. A parochial school was one ideal the parishioners had intended to establish. At the first two parish sites, schools were opened and then short-lived because of financial difficulties. It wasn't until 1945, during the pastorate of Msgr. Joseph Gerstenkorn, that a Catholic school was successfully established in the parish. Bishop Christian H. Winkelmann dedicated the school October 31, 1945. The Sisters Adorers from Wichita taught in the school until it closed in 1971.