Bethany Evangelical Free Church Celebrates 120 Years

Bethany Evangelical Free Church located at 301 S. Ellsworth St. in Houston, Minn., will be celebrating its 120th anniversary as an organized church on September 13 and 14. The two day celebration titled “Faith, Hope, and Love: Celebrating God’s Goodness over 120 Years” will consist of a “history day” on Saturday with a pancake/sausage brunch, fellowship, and an address by EFCA (Evangelical Free Church of America)’s archivist Tom Cairns. Cairns, who archives the history of the Free Church, has uploaded the 100th anniversary book written by Paul Wiste, “Revival in Houston: A Century of Serving Our Lord” to the EFCA website. Following Cairn’s presentation, guests will enjoy a dessert social to end the day.

Sunday will begin with coffee and doughnuts followed by a worship service and a catered dinner; in the afternoon Dave Abernethy, pastor of Mound Free Church in the cities and the credentialing director for the ECFA, will speak. As credentialing director, he assists beginning pastors as they earn their credentials and become ordained. The celebration will end with cake and ice cream.

Bethany has a unique history as a church. The church began as gospel tent meetings held in Houston in 1902. The revival meetings consisted of a lot of singing and messages in both Norwegian and English. From 1900 to 1902, tent meetings were held in various small towns such as Sheldon, Looney Valley and Houston once or twice a year.

In 1902 groups began gathering in homes; Bethany Ev. Free Church was officially organized in 1905 by 13 original signers. Norwegian American lay evangelist Christopher Oftedal was instrumental in organizing Bethany.

In 1907 foundations were dug for the church which was completed and dedicated in 1908.

The Free Church had first established a church in Winona and then moved its focus to Rushford. From there the church extended to Houston. The Ev. Free Church has its roots in the late 19th century with a Swedish group and a Danish Norwegian group. The two groups merged in 1950. Every church in the Free Church of America is independent; services vary quite a bit from church to church.

Until 1933 when the Norwegian-Danish Free Church officially declared its language to be English, Norwegian was used as well as in Bethany’s services. The last service to eliminate Norwegian was the communion service. Many of the congregation were not too excited to leave their native Norwegian behind.

Bethany has a number of active organizations including Sunday School, Youth Group, Women’s and Men’s Ministry. A Harvest Fest is held in October, the Men’s Ministry provides a lutefisk dinner for the church in December. The Sunday School annually presents a Christmas program. Recently, the Women’s Ministry hosted a presentation by a former Bethany member who had gone on a mission trip to Columbia.

Bethany has long supported a missionary program in Croatia. In recent years, several young people have spent time in Europe as missionaries. Another such mission trip may soon be in the works.

VBS (Vacation Bible School) has been met with enthusiasm through the years thanks to the year-long work of two enthusiastic, dedicated deacons.

The Bethany Church building has undergone two remodels. In 2009, realizing the need for accessibility for disabled people, the congregation began fundraising. When they met their goal, they began work on an addition on the front of the church to add a lift.

Later a second remodel was done to the back of the church to provide Sunday School rooms and improve the church’s social hall. In order to complete the second addition, the church decided to sell the parsonage which was being rented out. The pastor at that time lived in Caledonia and commuted to Houston.

For the 100th anniversary of the church in 2005, the church had rented a tent for services to recall the humble beginnings of the church. In preparation for the anniversary, Paul Wiste wrote a series of monthly articles documenting the history of Bethany. The articles were then arranged by Wiste and Jeremy Cox to create the 120 page book.

Brant and Jennine Staven wrote a special hymn, “Beauty of Our Lord” which was performed at the 100th anniversary celebration. Staven plans to attend the 120th celebration. He and his nephew may provide some of the music for the 120th anniversary service.

Paul Wiste’s daughter, Heather Wiste, has now written a book containing information on the church’s history from 2005 to the present which will be shared with the attendees.

For the 120th celebration there will be no tent; the two remodels of the church left no room on the church property for a tent to be raised, but the humble beginnings of the church will not be forgotten.

Today Bethany has between 50 to 75 people active in their church. Bethany invites all current and past members to return and join in the 120th anniversary of the church’s founding. Further information and the catered meal registration form can be found on Bethany’s website which is www.bethanyefchoustonmn.org/.