Bethel Celebrates 125 Years | News, Sports, Jobs

ABOVE: Bethel Evangelical Free Church celebrates its 125th anniversary this Sunday.

FAIRMONT – Bethel Evangelical Free Church in Fairmont is celebrating 125 years of service with a special worship service and celebration this Sunday, Sept. 22. The church has had three different locations but is currently located at 1125 S. State Street.

Pastor Seth Watson, who has been at the church since 2019, shared that the church itself was founded in 1899 by Peter Shellman, and around 1901, the first church was built at 4th and Elm Street. He noted that there is still a house there.

“A large part of this area was settled by people from Sweden and Norway, so at that time all services were provided in Swedish” said Watson.

From the beginning, the church offered Sunday school classes and had several different pastors. In the early 1930s, the church began to struggle, but a younger pastor, Pastor Lester Nelson, came in and began holding services in English, which caused the church to grow.

“In the early 1950s, that building was too small for them, so they bought the East Chain EFC building and moved it to the city.” said Watson.

The church was built at 5th Street and Orient Street, where the First Assembly of God Church is now located.

“The church continued to grow in the 1950s and 1960s and the building became too small for them. They bought property here at 1125 South State Street.” said Watson.

He cited a Sentinel article from the time that included a photo of a sign placed at the site that read: “future home…” And there was no hospital or high school there yet, just a prairie.

In 1968, the first part of the current church building was built, which housed several classrooms and the main hall for worship.

“The church continued to grow throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and in the early 1980s it was decided that a larger space for worship was needed.” Watson explained. “In 1993, we completed the reconstruction of the facility that is today our center of worship.”

Throughout the 1990s, the church continued to grow, with the addition of a large gymnasium and more classroom space.

“The building was built in three phases” In summary, Watson stated:

While the evolution of the building itself is one thing, Watson noted that the church is more about the people. Many pastors have come and gone over the 125 years, with the most notable being Pastor Nelson, Pastor Rudolph Messerli and Pastor Rich Reynertson. The church has also had a fairly consistent youth pastor since 1975, with the first being John Lund.

The congregation is large, with an average attendance of 430 at the two weekly services, and an additional 180 participating in online services.

The online offering came with the advent of Covid as it was the only way to broadcast weekly sermons during the restrictions, but Bethel has decided to continue the online offering well into the coming years.

“We live stream our service. The 8:30 a.m. service is in person and live online. A few weeks ago I spoke with a member who had recently experienced a tragedy and was away from home, and he said he liked that even though he couldn’t be here, he could still participate. It’s valuable to him and also to new people who are looking for church.” said Watson.

In addition to church services, Bethel offers “acquaintances” which are classes of services intended for both adults and children.

“We basically have materials for people from birth to 90.” said Watson.

Merlin Quiggle, a member who helped compile the church’s history, said the church has long been multi-generational, something he is proud of.

Every December the church hosts a women’s event called Nativi-tea, and in the spring it hosts a men’s steak fry-up party that is attended by several hundred people.

“Almost every year, the Sunday after Easter, we do the Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge, which helps people recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. They bring in the choir, and it’s really well-received.”

The AWANA Festival is held every Wednesday evening in the Bethel Great Hall.

“We have an incredible number of children coming. It’s split into three different sessions. There are classes and trainings and we’ve heard of children who have come to this and have become part of the church family as a result.” Quiggle explained.

The great hall—and the rest of Bethel’s space—is used for purposes beyond church activities. In fact, Bethel has long made its space available to the broader community. While Small Sprouts is the church’s preschool program, it has allowed Fairmont Christian School to use its space for its school, which currently includes grades kindergarten through sixth grade.

It also allowed the 1590 Project’s Kids Just Want to Have Fun committee to hold its annual father-daughter dance there, and allowed the Fairmont Area School District to hold various social events there, including its annual alumni reunion.

The partnership with the school district has been so fruitful that in honor of Bethel’s 125th anniversary this Sunday, Fairmont High School is allowing the use of its Performing Arts Center for a special worship service.

“We’re planning on 500 and we can’t accommodate that many people. I contacted (Superintendent) Andy Traetow and asked him and they graciously let us in.” said Watson.

During the individual service, some information about the history of the church will be presented, both in music and in speeches. There will also be memories from past pastors and messages from other guests. After the service, the celebration will return to the church.

Watson said in celebrating the event: “I think it’s important. We’re going to celebrate and remember the past. When they started in 1899, they had no idea. There were a few families and they didn’t know that we would be here today, in a building like this. We have no idea that this church will celebrate its 250th anniversary in another 125 years.” said Watson.

He hopes that in 125 years the church will still have a strong position in society.

“We strive to be a blessing to the community. That’s one of the reasons we like to open the building to different groups. We love Jesus and we want to share that love with our community. That’s what I want us to be known for.” said Watson.