History

St. Andrew's Lutheran Church was chosen as our name by our earliest members.  The name comes from Andrew the fisherman who had a special gift of introducing people to Jesus. St. Andrew's Lutheran Church was one of the "50 more in '84" congregations started by the American Lutheran Church, and it's members decided that introducing people to Jesus would be one of their main objectives as well.

Pastor George Gilbertson was the first pastor-developer called by the Division of Life and Mission in the American Lutheran Church to begin the new congregation.  He arrived in July 1984 with his wife, Lou Ellen, and their two daughters Kirsten and Rachel.  The initial months were spent in a house-to-house canvassing of the community, reaching out to those with no present church home.

The first worship service was held September 9, 1984 with 76 people attending the service at the Myles Reif Performing Arts Center in north Grand Rapids.  Worship services as well as Sunday School classes continued to be held at the Reif Center until April 1990.

Our first church office was located in a small room in the old Johnson Dental building across from city hall.  This building was soon torn down, so arrangements were made for the office to be relocated in the Norwood Office Plaza.  Due to limited office space, our congregation regularly used Christ Episcopal Church for organizational meetings, choir rehearsals, fellowship events, weddings, funerals, and special Lenten, Easter, and Christmas services.

St. Andrew's was officially organized January 13, 1985 with 103 baptized members.  Rev Gib Lee, Bishop of the Northeastern Minnesota District of the American Lutheran Church and Rev. Manuel Johnson from the Division of Life and Mission of the ALC were present to share in the service.

The newly organized congregation voted to purchase a ten acre building site on McKinney Lake March 1, 1987.  By September 1, 1987, the property was completely paid for by the congregation at a cost of $45, 269.00.  Soon, a building committee was formed and Jack Rajala was chosen as its chairman.  Planning for our new church , under the auspices of the newly formed Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, began in early 1988.  In 1989, the architect presented his initial building proposal.  The congregation voted to accept the plans and the $600,000 building proposal on April 1, 1989.

With the help of Trinity Lutheran Church in Moorhead MN, a major building fund appeal followed.  Trinity Lutheran Church, a mission partner congregation, challenged us to match funds they were willing to share with us for the project.  Consequently, members of St. Andrew's pledged $180,000 to the project over a three year period.

A special ground breaking service was held July 9, 1989 for our new building and by fall, construction was well underway.  Our first worship service was held Easter morning April 15, 1990 with over 500 people in attendance.

The move to our new building was a powerful blessing to our ministry.  It enabled us to expand our programming and give St. Andrew's a more visible presence in the community.  It also endorsed our growth.  Consequently, another building program was initiated in 1993.  By 1994, a new education wing, fellowship area, canopy, and steeple were completed and dedicated in September 1994.  The cost of the project was $248,000.  

As our congregation grew, ample parking became a challenge. However, a gift of three acres of land to the west of our existing property from the Ken and Marilyn Erickson family gave us room for expansion.

Our needs for additional staff were also expanding. In the summer of 1993, St. Andrew's welcomed Dan Clites, a student at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, as our first intern. In February 1994, a second worship service was added.

Before we knew it, a decade had passed and St. Andrew's was celebrating its 10th anniversary. The celebration continued throughout the year with a variety of special speakers and events. Bishop Emeritus Gib Lee and his assistant Rev. Milan Davig from the former ALC and Bishop Roger Munson from the Northeastern Minnesota Synod of the ELCA were invited as our special guests.

Our fledgling congregation was growing up. By the end of 1996, our initial 103 member congregation numbered 1,138 baptized members. Again, those numbers impacted the leadership of our congregation and they recognized the need for additional pastoral staff. A call committee was established in the spring of 1996 and the search for an associate pastor began.

In the spring of 1997, Pastor Paul Mattson was called to serve as our first Associate Pastor. He was installed May 4, 1997. Pastor Mattson's ministry had a special focus on Youth and Education. He served in this position for two years.

The following year there were additional changes in staff. In April 2000, our first church secretary, Lois Young, resigned after nine years of service. In May 2000, Brenda Wagner, our first Youth Director, also resigned after five years of service. In May of that same year, Angela Olson was called to serve as our full time Parish Secretary. In December 2000, Connie Casio was called to serve as full time Youth and Education Director. She resigned in 2001.

On May 21, 2000 a big dream was beginning to be realized. St. Andrew's signed a contract with the Hendrickson Organ company of St. Peter MN to build a new pipe organ. An anonymous gift of $100,000 from a member helped initiate the project. The new 21-rank pipe organ at a cost of $262,000 was first used for Christmas Eve services December 2003. Jan Bilden continues to serve as our main organist.

In 2002, our St. Andrew's Preschool, established in 1997 under the direction of Kristi Erdman, doubled its enrollment. The preschool has a three year old group and a four and five year old group.

In June 2001, Pastor Emily Rova-Hegener joined our staff as Associate Pastor. She stayed on staff until the summer of 2003. At that time, Scott Shrimpton was called to a full time position as Director of Music and Education. Scott assumed leadership of the music ministry that had previously been the responsibility of Brian Stubbs. Brian served faithfully in that capacity for over 13 years.

In November of 2004, Pastor Vicki Taylor joined our staff as Associate Pastor. In January 2005 we celebrated our 20th anniversary as a congregation. Rev. Milan Davig, retired Assistant to the Bishop of the Northeastern Minnesota Synod, was our guest speaker.

In the fall of 2006, Betsy Sween was called to be our new Director of Music. She directed the Mixed Choir, Children's Choir, and two Handbell Choirs. In the fall of 2006, Tom Grosland began directing the Men's Choir. In the fall of 2009 Darcy Reich from Community Presbyterian directed the handbell choirs for one year. Eileen Grosland assumed direction of the Mixed Choir at that same time. We called Jordan Goodwater to conduct the bell choirs in the fall of 2010. The second Sunday of the month features contempory music. The music ministry at St. Andrew's continues to be a powerful blessing to many.

Brenda Wagner returned to our staff as Education Director in 2009. In the fall of 2009, Pastor Megan Crouch was called as our Associate Pastor. Pastor Vicki Taylor had moved to a new position as the Assistant to the Bishop for the Northeastern Synod.

Diane Erickson remains on staff as our first Parish Nurse in this important ministry. Throughout 2010 we will celebrate our 25th anniversary with a variety of special events.

As our congregation continues to grow, we are constantly evaluating our needs for staff and space. We are also asking, “What is it God wants us to do at this time?” Fortunately, we are blessed with a staff and congregation that are deeply committed to entertaining that critical question. We continue to seek God's will in all that we do and plan for the future. Our congregation of over 1,400 members has not lost its passion for sharing the Good News of the Gospel. We pray that God would continue to use us all as we seek to be faithful to being His representatives in this community. To God is the glory now and forever!