Our History

 

MCC was founded on November 14, 1905 by Mr. & Mrs. Morris Johnson as the “Swedish Evangelical Mission Church.”  At the beginning, there were two other founding members, Hjalmar Borlin, and Hans Anderson.

 

The Johnsons donated the land for the building where it stands today, and Morris Johnson oversaw the construction, which was completed on April 10, 1906.   On September 15, 1906 this congregation joined the Covenant Denomination  

 

In the early years, the church did not have a permanent pastor but was served by a series of itinerant pastors.  In 1924, the first permanent pastor, Erick A. Ohman arrived.  

 

Until the 1930s, Swedish was the main language spoken, but a number of causes brought about change.  First, as a new generation grew up in America, they preferred fitting in by speaking English.  Second, as the church grew, the new members were not always Swedish, so there was an obvious barrier that had to be dealt with.  Finally, the residual effects of World War I aroused angry sentiment, and Swedish was often confused with German, so this inclined to ‘Americanize.’ 

 

Through the years, there were various modifications to the facility.  There was no basement until 1924, when they dug out from beneath the sanctuary to create more space.  In the 1960’s the western addition was added, and in 1980, in recognition of the 75th anniversary of MCC, the sanctuary was remodeled.

 

In 2005, MCC took a big leap of faith and inaugurated a new ministry, Take the Next Step, using the church parsonage as a community service center.  This ministry has already aided thousands of people in times of urgent need.

 

MCC celebrated its First 100 Years of Ministry in October of 2005.  Many former members and pastors returned to help us celebrate this great event.  

 



The pastors who have served at MCC:

 

Leslie Ostberg: 1923                                     Tim Sporrong:  1975-1985

Erick A. Ohman: 1924-1926                         Dennis Pool: 1984-1990

John H. Lundberg: 1927-1928                     Willis Holmgren: 1988-1989

Erick A. Ohman: 1929-1931                         Al Johnson: 1989-1998

Oscar F. Larson: 1931-1936                         Harold Larson: 1998-1999

Erick A. Ohman: 1936-1944                         David Wells: 1999-2002

C.H. Ludberg: 1944-1945                             Harold Larson: 2002-2004

Robert M. Dahl: 1945-1948                          Dick & Judy Anderson: 2004-2005

Wallace E. Lanchester: 1948-1959             Paul Sellman: 2005-

Fred Neth: 1959-1962

Erik Norman: 1962-1965

Dean Gray: 1965-1968

Fred Marley: 1968-1974




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