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God and His Word have
driven the history and development of the congregation which is
known as Bethel Baptist Church. During the late 1800's the Bible
Readers Movement was sweeping through Scandinavia. As believers read
and studied God’s Word and put their trust in Jesus Christ for
eternal salvation they came to realize that much of what was
practiced in their state churches was contrary to the Bible. As they
sought to follow the teaching of Scripture they came under
increasing persecution for their convictions and practices. Over the
last few decades of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the
twentieth century many of these Bible believing Christians emigrated
from their Scandinavian homelands to seek religious freedoms in the
United States of America.
Some of the early Swedish immigrants to the Marquette area desired
to fellowship and worship with others believers from Sweden. Several
Swedish settlements in the Upper Peninsula had established Swedish
congregations in their communities, the mining community of Negaunee
being one of them. Early in the 20th Century a group of eighteen
Marquette area Swedish believers, who loved God and His Word,
organized the Swedish Baptist Church of Marquette and conducted
their first worship service on December 13, 1903, in the facility of
the First Baptist Church. In the early years the small congregation
met in rented facilities until 1909 when they were able to purchase
an old boarding house. In1924 they erected a house of worship at the
corner of Third and Ohio Streets. The congregation had grown to a
membership of 66.
During the 1930's some other significant changes developed. In 1932
it became necessary to use both Swedish and English in their prayer
meetings and by 1936 all of their services were in English. So in
1937 they dropped “Swedish” from their name and replaced it with
“Bethel” which means “The House of God” in Hebrew. During this era
the longevity of pastoral ministries increased significantly from
durations of only a year or two to an average of six to seven years.
This helped to lend stability and consistency to ministry. The
1950's were years of patient, persistent ministry that was
challenging but set the stage for changes that came in the second
half of the century.
Bethel experienced its most accelerated spurt of growth in the
1960's growing to an average worship attendance of nearly 170. Such
growth more than filled their beloved facility and the need and
vision for a larger facility was born. In May, 1974 the congregation
moved it’s home to our current facility on Grove Street. With a
sanctuary seating almost twice the previous one, an ample
gym/fellowship hall, and some Christian Education classrooms the
congregation thought they had a home they would never outgrow.
During the next two decades the church enjoyed a period of stable,
solid ministry, adding AWANA Clubs for children while attracting
many younger families.
Throughout the later third of the century the Marquette area
continued to experience societal changes as the iron ore industry
slowly declined while government became the largest employer with
the growth of K .I. Sawyer Air Force Base, Northern Michigan
University, the Marquette Branch Prison, and several regional
offices. Marquette General Hospital emerged as the primary regional
hospital for the Upper Peninsula drawing medical related personnel
to our community. Throughout this time the population of Marquette
County, much like the entire Upper Peninsula, continued to gradually
decline. However, Bethel’s ministries continued to thrive.
In the early 1990's another spurt of accelerated growth resulted in
adding an associate pastor and expanding and upgrading the parking
lot. Attendance peaked at about 260 and to allow for additional
growth they experimented with a two-service format. Just after
Bethel celebrated her 90th anniversary in 1993 the government
announced the closing of K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base. Over the next
few years many families left the area including several who were
part of the Bethel family as key leaders and workers. Church
attendance dropped to just below 200, the budget was severely
affected, and some ministries suffered.
Over the last five or six years Bethel has caught a second wind and
is once again growing and advancing the gospel in our area. The
welcomed presence of an increasing number of NMU students and the
addition of several younger families have been a boon and blessing
to Bethel. In 1999 we added a Family Life Pastor to our staff to
minister to our growing congregation. There has been significant
increase in our lay people ministering as they own the attitude that
‘every member is a minister.’ Our worship style has continued to
change since the early 1990's seeking a relevant style that
resonates with both younger and older, believers and seekers. In
2002 we added a part-time Director of Music to our staff to oversee
our growth of music ministries.
As we approach our second century of ministry we are striving to
systematically disciple our people so they will be “developing
dynamic relationships with God, with one another, and with a hurting
and unbelieving world.” Evangelism Explosion was added to our
training ministries in 2001 to help equip people to share the good
news of salvation through Jesus Christ with the people of our
community. With our attendance hovering around 275 we are once again
on the threshold of adding a new service designed to reach new
people. Children and youth ministries continue to grow. We value our
youth and took the bold step at the close of 2002 to call a
full-time Director of Youth Ministries. Also in 2002 we purchased
property adjacent to our current facilities that will allow future
expansion, parking, and better access and visibility. We are being
stretched financially and in faith to do all we believe God is
leading us to do as we conclude our first century of ministry and
launch into a new century of gospel ministry.
Our history is His-story that is still being written. Our founding
fathers and mothers sought a fellowship that was God centered and
founded on the truth of God’s eternal word, the Bible. A century
later our “final authority for faith and living” is still the
eternally relevant Word of God. We strive to continue to obey the
two great commandments to love God and others as He has loved us and
to fulfill the Great Commission to...
“make disciples...going...baptizing...teaching them to obey
everything...”
our Lord has commanded us. To that end God has brought us this far
and with His strength and grace we will press on to that end in the
days before us until Jesus returns.
January 2003.
Pastors of Bethel
E.A. Asplund1904-05
C.G. Wargren1905-07
Carl Westerdahl1907-09
Axel Wicklund 1910
O.A. Arnquist1911-13
R.A. Clint1914-18
Hjalmer Johnson1919-20
John A. Roose1920-21
Carl A. Anderson1922-23
Alex F. Olson 1924 to 1946
Frank May1947-50
Arden Fink1950-56
Arnold Olson 1956 to 1963
RussellVoight1963-70
Deane Thompson1970-78
Joel Goff1979-86
Timothy Haugen1987-94
Bryan Buck (Associate)1990-95
Bob Donaldson1996-2003
Hank Steede (Family Life Pastor)1999-present
Dave Hanson (Youth Pastor)2003-present
Dr. Brian Oberg 2004-present
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