Wakefield Covenant’s History

The establishment of the Wakefield Covenant church dates back to 1883 when a few Christian men and women arrived from Sweden. They had recently experienced the revivals which were sweeping their homeland during the latter part of the 19th century. Their mutual need for Christian fellowship inspired them to hold meetings in their homes. They loved the Lord and were zealous for the salvation of souls.

The little group sometimes met in a small schoolhouse in town and occasionally was visited by itinerant preachers. As the group grew and became more united in their purpose, they concluded a church should be organized. This was done on July 4, 1888. The group called themselves the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Mission Congregation. On August 23, 1889, a decision was made to build the first church. The same day two lots were purchased. On December 15 of that same year, the church, a building thirty-eight feet by twenty feet, was finished and dedicated. In 1892, a house next to the church was bought for a parsonage. During the years of 1892-1895, a church register was started, a Bible school was opened for children, a sewing circle was organized, and a small library established. Between 1904-1906, the original church was cut in half and turned so that it was now the north and south portions of a new church structure. According to records the new church was "built in the usual cross style" for a cost of $4,259 with a seating capacity of 550.

The Silver anniversary was observed in 1913 with ten of the founders still alive and a church membership of 87. The Golden anniversary was observed in 1938. The church membership at this time was 104.

In 1941, a number of interesting occurrences took place. A new and more complete constitution was adopted, the congregation decided to conduct all services in English except the third and fifth Sunday of the month when Swedish was yet to be used, and it was decided to write all minutes in English, which had previously been done in Swedish. In 1944, it was decided that all regular services were to be held in the English language.

The church took part in the building program of Covenant Cedars Bible Camp by building the Wakefield cabin in 1950 and sending men to help erect the chapel and dining hall. Wakefield also helped in a drive to purchase chairs in 1951.

In 1960, important decisions were made regarding the future of Covenant work in Wakefield when the then-present building fund was ear-marked for construction of a new church. Our current building was completed in 1967.

In the early 1990's, the Pioneer Club program began. It has been a valuable ministry to our community for the past two decades as many children from the community have come through our doors and learned about Jesus in every aspect of life.