• Life of F.O. Nilsson to Be Featured at October 14 Meeting
• Scandia Church and History Center Welcome BGC Visitors
• Visit the History Center Website for Tour Ideas
• Preserve the Past with a Future Gift
• Deans I Have Known” Available in DVD
• Biographies of 10 Bethel Seminary Deans Now Available

Life of F.O. Nilsson to Be Featured at October 14 Meeting

F.O. Nilsson’s pioneer work as founder of the Baptist General Conference will be featured in the fall meeting of Friends of the BGC History Center on Saturday, October 14, at 9:30 a.m. at the Seminary Campus Center.

Featured speakers include John Anderson and Dan Nelson, who grew up in Houston, Minn., where F.O. Nilsson and his wife are buried. Anderson and Nelson have great stories to tell about Nilsson and early Swedish Baptist beginnings.

Nilsson came to Minnesota in 1855 after being banished from Sweden due to his Baptist beliefs and teachings. At that time, it was against Swedish law to have any public worship outside the State Church of Sweden (Lutheran). In 1850 he was arrested and jailed for several weeks before being banished. In 1853, he and 21 other “heretic” Baptists left Sweden for America. As soon as Nilsson arrived, he became an itinerant evangelist, starting many of the early Swedish Baptist churches, with a focus on Iowa and Minnesota.

At the urging of friends who had “discovered” beautiful Minnesota, Nilsson moved with several families from Iowa to Scandia in Carver County, Minn. There he organized the few believers into the Scandia church where he usually preached when he was home. He also staked a claim to the land. Nilsson never farmed his land as he was too busy preaching and starting churches across the country, but he and his wife Sophia considered Scandia their home.

Eventually Nilsson was pardoned by the King of Sweden. The original papers showing his pardon are housed in the History Center at Bethel Seminary. After his pardon, Nilsson was sent back to Sweden as a missionary by the 25th Street Swedish Baptist Church in New York. He stayed in Sweden for nine years, serving for seven years as the first pastor of the Baptist church in Gothenberg, and eventually returning to the United States to resume his church planting work.

Cost for the breakfast meeting is $7. Reservations may be made through Mary Nordell at 651.635.8066. An offering will be taken for the work of the Friends of the BGC History Center.

Scandia Church and History Center Welcome BGC Visitors

In June, scores of people who attended the Baptist General Conference meetings at Bethel also visited the historic Scandia church on the seminary campus and the BGC History Center in the seminary library.

At the History Center in the Lundquist Library, visitors commented that more space would enhance the display of the many valuable artifacts in the collection. Of special interest to many were the paintings by John Alexis Edgren, the first dean of the seminary. Some people thought of things they would like to donate to the collection, and several said they would come back to do research on their families or other topics.

Visitors to the Scandia church were greeted by hosts in period dress and music on the old pump organ played by Roy Dalton, retired professor of history at Bethel College. A group from the children’s program was greeted by Becky Olseen, Retirees Roy Dalyon,Alvera Mickelsen,Shirley Mogckwere among those who hosted vistors to the Scandia church, granddaughter of Shirley Olseen, a member of the steering committee of Friends of the History Center. Becky shared the story of the Scandia church with the children.

Visitors commented on the beautiful hand-embroidered paper wall decorations made by early women settlers. Each visitor received a folder with a picture of the church and a short history written by Richard Turnwall, chair of the Friends of the History Center, explaining why the building has such historical significance for the Baptist General Conference.

Erected in 1857, the church was first pastored by F.O. Nilsson, considered the founder of the Baptist General Conference. A plaque in the church entry indicates that he preached there on July 12, 1857. The first baptismal service of the church was held on February 17, 1856, when members cut a hole through the ice on Lake Waconia.

The first meeting of what would become the Minnesota Baptist Conference was held in the little 20’ x 25’ log cabin built in September 1858.

The church’s peak membership was 62 in 1862. In 1875, members disassembled the building and moved it a short distance to the east. They attached siding, laid a new floor, and put in a new door and windows. In 1904, a tornado severely damaged the building, but members repaired it, and in 1910 an entry and tower were added.

In 1913, two screens were purchased to partition children’s Sunday school classes, which had begun in 1858. Electric lights came in 1917. The church continued to meet in the building until the 1950s, when the congregation finally moved into a larger building in the nearby town of Waconia.

Because of its historical significance, in 1961 President Carl Lundquist proposed that the Scandia church building be moved to the Bethel campus. In 1965, the Minnesota Baptist Conference added its voice to the proposal and the church voted to give the building to the conference for placement on the Bethel campus. In October 1973, the historic building was loaded onto a lowboy trailer and trucked to its new location on the Bethel campus. It was painted and a new ramp entrance added. The embroidered paper wall hangings made by the pioneer women were rehung on the walls.

In 1983, Tom and Patti Olson completely refurbished the interior, removing many layers of paint and plaster and repainting to match the original color of the walls. In the following years, weddings have been held there, students from the seminary occasionally practice preaching in the church, and prayer and worship services are sometimes held in it.

The little Scandia church stands as a reminder of the spiritual beginnings of the Baptist General Conference, and of the pioneers of the faith to whom we owe so much.

Visit the History Center Website for Tour Ideas

Visit the History Center website before you plan your next trip. You can click on the places you plan to visit and quickly see if there are any nearby sites of historical importance to the development of the Baptist General Conference.

In Chicago, you can find the home of John Alexis Edgren, first dean of Bethel Seminary.In Connecticut, you can visit the Klingberg Children’s Home. In New York City, you can find the church where many early Swedish Baptist leaders were baptized.

To access the site, go to www.bethel.edu/bgcarchives/tour.
If you have information about places that should be included on the website,
email j-spickelmier@bethel.edu.

Preserve the Past with a Future Gift

How you plan your will reveals where your real values lie. It also reveals what you consider important for the future. Of course you want to show your concern for family and loved ones. You may also want to preserve for your church and friends the stories of faith that are part of the history of the Baptist General Conference and Bethel. If so, consider including in your will a gift to the History Center. You will be preserving the stories of your church, your favorite pastors, and missionaries for future generations.

Contact James Spickelmier at 651.635.8054 if you want assistance in designating an appropriate gift for the History Center in your will.

“Deans I Have Known” Available in DVD

Virgil Olson’s unique presentation of “Deans I Have Known” is now available on DVD. Olson had personal contact with all the deans of Bethel Seminary except founder John Alexis Edgren. In this delightful and humorous presentation, Olson introduces us to all of them and lets us see their unique personalities as well as the issues they faced in their day.

Biographies of 10 Bethel Seminary Deans Now Available

John Alexis Edgren became the first dean of Bethel Seminary in 1871. Leland Eliason became the 10th dean in 1994.

Biographies of the10 deans and the story of the remarkable way God has worked through Bethel Seminary have been compiled into one book that is now available to all donors to the Friends of the BGC History Center.

Contact us to make your request or to send a gift. Additional copies are available for $5. Write to: James Spickelmier, Bethel University, 3900 Bethel Drive,
St. Paul, MN 55112.