Bethlehem Lutheran Church

As Ministers of Christ, we, the members of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, began our mission, rooted in the congregations of two Norwegian Lutheran congregations: Bethlehem Lutheran Church and Golgotha Lutheran Church.

In June of 1890 more than 2000 men and women gathered at Trinity Norwegian Lutheran Evangelical Church in south Minneapolis to establish the United Norwegian Lutheran Church in America. Amidst controversies within the new synod, about 200 members of Trinity decided to leave Trinity, organize a new congregation and remain with the United Church. On January 1,1894, the "friends of the union" met at Tollefson's Hall to register their names, adopt a charter and elect officers. Bethlehem was born.

The congregation called their first pastor, the Rev. Gerhard Rasmussen, in the fall of 1894 and purchased land for a building in June 1895. With help from the ladies Aid and the Youth Groups, the congregation paid off their debts in 1907, allowing them resources to reach out and spread the Gospel to others. Meanwhile, Our Saviours' Lutheran Church established a Sunday School and Ladies Aid as a mission in south Minneapolis.

In April 1908, the mission organized as the Pleasant Avenue Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church, eventually changing the name to Golgotha Norwegian Evangelical Church. Bethlehem and Golgotha merged to become Bethlehem Lutheran Church on March 14, 1923, to avoid competing within the same "field." Additions to the staff and building programs continued until the church, as we know it today, was established.

Bethlehem continues its commitment to the Gospel, providing for the spiritual life of all members, while reaching out to our community, nation and the world. Pastor Emeritus Maynard Iverson quoted Pastor Reigstad at Bethlehem's 100th birthday celebration, "If we can see a little farther, it is because we stand on the scaffold built by others."