Rock Dell Lutheran Church
est. 1872
It all started in 1867...
When Norwegian immigrants settled along the South side of the Minnesota River Valley, north of what is today Belview, MN, and came together to form a church.
The Christian faith was important to these immigrants. So, while they waited to be able to construct a church of their own, they gathered together in their homes, often in the home of Turi Rudy (one of the founding members) for worship services. The Rev. Thomas Johnson helped to organize the congregation. In 1871, Pastor Johannes Bergh was called to be the first full time pastor of the congregation. He was already serving the Norwegian Synod congregation in Sacred Heart, north of the river. By 1872, the congregation was officially organized, and in 1884 it was decided to build a church. These Norwegian immigrants styled the church building after the churches they had known in Norway. And to this day Rock Dell is a beautiful church patterned after church architecture in Norway. When one walks into the church building one can see a gorgeous semi-circle altar railing, intricate wood carving and ornamentation, a gloriously high pulpit, and paintings that adorn the altar.
Rock Dell is a beautiful church, with an even more beautiful message, that is: the Gospel message that in Jesus Christ, all of our sins have been taken away, that Heaven is ours through faith in Jesus! This is the message that was proclaimed by the early Norwegian settlers, in the 1800's, and it is still being proclaimed today!
Come visit Rock Dell and see this beautiful church, and hear this beautiful Gospel message proclaimed!