A neighborhood Bible study group organized in Baxter and affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America in 1965. With a nucleus of only three families, the foundations were laid under the leadership of the Rev. Lyle Vanderpoel and Richard Selin, presently a missionary in the Congo.

Through the cooperation of the Baxter school board and administration, the group was allowed to use school facilities.

In August of 1965. a parsonage was purchased and the Rev. David Martin accepted a call as full-time pastor.

In June of 1966, plans were made to purchase a three-acre tract of land in the Baxter area for a future church home.

Through volunteer labor of the pastor, members and friends, the building progressed and the congregation held worship services for the first time in the unfinished building in May of 1969.

The main auditorium of the church will seat about 250 with a capacity of 180 in the lower auditorium. Eleven classrooms are in use, along with the kitchen and pastor's study as auxiliary rooms when needed. A large parking area surrounds the building.

A new financial plan was recently instituted whereby the congregation will be able to finalize the ultimate aim of a completed church home.

Reproduced from the Centennial Edition of the Brainerd Daily Dispatch (1871-1971).