Reflections on the History of Komstad
Covenant Church:
( An
article from the church's celebration of One Hundred Twenty Five Years
of Heritage in 1999 )
With religious
freedom and the Homestead Act of 1862 beckoning
them to America, Swedish immigrants settled this area of Dakota
Territory. Many of these early pioneers began meeting in various homes,
some of which were dugouts, where together they prayed and thanked God
for their new-found land.
The earliest recorded meeting of the Komstad Mission Church was on
October 23, 1874. John E. Bodin was the first pastor, arriving around
June 1, 1875. He served this church and a Mission Church in Sioux City,
Iowa. His means of transportation between the two churches is unknown,
but it must have been a very difficult trip in those days. The
collection that first year amounted to $6.42. Of this amount, $4.00 was
sent to the Synod, and the pastor received $2.42 as his salary.
The Ladies Aid Sewing Society was started in August, 1875. The
meetings, which began in the morning and lasted into the afternoon,
included a Bible study, singing and prayer, followed by sewing and
knitting. An
auction of the finished articles was held each year, with the proceeds
used for foreign missions, visiting pastors and the local church.
Five acres of land were offered as a gift for the building of a church.
With a sum of $20 collected, the lumber was purchased and a plain but
sturdy structure was built in 1876. It was not until more than a year
later that a heating stove was purchased, and another five years before
benches were installed for seating.
The Sunday School was organized in January, 1878.
During the next few years, a small horse barn, hitching posts, a
cemetery, fence, trees, lamps, song books, and a record book were
added. A 40-acre tract of land was given to the church with proceeds
designated to go to missions.
A difference of opinion caused the church to split in 1889, and eleven
members withdrew and held their services at the Riverside
Mill. In spite of their small number, they put up their own place of
worship, called the Riverside Church.
In 1896 the two groups were united, and the Riverside Church building
was moved to Komstad and attached in 1897. The parsonage was built, and
the first constitution was written. So that everyone would feel free to
worship in this place, the church was non-denominational and remained
so until 1954. The first ladies joined the church in 1903.
Early in 1905, a new church building was proposed. One hundred and
twenty-five persons contributed for the building at a total cost of
$8,456.16 in materials and labor. A piano, organ and pulpit Bible were
given as gifts. 
Ten years later the basement was enlarged for Sunday School classrooms
and a social room. Until this time, all services were in
Swedish. But to meet the changing trend, English soon became the
primary language of the church. Daily Vacation Bible School was held
for the first time in 1934, and the South Dakota Bible Camp was
organized at Lake Poinsett.
The sanctuary was enhanced and made more
worshipful by the installation of stained glass windows
depicting two Bible verses. A picture, "Christ Knocking at the Door,"
was painted by Virgil Johnson, a former Sunday School boy.
In May of 1954, Komstad became affiliated with the Evangelical Covenant
Church and the Northwest Conference.
Two members of this church have gone into foreign mission work:
Elizabeth Peterson to China and Lionel Seger to the Sudan Interior
Mission.
During a violent hail and wind storm in late August, 1980, much damage
was done to the interior and exterior of the church. A large portion of
the north stained glass window was broken out, hymnals and Bibles were
saturated with rain, pews were damaged by flying glass and water, and
tombstones in the cemetery were shifted. Community spirit and monetary
gifts were received from many people,
some from far away, and together the reconstruction was
accomplished. To help raise money for repairs, a soup luncheon was
sponsored by the ladies and has since become an annual soup and pie
supper.
In recent years the kitchen was updated, the roof shingled, new front
doors hung, and new furnaces and air conditioning installed. Beautiful
banners have been made by individuals and groups to enhance the sanctuary.
When we stop to look back over the past 125 years, it is evident that
faith and trust in God have brought this church to this day. It was not
the material possessions that were important to the early pioneers but
the coming together in the Lord's name to experience His grace and love
in this new land. Komstad Church is not merely a building. Komstad
Church is the faithful people who have prayed and praised, taught and
preached, and in so many ways given unselfishly of themselves over the
past 125 years.
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The Lord is the portion of my inheritance
and my cup.
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. Indeed, my inheritance
is beautiful to me!
Psalm 16:5-6
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