History – Braham Covenant Church

To the territory near Braham, Isanti County, the first Swedish pioneers came in 1865. One of these was the well known Daniel Nordstrom, a layman, who began to work as a minister among the people of Isanti County. In January 1873 the Baptists from a neighboring settlement, Stanchfield, held a meeting in the Nordstrom home. This is considered the first Spiritual meeting in the area and Nordstrom refers to this as his spiritual birthday. At this same time a Christian man from Swedeen named Andreas J. Johnson settled at Grass Lake, one mile north of Braham. These two men led prayer and testimony meetings in various homes.

The first church was built in 1879 in Kanabec County and was called the Elim Swedish Mission Church. In 1900 it was moved into the Village of Braham.

Early in 1874 these people together with those from Maple Ridge, a settlement west of Braham, conferred on the matter of holding preaching services. By writing to friends in St. Paul the following men held services: C. J. Magnuson, Burman, J. Danielson, P. Wedin, and C. A. Bjork, who later became the first president of the Mission Covenant in America. The expenses of these visiting ministers were paid by friends in St. Paul because the rural settlers were without money.

In the fall of 1874 this Christian assembly organized into a Mission Society. At the yearly meeting in 1876 they desired to elect an Elder who would serve as a spiritual leader. By prayer and the casting of lots, Andreas J. Johnson was chosen and from that time devoted most of his time to preaching the Gospel among the Swedish people in Isanti County. The following year, E. August Skogsberg visited the Assembly for a time and Andreas Johnson was dedicated to full-time Evangelistic work. Not long after this his health began to fail and upon his death, Nordstrom was elected and continued to preach for a number of years and is regarded as the first minister and organizer of the church.

The site of the original church is now used as a cemetery, which belongs to the Braham Covenant Church.

In October 1899 the congregation took measures that would profoundly affect the future of the congregation. By a vote of 12 to 4, it was decided to move the church to the new townsite of Braham. A committee of A. P. Johnson, N. E. Nelson and J. E. Julien investigated lot possibilities and reported that Almond A. White, townsite promoter, would donate a lot for the church. The following month, A. P. Johnson, John Engstrom and Gust Erickson were authorized to proceed with the moving of the church, provided that the cost did not exceed $125.

In 1929, the congregation, now totaling 56 members, felt the need for enlarged facilities. A committee recommended construction of a full basement with kitchen and dining room, the addition of a galley to the main auditorium, another seating room to the east, a “mother’s room” to the southeast, the rebuilding of the tower into a “modern turret feature” and a complete redecoration of the structure. The congregation approved this plan, estimated to cost $4,153.25.

100 South Cherry Street, Braham (formerly Lincoln Street)

From 1945 to 1953 many improvement projects for the churchtook place, most notably the church’s front entrance was changed from the north to the east. The congregation voted in 1960 to changes its name to Braham Evangelical Covenant Church.

In 1965 the church board received an offer from Oscar A. Olson, Sr., to donate a parcel of land in north Braham if the congregation decided to build on that site within the calendar year. On December 9 a special congregational meeting voted to construct a new church with adequate Sunday School rooms and to accept the offer of the land.

Groundbreaking ceremonies occurred on May 22, 1966. By early winter much of the building was completed. Interior finishing continued with the cornerstone laying and first service scheduled for January 27, 1967. Official dedication took place on May 21.

In 1971 the members decided to construct a split-level, four-bedroom house for a new parsonage on land adjacent to the church.

Historical text credit:

Braham Evangelical Covenant Church Seventy-Fifth Anniversary book, 1883-1958
Braham, Minnesota, 1899-1999, compiled by Phyllis Londgren