The first Baptist convert among the Danes was Julius Kobner, a Jew baptized in Hamburg, Germany, in 1836. When he returned to Copenhagen in 1839, he began fellowshipping with a group of believers who, through independent study, had come to accept the Baptist position of faith. Baptists were persecuted, ordered to leave Denmark, and...
The first Swedish Baptist Church organized in Minnesota was probably the church in Houston County started by F.O. Nilssen in 1853. From there, Nilssen moved on to Scandia, in Carver County, to help establish a church. Swedes arrived in that area from Burlington, Iowa,...
Baptists today experience great freedom to practice their faith in America, but they need to be reminded of what our Swedish forefathers suffered because of their faith. Algot E. Strand’s account deserves our attention. The first chapters of that history have been...
English was not the only language spoken in Minnesota Baptist worship services in the 19th century. Immigrants often settled in ethnic groups to be near family and friends who spoke the same language. Sometimes families with similar religious preferences also settled close to each...
Minutes of the first Minnesota Baptist Convention(MBC) annual meeting, August 29, 1859, record 35 delegates in attendance. George H. Keith, Minneapolis, presided over the business meeting. One resolution provided guidelines for those who could participate. Another allowed visiting brethren to participate in the deliberations....
