Benton Lutheran Church

Benton Lutheran Church. . Unfavorable economic conditions in Sweden in the mid-1800s led many young people to search for a better life in America. In 1873 brothers Ben and Carl Johnson, Halmstad, Sweden, became the first Swedish immigrants to homestead in Benton Township. As reports spread about land being available in Dakota Territory, others immigrated to this area. The new settlers soon met assaults by droughts, grasshopper invasions, blizzards, epidemics, prairie fires, and high mortality rates among their infants. Relying on their faith in God and receiving support and encouragement from nearby relatives and Swedish neighbors, the newcomers endured and overcame these hardships., At first itinerant preachers from Minnesota held occasional services in homes and in a nearby school. On May 4, 1878, 25 of the new Swedish-Americans met in the home of Samuel Johnson to organize a congregation. They drafted a constitution and the church was named "The Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Congregation." In time they purchased for $4.50 one and one-half acres of land at this site for a cemetery and church building. Pioneer Pastor J.H. Randahl served the young congregation from 1879 to 1890 through most of its building program., Stone was hauled from Sioux Falls, and materials and furnishings were freighted from Minneapolis. Members furnished most of the labor during the six years the church was under construction. The newly organized Ladies Sewing Society had a sale in 1890 of articles they had made and raised the funds needed to buy pews. On May 15, 1891, with 65 communicant members and 92 children, the new church building was dedicated. A steeple and bell were added in 1894., Misfortune struck in 1913 when lightning hit the church and a fire quickly consumed the building. Only the steeple bell, cracked and unusable, was salvaged. Members immediately agreed to rebuild. At a cost of $13,000, a new church, with a seating capacity for 400 worshipers, was dedicated January 27, 1915. Among its distinguishing features are a series of grand leaded art-glass windows. Early ministers were part-time until 1921 when Pastor Martin W. Gustafson was called to serve full-time. All services were conducted in Swedish until 1920 when English was gradually introduced; Swedish was discontinued in 1943., The seeds of faith planted here in 1878 on a barren Dakota prairie took root, sprouted, and continue to grow and produce Christian fruit. Benton Lutheran Church has maintained a long history of support for local and worldwide missions.