Seventy-Five Years of Danish Baptist Missionary Work in America
Published by The Danish Baptist General Conference of America
Printed By The American Baptist Publication Society
1931 (pp. 17-18)
Contributed by Joan Benner
WISCONSIN
Again our attention is turned to Wisconsin, where, figuratively speaking, the cradle of the Danish Baptists of America stood. In the pioneer period was described very briefly the beginning and progress of six churches. Two of these closed their careers in the pioneer period, but the others we meet again in this period of expansion.
Camp Douglas (1876)
Our church at Camp Douglas is located in the county between the villages
of Camp Douglas and New Lisbon. When first organized it was called
the Scandinavian Baptist Church of New Lisbon, but later changed its name
to the Scandinavian Baptist Church of Camp Douglas, probably because it is
somewhat nearer the latter town. The first of our ministers to preach
the gospel in the Camp Douglas community were L. Knudsen of Neenah,
Wisconsin, and Missionary L. Jacobsen. The latter assisting
them in the organization of the church March 7, 1876. There were six
charter members, H. C. Christensen, one of the members, was elected
to be their leader. In 1889 the church ordained brother Christensen
to the gospel ministry, after which he continued to serve as pastor until
1893. The church was then without a pastor for over two years, in the
summer of 1895 being served by a student pastor, Frederik Holm, and
that summer the church experienced a blessed revival, sixteen persons were
baptized into the fellowship of the church. In the fall of 1897 the
church called C. P. Olsen as pastor; he accepted the call and served
one year, from January, 1898, to January, 1899.
For some years then the church had no regular pastor, but was served by its own members, principally by H. C. Christensen and Lars Pedersen. From 1902 to 1905 Chr. Pedersen served as pastor of the church and was followed in 1905 by Jacob Andersen.
The church at Camp Douglas has enjoyed a steady growth since its organization. Up until the close of our period, fifty-three had been added to the church by baptism, thirty-four had been received by letter. At this time the membership numbered forty-four. In 1881 the church erected a house of worship which was enlarged and beautified in 1902