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History

Bethel Lutheran Brethren Church of Ottawa, Illinois was organized June 29, 1938 when a group of Christians living in and around Ottawa saw the need for a Lutheran Bible Church. Some ofthem had been converted in Norway, Europe before emigrating to this country, but most of them came to life in God in the revivals that swept Northern Illinois in the early parit of the century.

These people soon began gatherings in their homes for small prayer meetings and fellowship. A few of the young men attended the Lutheran Brethren Bible School at Grand Forks, North Dakota. There they made contact witht heChurch of the Lutheran Brethren.

In the years that followed, this group foudn themselves inviting the pastors and evangelists from the Church of the Lutheran Brethren for special services such as tent meetings or tother special gatherings. It was after several such meeting in a rented hall, the Christians felt constrained to organize a Lutheran Brethren Church in Ottawa

In June 1938 this new congregation purchased, for $5,000, a beautiful church at 651 West madison Street, which is centrally located and in splendid condition. The chuch is constructed from red brick and features beautiful imported stained glass windows in the sanctuary. The adjoining fellowship hall was used for midweek services and for Sunday School classes. This facility provided adequate space until the late 1960's. More space for sunday School rooms was added in 1969 by excavating the area underneath the Fellowship Hall.

The two-story frame house which stands at 653 West Maidson Street directly to the west of the church, was purchased in the mid 1940's for use as a parsonage. Until that time, the house located at 641 Illinois Avenue was used for this purpose, and Rev. Sletta and Rev. Gunhus and their families lived there during the years they served as pastors at Bethel. The present parsonage has undergone several stages of remodeling, the latest taking place in 1986.

Mindful of future needs for parking space and expansion, the church body in 1971, 1976, and 1982 purchased three house adjacent to the church property. Since then, two of those houses have been demolished. The one lot provide enlargement of the existing area for added parking at the back of the church. The other is vacant and seeded in, ready when needed in the future for expansion.