Warroad Houses of Worship Part II — The Path to the Warroad Community Church

In our first part of this church series, we discussed the longest-serving church in the community, Zion Lutheran Church. This week, we're looking back at a much newer addition to Warroad's church list, the Warroad Community Church. 

Today, the church congregates in the old Zion Lutheran building on Virginia Avenue, but its organization happened  much earlier under a different name. The first iteration of this church was known as the New Joy Ministries, Inc., a group of Christians in the area who met weekly in one another's homes for times of prayer, conversation, and fellowship. Notable members of this early group were Pete and Martha Frolander, Dan and Millie Carlson, Don Ellenson, Jack and Bonnie Palmquist, Norman Carlson, Mike Rasmussen, and Doug & Jeri Vacura.

Eventually, the group (known locally as New Joy Fellowship), became large enough that the building of a real church became necessary. They built a structure five miles west of Warroad at the location now the home of the New Life Assembly of God Church. They formed the New Joy Singers, which included members of the Melvie family and Margie McCloud from Sprague, Bill Knight, Jenee and LeAnne Frolander, and Robin, Sharon, Marilyn, Eileen, and Judy Nelson of Warroad. They performed numerous times at churches around the northwest. Shortly thereafter, the Pinecrest Christian School opened within the building as an alternative to Warroad and Roseau public school in 1979.* Students from the first classes at Pinecrest included Beth, Mary, Paul, Sarah, and Connie Ellenson; Kristal and Katrina Knight; Paula and Holly Carlson; Carin and Steven Lancett; Tom Frolander, and David Ellerbusch. They were taught by Pastor Don Ellerbusch, Richard Ellerbusch, and Martha Frolander (Warroad Pioneer 11/21/1979).

In 1981, New Joy Ministries and another local church, Dayspring Chapel, merged to create the Church of the New Covenant. They continued meeting in the New Joy building and came under the pastoral leadership of Ben Skrivseth of Roosevelt, who originally preached at Dayspring. Services included interfaith fellowship between Christian denominations, worship services and prayer meetings, and the church came under a group of elders as it had not previously done (church elders (in most denominations) are members of a church congregation who assume leadership or authoritative roles over major decisions within the church and are usually selected by virtue of their moral and interpersonal character). The church elders selected in 1982 were Don Ellenson, Jack Palmquist, Norman Carlson, Mike Rasmussen, Doug Vacura (Va-sir-uh), and Pete Frolander. 

Weekly prayer meetings would often meet in the homes of Doug Vacura and Norm Carlson. The church band, under the direction of Daryl Thompson, practiced every Friday at the church. Around the same time, the Christian school changed its name to the New Covenant Christian School. In 1984, it was stated that the school had 28 registered students (WP 03/28/1984). 

In mid-1985, Pastor Skrivseth retired from ministry. His leaving resulted in a church split over a dispute of pastoral leadership. The Church of the New Covenant continued under Pastor Dave Toppen, while a second group reformed once more under yet another name, the Give Glory to God Church, shortened to Give Glory, with Doug Vacura serving as pastor. While originally the two groups shared the space outside of Warroad, Give Glory wanted a home of its own. 

Men of Give Glory cleaning up after a home meeting.

For a little while they used one of the rooms in the old Fox Theater building that later became the Warroad Pioneer offices. At the time, the room was being used during the week as a Building Blocks classroom (WP 08/12/1987). They also used the Baptist church as a meeting spot while continuing to meet in each other's houses. 

Give Glory service in the Building Blocks classroom on Lake Street.

This soon proved untenable, as the church continued to grow. In 1986, the decision was made to build their own church on Elk Street and the church paid earnest money for it. However, at the time, the lot on which they hoped to build was at the end of the water and sewer lines of Warroad proper, making for an uphill battle to build the church. In September 1987, they broke ground on the lot and Laznicka's Redi-Mix made quick work of the soil and settling the foundation. The rest was up to the men and women of Give Glory. 

Breaking ground on the new Give Glory building on Elk Street.

Church members arrived every Saturday and most Wednesday evenings to build the church. Numerous people spent hours hammering, sawing, and sweating while some ladies of the church provided lunches and drinks (WP 01/13/1988). The first service held in the building on Elk Street took place on March 6, 1988. A few months later, my parents were the first couple to be married at the church, on a rainy autumn day in October. 

Give Glory was well-known for its love of music. The worship team spent many hours each week practicing and praising the Lord outside of their regular work schedules. They even held Christian music workshops to which the community was invited. For many years, worship continued to be a staple of Give Glory's ministry.

L-R: Pete Lucca, Martha Frolander, Laurie Reinhart Thompson, Sherry Head, Cathy Vacura Thompson, Daryl Thompson

As the years wore on, Pastor Vacura began looking towards the future of the church. In 1993, Robert Ortmann returned to Warroad after living in Little Falls, MN for many years. Ortmann had graduated from Tocca Falls Christian College with a Bachelor of Science degree and served as a youth pastor at Woodland Bible Church in 1989 and helped establish the Little Falls Church of God before moving his family back to Warroad. Ortmann was brought to Give Glory as an Associate Pastor (WP 12/14/1993). However, he would not stay for very long.

After much more searching, in late 2000-early 2001, Pastor Gus Booth joined the pastoral leadership of Give Glory. In May 2001, the church changed its name to the Warroad Community Church, and on July 8 of that year, Booth was installed as the senior pastor at the newly-christened Community Church. Pastor Vacura retired from ministry. He and his wife, Jeri, would leave Warroad for Monument, Colorado not long after, and in 2020, Doug passed away after a long battle with Alzheimer's. 

Pastor Doug Vacura, 1988

Pastor Booth became a familiar face around town and worked quickly to continue growing the church. In the early days of his leadership, he brought on Sam Yapa as youth leader while he was in the United States on a visa, though Yapa returned home to Sri Lanka not long after.

Pastor Booth and family

There is little news about the Warroad Community Church until 2007, when the Warroad Christian Academy opened its doors to students. It began as a pilot program in September 2007, with 12 students, grades 1–12, under the tutelage of Kristy Anderson, with Pastor Booth serving the school's principle. The WCA operated under the broader umbrella of the Accelerate Christian Education Schools, an international organization specifically focused on Christian schools across the world. By the end of 2007, the WCA, which was located within the Warroad Community Church, had a new library and a  computer lab with four brand new computers donated by an anonymous source. On Fridays, students took field trips around town to meet locals and learn about all that their community had to offer. The academy closed around 2013. 

In January 2008, Zach Binder joined WCC as the associate pastor, but he would leave only a few months later to pursue other ventures. That same year, Pastor Booth became involved in the politics of the nation is a way that gained increasing attention, first statewide, then nationally. The 2008 presidential elections were a tense time for many, as President Bush had finished his tenure and could not run for reelection. Booth's politics frequently became the subject of debate in local and national circles over his strong and often controversial opinions. His vocal politics eventually caught the attention of the IRS, who investigated the possibility that Booth had illegally using his position at the Warroad Community Church to promote a presidential campaign. This is in reference to the Johnson Amendment, added by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1954, that allowed the government to rescind any 501c(3) organization's nonprofit status if they used their platform to promote a political candidate. Booth was never charged with a crime, nor did the WCC lose its nonprofit status. In numerous letters to the editor in the Warroad Pioneer, most in the community agreed that regardless of the political party or objective of the pastor in question, everyone, including churches and other nonprofits, had the right to advocate for any cause, even a political one.

In March 2009, Ben Blees took over the position of Associate Pastor, a position he would retain until he stepped down in early 2012. In January of the next year, Jason Robeck took over Blees' position within the church. Robeck moved to Warroad with his wife, Sarah, and three children. He was placed in charge of "pastoral counseling (marital, emotional, addictions, spiritual), the Discipleship Program, all small groups," and community outreach to get people involved in ministry. He was also put in charge of the church's worship team (WP 08/26/2014). 

Pastor Robeck and family

The WCC was very involved in the Warroad area. Servant Sundays were often spent picking up trash. Numerous donation drives were done in the name of local charities like the food shelf and the school.

Servant Sunday, 2014

Pastor Jason and volunteers filling backpacks with school supplies, 2015

In 2017, the Warroad Community Church purchased the old Zion Lutheran building on Virginia Avenue. They initially wanted to add onto their original building, constructed by the Give Glory church, but the steep price of construction proved too much for the small church. The building on Virginia Avenue was nearly three times that of the current WCC building, meaning they would have plenty of room for growth. Throughout the summer, members of the WCC moved furniture, repainted, remodeled, and prepared the church for their arrival. 

We couldn't help but compare the arrival of furniture in 1988 to moving day in 2017:

Give Glory move-in, 1988

Warroad Community Church move-out, 2017

In 2018, the WCC joined approximately 500 other churches across the country in hosting an event known as Night to Shine. Sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation, Night to Shine was a prom-like celebration for individuals with special needs. For men and women ages 14 and up, Night to Shine allows them to dress up, meet a loving community, and dance the night away! Sara Jeanne Thompson was one of the initial sponsors of the event when Pastor Booth first brought it to the attention of the church. Jenna Olson took on the task of organizing the event, getting donations for prom dresses, suits, hair, makeup, etc., arranging a limo to bring guests to the venue, and professional photographers to capture the night. The event would be repeated in 2019, though it was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19. 

Jenna Olson with dresses for the event

In September 2020, Pastor Robeck announced via a Facebook video that he and his family would be leaving the church. He said that he would be using however long he needed to "focus my time and effort and prayer to searching for what the Lord has for us next," (via Facebook 09/13/2020).

The WCC in 2021 continues to provide community events, bible studies, counseling services, family gatherings, and much more. The church shows no signs of shrinking, and it will likely be around for many years to come! For more information on the WCC, please visit warroadcommunitychurch.org.

*Very little information about the Pinecrest Christian School or the later New Covenant Christian School is available at the museum. If you or someone you know has any information, please contact the Warroad Heritage Center or leave a comment down below.

Thank you to the Warroad Community Church for making the church's early history available to us. Pictures from this post were taken from the WCC Facebook page and website, or the Give Glory history book.

~ Erin Thompson, museum manager