Our History

Before Abraham Lincoln was elected president and before Minnesota was a state, the church started near Waconia with a small group of Swedish settlers who met in Andrew Peterson’s little log home to study the Bible and encourage one another. For the first baptism of the Scandia Baptist Church in February 1856, they cut a hole in the lake ice to make the ceremony possible.

The church’s first building (a 20-by 26-foot log structure) was constructed in 1857. It was remodeled in 1875 and hit by a tornado in 1904. Because of its historical significance to the denomination Converge North Central of Converge Worldwide, the building was moved in 1973 to Arden Hills, where it now stands on a hillside overlooking the campus of Bethel Seminary. It’s known as the Scandia Chapel and was restored in 1983 as much as possible to its original state.

In 1973 a new little white church building was constructed on the northeast corner of Highway 5 and Laketown Parkway (CR 30) and the church was renamed Waconia Baptist Church. The church met for worship there until 1999, when it took a break in an effort to restart. When it restarted on Easter of 2000, the name changed from Waconia Baptist Church to Oakwood Community Church. Worship services moved to the auditorium of the Waconia High School, and the building at Highway 5 and County Road 30 became the Oakwood Ministry Center.

In the fall of 2015, Oakwood completed a 17,500 square foot facility on 12.8 acres. The current facility seats 297 people for worship with 7 classrooms for kids ministry. This building was made for one purpose, to facilitate glorifying Christ through lives changed by the power Holy Spirit.

God’s goodness and faithfulness to the work of the Gospel in Waconia over the last 150+ years has been amazing to witness. We can’t wait to see what He plans to do here and how he will use this body of believers!