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The Friedensberg Bible Church was established in 1874, making this the 150th year that the church has been spreading the word of God and Jesus’ teachings. What began as a Mennonite Church and named Friedensberg Mennonite Church of Avon finally became an independent bible church in 2010. With a new denomination, came the new name of Friedensberg Bible Church. The last official membership count was 85 members. Most Sundays there are between 30 and 40 people that attend the small, serene country church. Being a part of a small rural church is something that Friedensberg Bible Church goers enjoy the most. It is the family-like atmosphere that keeps people coming back and continuing to attend through generations of families. The original settlers of the area were from Russia and came to American seeking refuge after being persecuted in Europe. Interestingly the Bon Homme colony which is the original colony to settle in the area and the Mennonite church settled and began in the same year of 1874. The church’s name Friedensberg is a German word with a two-fold meaning of “Frieden” the meaning peace and “Berg” meaning a fortress or bulwark. Thus, Friedensberg translates to mean “A Fortress or Bulwark of Peace”. The foundation for the church really began in Russia under the leadership of Bishop Tobias Unruh who was the presiding Elder over congregations in Russia. The bishop took a crucial interest in the needs and welfare of the people of the congregation, solicited help for those that were leaving Russia and those that had already gone to America. Bishop Unruh came to America with the third group that left Russia to escape persecution. Church was important to the Mennonites and even as they were settling themselves into the area purchasing their homesteads for $200 for 160 homesteading acres, the need for a house of worship became a community undertaking. An oxen and plow were sold, and it was unanimously adopted that the money from this sale be used to build a church. The site that the original and present church was built on was offered by Reverend Ewert at the Section of 4-93-61. The first church was built out of logs and was approximately the size of 28 x 40 feet. On September 5, 1878, an official dedication of the building was officiated by Reverent S.F. Sprunger of Berne, IN. One interesting and unique fact about the Friedensberg Bible Church is that it was the first Mennonite Church in the Dakota Territory and it was the first with a church building, even before the Mennonites of Freeman. The church was such an important part of the community that already in 1898, there was a need for a larger church building to accommodate more people. The original log church was dismantled, but the logs from the original were salvaged and cut down to be used in the building of the new church. The new church was finished in 1899. Again in 1939, the church felt a need for additional space, a basement, and an entry were added to the Friedensberg Bible Church. In 1893 there was a division amongst the people of the church with differing viewpoints on the lack of emphasis on conversion, verbal testimony of salvation, audible prayer, discipline in appearance and Christian conduct being the main reasons for the division. It became such an issue within the church that that same year, approximately 95 adults and children of the congregation left the church, reorganized and built a church a half a mile down the road from the Friedensberg church. This church became known and the Sharon Church. It was said that the churches were so close together that on any Sunday if the windows of both churches were open, they could hear each other’s congregations singing. After approximately five years, the Sharon Church was unfortunately completely destroyed by a tornado and the remaining members of the Sharon Church decided to rejoin the Friedensberg Bible Church. Over the years the church has held many activities including the Women’s Mission Society, the Mennonite Young People Christian Endeavor Society, an orchestra, musical quartets, a men’s chorus, and a youth fellowship. Some of the more current activities that the Friedensberg Bible Church does are the men’s breakfast that is held every third Thursday at the Avon Locker, the Avon all community Vacation Bible School and the Harvest River Service which is a full immersion baptism in the river followed by a potluck that the church holds annually. The current pastor of the Friedensberg Church is Pastor Aaron Rush. Aaron has been the pastor at the church for the past two years. After graduating from Garretson in 1998, he attended Dakota State University majoring in Electronic Commerce and Information Systems. During his college years, Aaron felt a pull towards ministry. After graduating from DSU, he moved to Sioux Falls to attend the North American Baptist Seminary and received his Master’s Degree in Divinity. He accepted a position serving the Danzig Baptist Church in rural Avon in 2007 and in September 2022 began serving both the Danzig Church and the Friedensberg Bible Church. Aaron enjoys pastoring in small churches because of the family like atmosphere and families with generations of members. That goes hand in hand with the challenge of new people breaking into that family circle when they want to join a small family like church like Friedensberg. The church has a Deacon’s Board that oversees and makes decisions on behalf of the church members. Dan Knoll is the chairman; Ron Ratzlaff is the secretary; the treasurer is Ken Eben and the final member of the board is Pastor Aaron. The Deacon Board may be called upon to help make church decisions, but really it is a collaborative effort where everyone works together for the betterment of the church and its congregation. Leonard Ratzlaff is the oldest living member of the Friedensberg Bible Church at the age of 94. He was born in the community and became a part of the church as many of the members did because they were born into it and continued the family tradition of membership. His greatest memories of the Friedensberg Bible Church were the Christmas Eve programs and how beautiful the church decorations were including an arch made out of pine branches, candles and a sack of goodies given out full of peanuts and fruit after the program. For Leonard, growing up in the church and being a part of the church were different than it is today. The church when he was a child was the social hub of the community. The church was where social gatherings happened, people visited there were huge church picnics during the summer and even the 4th of July was celebrated together at the church. Leonard is currently living in Lincoln, NE, but is very excited about the upcoming 150th celebration, planning to attend. For church member, Ron Ratzlaff, who has been a member of the church for the past 76 years and whose family is a part of the church’s long history, one of his greatest memories of the church were the weekly Wednesday night youth bible studies. Being such a long-time member, he has seen the ups and downs when there was fear of having to close the church, but somehow, they always seemed to weather the storm and keep the congregation together. For member Lisa Knoll, who has been a member for over 40 years, her greatest memories of the church were vacation bible schools. She loved worshiping with music and seeing the families come together to help one another. Daniel Knoll a 40 year church member, says that the love and kindness of the people of the church are what has kept him a member of the church all these years. The goal of the Friedensberg Bible Church is to honor the past while moving forward into the future. One of the important aspects of ministry to the Friedensberg Bible Church is mission work. The church has been supporting missions since 1932. For the congregation it is important that they support various missionary services and people who engage in various forms of missionary work. Some of the different missionary ministries that they currently support are radio ministries, satellite ministries, street ministry, etc. The Friedensberg Bible Church plans to celebrate their 150th anniversary with a church service in the morning, followed by a potluck and an afternoon filled with fellowship and memories of the church on Sunday, August 11th. The details of the day are still being worked out, but there will be a celebration. Not only is it a day to celebrate such a long standing organization, but the congregation sees it as a day to celebrate God’s faithfulness. As with any church the future is unknown, but Pastor Aaron summed it up best when he said, “So whether the church lasts another 150 years or not we want to remain faithful to Jesus Christ, the one who called these people to gather together 150 years ago, to those who are faithful now, and remain faithful to Jesus to the end, whenever that may be!” Congratulations to the Friedensberg Bible Church on your 150th anniversary. You hold a special place in the rich history and story of Avon and we hope to see the church thrive for many years to come.