Epiphany Station began on July 16, 2006, in the dining room of Kevin and Carol Brown's home in Thief River Falls, MN, with a gathering of 20 people, drawn together by a passion for the church to be relevant to this and future generations and the failure of the tradition-bound church's willingness to set aside personal preferences for the sake of the kingdom. Starting with this core group of fallible human beings with little logical qualification for embarking on such a journey, they had little to lose in at least trying something different in their community.
Inspired by the effectiveness of "The Way", the worship band put together and mentored by Ben Kosharek, the church caught a glimpse of how connecting the truth with the culture might be possible. From there, we began with a simple goal of holding weekly Sunday evening worship services and a once-a-month outreach event, featuring "The Way".
After just eight weeks of meeting in our home, God provided a space for us to rent in downtown Thief River Falls. So on September 10, 2006, our home base officially became 115 3rd Street East, in the space that was formerly Scandia House and This & That. Our first worship service in our new digs included (for us) a record crowd of 36 people.
But our downtown location was short-lived as we faced issues with the space in bringing it "up to code" because of a "change of use" classification with the property. In the end, the expense to provide a fire-barrier ceiling in the facility was prohibitive for where we were at in the early stages of our development. So we opted to move on and have since been renting the Heritage Center on Sunday evenings for our weekly worship service.
Since taking up there each week, we've expanded our worship team to include more instruments and musicians since when we first met in our home. We've also gotten on a regular routine with John Kelley unpacking the word each week as our preacher. Attendance has been as high as the mid 40s with a consistent appearance of newcomers virtually every week. That's our goal.
As we continued to build a bit of a financial nest-egg while operating each week from the Heritage Center, we kept our eyes and ears open for possible long-term facilities we could call home base. In the summer of 2007 we engaged in a purchase agreement for a property in the heart of the city.
On October 25, 2007, we met with a Recognition Council of the Minnesota Baptist Conference regarding Epiphany Station becoming formally affiliated with the MBC and the Baptist General Conference. We received unanimous approval and encouragement from the council, which included two previous pastors - Ron Gullman and Dave Widerski - who planted the seed, mentored and discipled many of us toward the inspiration that has become Epiphany Station.
On October 16, 2007, we received approval from the City Council for a "conditional use permit" to operate out of the former Roger's Conoco Gas Station in downtown Thief River Falls.
Epiphany Station was formally recognized as an MBC/BGC church during the Minnesota Baptist Conference Annual Get-Together at the Duluth Entertainment Center on October 26, 2007.
On November 1, 2007, we began renting the "Station" at 403 Main Ave. North as the seller waits for a letter from the state regarding an environmental status of the property. Once that meets the approval of our finance company, we will be ready to close on the formal purchase of the property.
Sunday, November 4, 2007, was our final Sunday at the Heritage Center, which was a suitable home for us for the past year or so. Sunday, November 11, 2007, marked our first Sunday at the "Station." We are excited to have a "home base" from which to operate.
It's a modest starting place, with a lot of work ahead, but we like the long-range potential it offers for ministry. It provides enough room for a fellowship area and a 30' x 60' space for worship, events and concerts. In all, there is about 3,400 square feet of space. It needs work, but it certainly has the "station" motif!
Our beginnings have been humble, but for us it is home. Our first Sunday Evening in our new digs drew a record crowd of 50+? (for us). While the renovation of our own facility moves forward, our focus remains simple: Love God. Love People. Period. We really aren't clever enough to do much more than that.
In the Spring of 2008, we initiated a strategy to bring Epiphany Station to "the next level." That strategy included proactively seeking ministry partnerships with other churches and organizations and calling a full-time Lead Pastor to guide us in the next chapter.
Our prayerful search for the right person led us to calling Jeff Gauss to be our Lead Pastor. Jeff and Heidi, along with their three boys -- Justus, Tranquill and Noble -- purchased a home in Thief River and moved up North. Jeff officially started as our pastor on July 7, 2008.
Future paragraphs in the history of Epiphany Station are being written each week. If you are interested in an alternative church experience, come and check it out some Sunday evening!
Updated 7/7/08