Our History

Who is Crane Community Chapel?

A BRIEF HISTORY

The Early Years

The vision for a Union Sunday School in the Crane Addition of northeast Austin was born to John G. Hormel. It was his desire to establish a place of worship to reach the children of this area, where the gospel would be clearly presented, and where those who found peace in Christ could be joined together in Christian fellowship. In 1933 he purchased a building at 1101 12th Avenue NE, which is one block north of the present site, to begin the work.

In 1935, a circuit-riding Methodist preacher from South Dakota, Rev. Joe Matt, Sr. and his wife, Amanda, were invited to assume this new place of ministry. The Gospel Mission of Austin was its given name in the beginning. It all started as a Sunday School on July 21, 1935. When the original building was outgrown, it was sold and the first of five units was built at 1111 9th Street NE. It was 1936 when a 20 X 36 foot, one-room chapel was constructed with a small living quarters attached to the back for the Matts. This area also served as a Sunday School classroom for the Primary Department. The people who attended sat on 12-inch planks, surrounded by blue rosin paper on the walls, to hear the message from God's Word. A coal heater warmed the chapel. They would conduct Sunday and Wednesday evening services in the people's homes. There were special healing services and days set aside for prayer and fasting. The name was changed to The Gospel Tabernacle in that time frame. By 1945 the average Sunday School attendance had grown to 45. Three rooms were added at a total cost of $375 to provide for more classroom space. The chapel's interior was improved with paneling and 90 theater seats to replace the planks.

Time of Development

In the summer of 1945, after investing ten years of their lives to the work in Austin, Rev. Joe Matt, Sr. and his wife moved to Minneapolis to assume work at a Street Mission on Hennepin Avenue. Their son, Joe Matt, Jr. and his new bride, Della, assumed the leadership of the chapel without pay. He had graduated from Austin Junior College with a degree in accounting and was employed in the transportation department at Hormel. After completing a correspondence ministerial training course with the Wesleyan Methodist Church, Pastor Joe was ordained in 1951. That was also the year of another building addition that included a completed basement for more classrooms, kitchen, restrooms, and a soundproof nursery. This was the second major building project.

Organization

On July 18, 1950, the chapel that had its meager beginnings as a Sunday School mission became an organized church by being incorporated as Crane Addition Community Chapel under the State Laws of Minnesota. The 12 charter members were Rev. and Mrs. Joe Matt, Sr., Rev. and Mrs. Joe Matt, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Frank Burdick, Mr. and Mrs. Earl Lennberg, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Dunham, and Mr. and Mrs. George Walterman. The following Statement of Purpose is found in the constitution, Article IV: "The purpose of Crane Chapel shall be to fellowship and build up believers in their most holy faith as set forth in the Old and New Testament Scriptures, to win the lost and erring to Christ, to bring up our children in the teachings of the Word of God and spread the knowledge of full salvation at home and abroad." Article II sets forth the rationale for remaining a nondenominational church while maintaining a working relationship with The Wesleyan Church. Paragraphs one and two read as follows:

"It is important to endeavor to preserve and protect the intentions(s) of Rev. Joe H. Matt, Jr., charter pastor (1950); Mr. John Hormel, the founding layman (1935); Rev. Joe H. Matt, Sr., the founding pastor (1935); his wife Amanda Matt, and the charter members (1950).

Crane Chapel chose in the early stages of its history to affiliate its membership with the Iowa/Minnesota District of The Wesleyan Church, Inc. While this affiliation is meant to be a working relationship with the Iowa/Minnesota District of The Wesleyan Church, Inc., John Hormel had the vision and verbal request that Crane Chapel not be absorbed by any denomination. His wish was that it remain as a nondenominational work, a church where people of all faiths could come and worship under the umbrella of evangelical Christian beliefs. However, Crane Chapel desires the protection in doctrine and other direction provided by the Iowa/Minnesota District of The Wesleyan Church, Inc."

Time of Expansion

The first sign of indebtedness appears in 1953 when a ten-year mortgage was secured to purchase two pieces of property adjacent to the church. In 1955 the first phase for an addition to the sanctuary was completed which included more classroom space. It was also the year that the ministries of the The Family Hour Telecast and Dial-a-Meditation began. Four more pieces of property were purchased by 1959 with a total indebtedness of $18,200. However, the building fund had grown to $29,000 and the church had received a fair number of shares in Hormel stock throughout these years that were sold at opportune times. By 1960 the second phase for the building addition was completed. The new sanctuary provided seating for 325 people, along with a choir loft, and a nursery. This third major building project also included a new kitchen in the lower level.

During the 60's the church's various ministries, such as the men and women's auxiliaries and the youth group, became well established. Individuals like David Thompson, Mike Fullingham, and Dave Matt returned to the church and served brief tenures as assistant pastors. By 1968 the attendance had grown so that it was necessary to provide two morning worship services. In October of that year, Karen Setterberg began her 12-year tenure as the children's pastor. Much of the focal point included involvement in world missions, Christian concerts, evangelistic films, and special meetings with guest speakers, attending summer youth camps, and many outreach activities. A church bus was purchased and used for many of these outings.

In 1974 a $30,000 mortgage was secured to add another 2800 square feet to the facilities. This addition provided a spacious foyer, toddler room for supervised nursery, mother's room for use by parents with infants, restrooms to accommodate the handicapped, a pastor's office, library, prayer room, and a youth chapel. It was the fourth major building project in the church's history. The continued growth through the 60's, 70's, and 80's coincided with the population of Austin and the surrounding area. It proved to provide a momentum for expanding the church's ministry. Rev. Dave Matt came on staff as the associate pastor in 1985. It was during his tenure that the church celebrated its fifth and sixth decades of faithful ministry and made preparation for the future. Gary Froiland served a 15-year tenure as the children's pastor until 1998.

On October 6, 1991 a groundbreaking ceremony initiated the fifth major building campaign. The new structure was added on to the west side of the building and provided a 3500 square foot sanctuary and a youth center on the lower level. The existing facility was renovated to accommodate a 1000 square foot foyer, a large meeting room, and office space. $90,000 was borrowed in March of 1992 in anticipation of a sizeable gift from the estate of Dr. and Mrs. Cronwell. The new facility was dedicated to the Lord on August 22, 1993 as the "Cronwell Memorial Chapel and Youth Center."