Our Story
In June of 1992 a storm swept through Cokato, stripping trees of their leaves, vehicles of their windows, and buildings of their walls and/or roofs – Good Shepherd was a total loss. A building committee was already formed due to the fact we were starting to outgrow our current facility. The committee changed gears from adding on to possibly moving to a different location.
The stained glass windows in the former Baptist church had been donated by railroad tycoon James J Hill. The story passed on through the generations claimed that due to the size of the windows and the old church's proximity to the railroad tracks, anytime a train traveled through town the windows would break. After the church replaced the windows many times, Hill made a donation to have stained glass installed. The windows didn’t break until the 1992 storm. Most of the stained glass in the current sanctuary windows is from the old church windows, with new glass added to make up for what was too small to reuse.
We are a church family that unapologetically believes the Scripture (2 Tim. 3:14-18), that God is holy and we are sinful (Rom. 3:20-26), but God's love is so great that He adopts us in Christ to be a part of His family (Gal. 3:24-30).
Our ministries include small Bible study groups, help support the Pregnancy Resource Center in St. Cloud, donate to the local food bank in Cokato, and volunteer to deliver Meals on Wheels in the Cokato area, just to name a few ministries. Along with volunteer work there are a number of missionaries we help support.
Our Staff
Pastor Mark Olson is our current pastor. Pastor Mark also leads the youth group and directs the church choir (when they can meet). Monica Berg staffs our office a few days a week, and Christina Lundeen is the Sunday School superintendent.