Beginning – Minnehaha Avenue Wesleyan Methodist Church

By 1959 several individuals had moved to the unincorporated and rural Oakdale area and felt moved to grow a church congregation of the holiness tradition in this community. Denominational leaders asked why they desired to plant a church in the middle of nowhere. The answer looked at the present and toward the future. Farmers need Jesus’ salvation too, and this area would not be “in the middle of nowhere” forever. With that passion in mind, the Minnehaha Avenue Wesleyan Methodist Church began meeting at at Beaver Lake Elementary School. In early 1960, a member of the church found a large tract of land on Minnehaha Ave. and began seeking the purchase of the land. A farmer who owned the land saw the many developments of the community and was glad to sell the parcel to a church rather than a business. The church acquired several acres at its current location and began to build. The sanctuary was completed in 1961. At the same time, God began bringing more people into the church and the ministry began to grow.

Building – Oakdale Wesleyan Church

In 1968 both the community and church were expanding. Oakdale incorporated as a city in 1968. At some point Minnehaha Ave. became 10th St. N. in Washington County. In the same year the Wesleyan Methodist Church and Pilgrim Holiness Church denominations merged to become The Wesleyan Church. With all these changes, the time had come to build something new, and the church changed from Minnehaha Avenue Wesleyan Methodist Church to Oakdale Wesleyan Church. With the name change, instead of being identified by the street address, the church began to identify with and build deeper relationships in the community. In 1975 a parsonage was built so the pastor could live in the community. In 1995 new classrooms and a nursery created space for children and adults to grow in their faith. In 2010 a paved parking lot improved community accessibility. While the purpose and mission of The Church remains timeless (loving God with all we are, loving others as we love ourselves, making and maturing followers of Jesus who live in his new life), as communities and culture changes, so must methodology and ministries.

Becoming – Heartwood Church

In 2019 the congregation began to embrace a vision beyond Oakdale. Surrounded by other “tree cities” such as Woodbury, Maplewood, and Cottage Grove the church explored what it means to bring Jesus’ life and strength to the east side of St. Paul as Heartwood Church. The Twin Cities east metro has grown into a place of cultural, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity where people feel disconnected from authentic community. Minnesota Nice leaves people lonely, but God builds a holy community of belonging, sharing, and loving. This is what Heartwood Church is becoming, not just for ourselves, but as a place for the whole community. We live in the East Metro and live as the kingdom of God realized.

• Belonging – Heartwood Church grows to look like our diverse community because the kingdom of God will be gathered from people of all the earth. (Revelation 7:9)
• Sharing – Heartwood Church shares our facility, resources, time, and influence to benefit the community, especially the disinherited, and we want to be a place where all can share their stories, and learn God’s story, as this is how those who inherit the kingdom of God live. (Matthew 25:31-46; Acts 2:42-47)
• Loving – Heartwood Church demonstrates our love for God through obedience and the loving of others in practical ways, for in doing those two commands we are near to the kingdom of God. (Mark 12:28-34)

In this way Heartwood Church lives out our tradition and future as Wesleyan Methodists.