1909-Present
Judson Memorial Baptist Church
Minneapolis, Minnesota MN
Pastor G. Travis Norvell succinctly summarizes the history of Judson Memorial Baptist Church in his rollicking book by Judson Press entitled Church on the Move:
Originally Judson Church was an expression of movement, a mission/chapel founded by Calvary Baptist in 1909 on what was then prairie with undeveloped lots, dirt roads, and a trolley line. In 1909 there were only two churches in the neighborhood: Incarnation Roman Catholic Church and Judson Memorial Baptist Church. That’s right, the Baptist and the Catholics predated the Lutherans to south Minneapolis. The church quickly grew to 500, peaked at 1,200 in the 1940’s and early ‘50’s, then began its gradual decline to today’s membership of 225…[1] In 1914 when the cornerstone for Judson Church was laid, it was remarked that the church’s leading characteristics were “freedom of thought, democratic brotherliness, and high spiritual purpose.” Those characteristics still guide the church today, along with our three core values: creative, relational, and inclusive.[2]
An interesting sidebar to this story concerns the architect who drew the plans and led the construction of Judson Memorial Baptist Church. Harry Wild Jones was born in Schoolcraft, MI, June 9, 1859, the son of a Baptist missionary/pastor who was born in Bangkok, Thailand. Harry Wild Jones is credited with introducing Shingle Style architectural design to the midwest. His career was focused in Minneapolis where he was an active member of Calvary Baptist Church. “The Jones family gathered each Sunday morning at the Nicollet Avenue streetcar stop near their home in Washburn Park for the short trip to Calvary Baptist Church. Their presence could be counted on.”[3]
In 1907 Harry Wild Jones suffered a near fatal automobile accident which left him in a coma for 10 weeks. To regain his strength, he took a four-month world cruise where he visited his cousins who were missionaries in Burma. “We steamed up the river and soon came in sight of the jetty where we spied Harry Marshall and Emma, our cousins, and Anna Gooch, and Uncle Dan all waving their hats, hands and kerchiefs to us. We speedily were ashore where we found ourselves once more after two months, in the arms of those next to our children our dearest ones.”[4]
Upon returning to Minneapolis, Jones assisted Calvary Baptist Church to start their new mission on the corner of 38th Street and Harriett Avenue in the growing south section of town. Jones is credited with designing and then naming this first building Judson Chapel. He then designed the award winning 1915 building for the new church complex still in use today three blocks south of the original Judson Chapel at 41st Street and Harriett Avenue. In appreciation for his professional services, Harry Wild Jones was allowed to name his new church home Judson Memorial Baptist Church in honor of his father’s ministry as a missionary and his personal recovery trip to Burma.
+++++++++++++++
[1] G. Travis Norvell, Church on the Move: A Practical Guide for Ministry in the Community (Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 2022), p. 8.
[2] Ibid., p. 9.
[3] Elizabeth A. Vandam, Harry Wild Jones: American Architect (Minneapolis, MN: Nodin Press, 2008), p. 71.
[4] Ibid., p. 118.