Arise Church began as a dream by two people who didn’t really know how to even begin. They just knew that this was something that God was calling them to do. So they were going to follow Him and do it. The dream of reaching folks with the Good News of Jesus in our own communities or backyards was the goal. Dave & Juli Christensen were sent out from Rock Hill Community Church in Duluth to plant Arise church. The plan was to plant a church in Esko, but until a permanent location could be found, Pastor Dave held services at his own house. If you knew the size of his house you’d understand, not cramped at all. In God’s providence, He moved, and things began to happen for this small church plant. The result of some dreaming is Arise Church.

On May 2nd, 2011 Arise officially launched our first public worship services. We began with a handful of adults and about just as many kids. At that time, God opened many relational doors and closed some doors in terms of potential buildings to be met at. Because of this, we had the opportunity to move into the Old Chief Theater right in Cloquet and we began holding our worship gatherings there around September 2012. There was a lot of work that went into this new space for Arise: new floor, painting, building, and clearing out of the old stuff, but it was a great place to meet. This is how Arise started.

Now, we are missing a lot of stories, hurts, triumphs, falls, and victories. Yet this quote from the original planters says it best. This was written right before Arise moved into the Old Chief Theater. “In the end, I am once again amazed at the road God has led us down with Arise. It has not been an easy path. There are many roadblocks, struggles, and problems, but in the end, He has always proved faithful, and things have turned out to be for our good. We are super excited about the things God is doing in the Cloquet/Esko area and can't wait to see who He brings to be a part of the ARISE family. We consider it a huge privilege to get to be on this journey. To Him be the Glory!”

In the summer of 2016, Arise went through a replanting phase. Many folks around this time were being called elsewhere, like our Planting Pastor (Dave Christensen) being called to move to San Diego. Shortly after, Arise voted Pastor Andrew to continue the mission of Arise to Love God, Serve People, Together. God has been incredibly faithful to Arise Church through all the changes we’ve experienced.

We have grown from an average of 10 adults to now over 100 people that gather each Sunday to worship Jesus together. Even though our location has changed a couple times, and pruning seasons happened. Our dream remains alive to be faithful to God’s Word While we celebrate the past and what God has done, we continually dream new dreams about what God will continue to do. We dream about seeing people baptized, people maturing in their walk with the Lord, leaders being developed, and new churches being started.

What does this mean for you? Most importantly, you're always welcome at Arise Church. We're saving a seat for you. Wherever you're at in your faith, you'll always be welcome as part of the Arise family as we all walk together in obedience to Christ.

Beyond that, if you're ready to plan your first visit,
if you want to learn more about our beliefs as a church, our leadership, or if you'd simply like to get in touch with a person on our lead team directly, click the corresponding button below.

We are holding one service at 9:00 AM for the summer months.