We are happy to celebrate one of our network churches as they reach a milestone that is among a first for a local immigrant congregation.

Ebenezer Community Church will be the first predominantly Liberian immigrant congregation from Africa to build a building in the U.S. The $2.8 million building project is nearing completion, and the congregation plans to move into its new home in Brooklyn Park at the end of May.

“I am excited that Ebenezer Community Church has been able to reach this milestone of building their own church building. This is a remarkable accomplishment for them and for the entire Liberian Christian community. May God bless this ministry,” said Carl Nelson, president of Transform Minnesota.

It’s been a long time coming for this growing Liberian congregation; Reverend Francis Tabla and Sister Christine Tabla founded Ebenezer Community Church in Minnesota in 2000, after finding out the need was great for the 20,000 Liberian immigrants living in Minnesota.

A preliminary survey found that all of these Liberians in Minnesota were somehow victimized by the terrible civil war in Liberia, which claimed almost 300,000 lives and devastated the land in all respects. They also learned that some of these Liberian immigrants continued to live with the trauma of having seen their loved ones brutalized, killed, or sexually molested in their presence. And that most of them lost contact with surviving family members and that most of them had not professed faith in Jesus Christ.

The land in Brooklyn Park was purchased more than 10 years ago, and the $2.8 million building project is finally nearing completion. The community is still seeking donations to buy chairs for the worship space.

The church is moving in on Sunday May 22, and they are hosting a formal dedication at 3 pm at their Brooklyn Park location. All are invited to celebrate with Ebenezer, as the first predominantly Liberian immigrant church in America.