This Week in AG History -- Dec. 20, 1959

Much of the early history of the Assemblies of God in Minnesota revolves around Frank Lindquist. He was a pioneer evangelist and church planter, as well as a pastor, district superintendent, and Bible college president who contributed greatly to the early ministries of Minneapolis Gospel Tabernacle and North Central Bible Institute.

Frank Joseph Lindquist (1898-1989) was born in McKeesport, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was raised in a predominantly Swedish community and attended the Evangelical Free Church, where his father was a deacon. His mother passed away when he was 3 years old, and for a time he lived in a foster home. His father remarried, and he was able to return home again.

When Lindquist was 15 years old, the Pentecostal message was brought by “a humble brother” to a lodge hall, and his family attended the services. His stepmother was touched by the messages and wanted more of God, but his father at first was opposed to the Pentecostal message.

Traveling evangelists such as Will and Frank Casley and Ben Hardin also influenced Lindquist in his formative years. The Casley brothers held a tent meeting in nearby Glassport when Lindquist was 16, and he was saved and baptized in the Spirit as a result. After Lindquist’s family and about 30 others were baptized in the Spirit, they were forced to leave the Evangelical Free Church. The families rented a hall and began conducting Pentecostal meetings.

As a youth, Lindquist worked in the steel mills of Pittsburgh just as his father did. He was later employed by Thomas Menzie in the dairy business. Young Frank won his employer to the Lord, and then the rest of the Menzie family was converted. Lindquist developed a close friendship with James Menzie, a younger brother of his employer, and the two of them joined Evangelist Ben Hardin in holding a tent meeting in Gary, Indiana, in 1920. Lindquist and Menzie drove to Gary with a Reo truck, hauling a tent, chairs, and other items for use in in the campaign.

After several weeks of meetings in Gary, Lindquist and Menzie set out for Minnesota in 1921. Hardin had told them that Minnesota was one of the neediest fields for the gospel, and they found this to be true. They held tent meetings in Staples, Brainerd, Pillager, Motley, Crosby, Ironton, and Casino, Minnesota. New works were started in each of these communities as a result of their evangelistic campaigns.

They endured some hardships. While holding services at Casino, someone threw acid on the tent to try to stop the meetings. The tent was ruined, but the converts refused to give up and said, “We’re gonna have a church.” There was a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit after that, and the people worked together to establish a church at Casino.

Lindquist and Menzie were holding meetings in Brainerd, Minnesota, when they helped to form the North Central District Council of the Assemblies of God in 1922. Both were ordained at that organizational meeting. At that time the district included the states of Minnesota, North and South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Later each of the other states separated to form their own districts, and in 1950 the North Central district was renamed the Minnesota district. Frank Lindquist served as North Central district superintendent for 22 years (1923-1945).

In 1924, Lindquist was asked to become the pastor of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Minneapolis. This church later was renamed Minneapolis Gospel Tabernacle, and is now Christ Church International. Lindquist pastored the church for 43 years, retiring in 1967. In February 1928, Frank Lindquist married Irene Gunhus, who was part of his congregation. She was a faithful wife and helpmate. They were married for 61 years.

In 1926, Lindquist began broadcasting on radio station WRHM and later on station WDGY in Minneapolis. Each Sunday morning, he could be heard preaching the Word. After they were married, the theme song the Lindquists used to sing on the radio was “With Him as Our Helmsman.” In later years, the church broadcast on KTIS at noon on Saturday. Beginning in 1963, the Sunday night services were broadcast on KNOF-FM. Another highlight of his ministry in Minneapolis was in 1926, when Evangelist Charles S. Price held services in the skating arena and hundreds were saved and baptized in the Spirit, and his church grew tremendously.

While serving as North Central district superintendent and pastor of the Minneapolis Gospel Tabernacle, Lindquist became the founding president of North Central Bible Institute (now North Central University), which began inside Lindquist’s church in 1930. He served as president for 31 years (1930-1961). For a number of years, Lindquist carried a triple responsibility as pastor, Bible college president, and district superintendent.

Frank Lindquist was a firm supporter of ministerial education, even though he himself never attended a Bible college; he had taken correspondence courses from Moody Bible Institute. Lindquist felt that education and practical experience went hand in hand. His philosophy was that, “. . . you’ve got to have more than a degree to go into the ministry. You’ve got to have an anointing. You’ve got to have a call of God. You must experience the anointing of the Holy Spirit in public, private, and family life.”

Because of his many years of service in pioneering churches, pastoring what was at that time the largest AG church in Minnesota, and serving as district superintendent and Bible college president, he influenced countless people. Frank Lindquist subscribed to the following motto, which he exemplified: “The test of a leader is not what he can do for himself, but what he can inspire other men to do.”

Read Frank Lindquist’s article, “God’s Wonderful Gifts,” on pages 3 and 29 of the Dec. 20, 1959, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “Christmas in Hong Kong,” by Lula Belle Hough

• “Christmas Cookies and a Cup of Tea,” by Margaret Carlow

• “Literature — Key to the Future,” by Maynard L. Ketcham

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.