Praise in the Park
Inscription
Settlers arriving in the Oakwood area in the late 1870s desired a place to worship and hold prayer meetings. Lake Oakwood proved to be an ideal location for baptisms and to pitch a tent to shelter worshippers from the weather. As time and finances permitted, churches were built in the area, and services at the lake were discontinued.
The Preston Christian Church (three miles north) led by Pastor A.R. Larson and the Stone, Loomis, Fish, Overocker, Cotton, Appel, Goodfellow, Kinney, Shalley, Bonhoff, and James families, dedicated the first building debt-free in November, 1914 (Cost $1,900). The church has held regular Sunday worship services since 1939.
The congregation, fulfilling an outreach ministry, began holding ‘Praise in the Park’ Sunday services in 1992. Services are held at Oakwood Lakes State Park every Sunday from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Erected in 2008 in fond memory of Frank E. Goodfellow (1921-2007) a lifetime member who lived ‘just up the road,’ by the Lee and Karen Larsen Family Foundation.
Location
Sources
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