Our History
The Rest of the Story
The Rest of the Story
Marie Sandvik was born in Norway and was influenced by the Haugan revival that took place in Norway. Hans Hauge believed in personal responsibility for salvation, and he was an advocate for the poor. Marie was influenced by both. Marie attended a Lutheran church near her home in Norway and gave her life to the Lord at 11 years of age. Marie arrived in the United States in 1943 but was disallusti0ned by the idea that money was easily made in America. After graduation she taught school in Stanley North Dakota. She also attended a seminary in Seattle, received her PhD by correspondence. She traveled the United States holding children’s crusades and went to Russia where she was imprisoned. She received welts on her back but never mentioned to anyone what happened. Marie Sandvik was a woman before her time and was not stopping the call of God on her life.
Marie Sandvik never saw herself as a person who would start a mission in an area of Minneapolis that needed it most. She did so because the Lord ask her to do it. It was 1940 and she rented Anglo’s Bar at Washington Nicollet for $45 dollars a month. In this old bar, Marie was able to get a piano, folding chairs and even had a man named Charle Brown who built her a preaching platform. That first night she held services she had about 200 people mostly drunk men and a handful of prostitutes. She did not preach hell fire and brimstone, she shared with them that she cared for them, and so did God. Charlie Brown who built the platform for Marie, was her first convert. Charlie who had been the editor of the Kansas City Star newspaper, when alcohol ruined his life. Through his connection with Marie, he accepted Christ and became a follower of Christ. She eventually recruited a piano player by the name of Mrs. Olson and now the Mission was beginning to take shape. At first Marie offered no physical support such as food and clothing, but in time help came from a nearby church, and she was able offer more to those who came into the Mission. Her motto back then was, “we come to the poor with the gospel in one hand and material help in the other.”
As I listen to the words of Marie Sandvik from decades ago, I am reminded not much has changed. Here is how Marie described her day: “There are hundreds walking around lower Nicollet Avenue who are dead, just as dead as they ever will be. They are dead to spiritual things, dead to the appeals of the Gospel, dead to the voice of the Holy Spirit, dead to the Gospel invitation. Dead to everything that is worthwhile in life.” Marie compared people’s refusal to take the Gospel into their lives to a hungry person being offered a sumptuous banquet yet turning away.
Not much has changed from those days in which Marie was speaking. Marie may have described what she saw, but she never gave up hope in reaching the marginalized with the message of Jesus. In time, the work was too much for this Norwegian immigrant, so she found a young college graduate named Doris Nye and invited her to join her. Doris was a singer and was interested in becoming a missionary to South America since she was fluent in Spanish, but God had other plans. Doris was gifted a scholarship to Wheaton College in Illinois, where she studied Christian education, theology, sociology, and psychology. One of her fellow students while at Wheaton was none other than Billy Graham. Doris recalls he was a bit disruptive in the class, and once had to ask him to be quiet, since he was always talking with his friends. One story that Doris told was about her pastor who was not happy about her working for Marie. He said, “Marie Sandvik is a nut, you don’t need to work for her.” Doris was stubborn and stayed with Marie and her vision until her death.
Marie and Doris worked as a team. They preached, taught, sang, visited the neighborhood homes, cleaned up the Mission and stoked the furnace with coal during the winter months. The women knew the uncertainty of those coming into the Mission. One night they may come forward for prayer, receive Christ, and the next day be back out on the street in a drunken stupor. Nothing deterred them from making the Gospel known. Today that tradition continues at the Center.
The original name of the Marie Sandvik Center was Minneapolis Revival Mission-the Church in the Gateway. The address was 121 Nicollet, and they were there from 1940-1960. They raised $9000 in 1948 to buy the building from a famous mobster Kid Kan who owned the building at that time. Doris and Marie continue to improve the property, it was always neat and clean, a value of both women felt was important for self-respect. One of Marie’s favorite passages was Matthew 25, where Jesus said what you do to others you have done it to Me. Marie said she never wanted to say to the Lord, I never saw them hungry, naked and needing help. So many of the stories told about the converts at the mission were people who accepted the Lord and died a few years later. The grace of God is always a miracle in the lives of people who society called bums, but Marie saw them as someone God loved and took time to rescue them with the message of the gospel. Marie and Doris would depend totally on the Lord for the money to come in to pay for the bills of the Mission, and God always came through. Marie often said, “there were times I felt like walking away, but I am too Norwegian for that.” Children were always on the hearts of Marie and Doris. During World War 2, they started a Bible Club for children, where they told Bible stories, sang songs, had games, crafts and puppet shows. That tradition of caring for children was ingrained early in the DNA of the Marie Sandvik Center, and it continues today. Kids Club has been one of the longest running programs at the Center. In 1952 Marie and Doris realized that most of the people coming into the Mission did not have medical care, so they teamed up with the Christian Medical Society, and once a week Doctors and nurses would come and provide medical help to those who needed care. The Marie Sandvik Center has a rich history of meeting the needs of those often forgotten by society. Today the Center still is carrying on the tradition of Marie and Doris as a place that brings hope, because all people are important to God.
The downtown area around the Mission were many people who lived by hand to mouth. Many of them were unemployed, too old to find work, and many of them were alcoholics. However, many of the clientele on the street were the volunteers at the Mission. In 1956, Marie was hospitalized with a bronchial virus and told by the Doctor she was not getting enough fresh air and sunshine. So, Marie and Doris bought a house together for $12,000 about 30 minutes away. The Minneapolis Revival Mission (former name) was growing and adding more programs to help those they served. In 1960 urban redevelopment threatened the building that housed the Mission. The Mission at that time had free meals, free lodging, a medical clinic, and gave away thousands of articles of clothing to the needy. Since urban development moved them off Nicollet Ave, Marie and Doris bought a new building on Nicollet Island, about three blocks from their old building the year was 1960. The new building had a 300-seat chapel, prayer rooms, kids area, kitchen, clinic space, clothing room, and 24 rooms for men on the second and third floors. Both Marie and Doris liked the new building, because they had more room to expand the ministry. They continued to offer a free meal after each service, and the attendees were able to go through the free clothing available to them.
Marie found out that many of the kids who would come to vacation Bible school came without breakfast, so Marie and company provided breakfast for all the kids. There are so many stories of people finding Christ and coming back to the mission later in life. One lady came in and told Marie she was a runaway when she first came to the Mission and Marie help her out. She eventually got her life straightened out, married a farmer and came back with a check to help with the Christmas meal and presents the Mission gave away during the holidays. One Christmas Marie recalls, that over 800 people came to the Mission to hear the message and receive both a Christmas meal and some presents. In 1968, they purchased the present building on Franklin Ave, giving them even more room to expand the ministry.
In the early part of the 1970’s Marie Sandvik relocated to the present location at 1112 East Franklin. Marie would say, “We are working in an angry area. Angry at the establishment, the church, God and His laws. Children use the vilest sex language. Teenagers steal purses, vandalism is constant, and alcohol is rampant among all, but what a mission field.” The new facility on Franklin Avenue was designed to minister to women and children. City officials were afraid if they served men, it would turn into another skid row. The center on Franklin saw amazing growth. Hordes of neglected children streamed in without adequate clothing in 20 below temperatures. Nightly services, mother’s meetings, children’s programs with free food and clothing blessed thousands during the cold winters. The building had a small basement, so the Center hired a contractor to enlarge the basement so they would have more storage for food and clothing. A big part of the Center’s ministry focused on children, and there were many testimonies how kids came to Christ, followed by the rest of the family. One little boy said, “I want Jesus in my heart. I am tired of being a bad boy.” One of the questions frequently asked by the children coming to the center was, “will we get something to eat?” As he gulped down his pancakes he said, “my dad was drunk and beat up my mom, I was so hungry. I was glad I could come to eat and hear about Jesus.” Marie would always say, “If there was no giving, or praying, there would be no going. Your prayers and gifts have kept us going.”
Marie Sandvik had such an enthusiasm for her job, even in her 80’s she was going strong at the Center. One of the unmistakable traits of the Center was the faithfulness of the supporters. Donors were consistently faithful to give to the Center to meet their financial needs. In 1983 the Center felt they should have a women’s shelter, so with money given to the Center from a will, they bought a duplex across from the Center for $80,000. They facility could house 10 women with along with a director. The women were required to attend two service per week, in exchange for their housing. Marie once said, “we couldn’t go to the foreign field, but the foreign field has come to us.” She went on to explain, “Hmong, Laotians, Vietnamese, blacks, Native Americans, poor whites, all coming to us. We come with the gospel in one hand, and food, clothing, quilts and baby clothing in the other.” Both Marie and Doris realized that many of the children came to the Center without breakfast, so they started “the Breakfast Club.” Many kids and families were impacted by the kindness of the Center’s staff in caring for their children. The building for many years had large plate glass windows, which were always the target of vandals and drunken men. The staff decided to remodel the front of the building to have smaller windows, which saved on the costs of all the repair of the plate glass windows, to also having a much warmer building. Doris had infinite patience with people. She believed that everyone should be treated with firm kindness. As Marie reached her upper 80’s she was no longer able to stand on her feet. She usually used a wheelchair or a walker to get around. Even though she was unable to get around as she was accustomed, she never missed coming to the Center. One day a well-dressed elderly woman walked into the Center and introduced herself. She said she had met Marie and Doris at the workhouse years earlier. She told them she was arrested for prostitution and drugs and was sent to the workhouse. It was there that Marie and Doris ministered to her about the love Jesus and that He loved her very much. When she got out of the workhouse, she attended the Center where she received the kind of encouragement and love she had been looking for. She said she was now a retired nurse, teaches Sunday School, and has a prayer group in her home. This is a typical testimony of how the Marie Sandvik Center helped those who came to the Center.
The Marie Sandvik Center has not changed its message; it is the same gospel message that Marie and Doris shared day in and day out, and people are still being helped.