About Us

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The Swedeburg Covenant Church in Wahoo, Nebraska was founded in 1876 by a group of Swedish immigrants who settled in the area. These early settlers were looking for a sense of community and wanted to establish a place to worship together.

The church started out as a small congregation, meeting in homes and eventually building a small wooden church in 1887. As the years passed, the church grew and became an important part of the community, serving not only as a place of worship but also as a social and cultural hub for Swedes in the area.

Over the years, the church underwent many changes, including moving from services in Swedish to English and constructing a new church building in 1912 prompted by a fire that destroyed their original building and a name change from the Fredheim Swedish Lutheran Church to the Fredheim Mission Covenant Church of Swedeburg and eventually Swedeburg Evangelical Covenant Church.  They became a member of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) denomination in the early 1900s. These changes and being a community of faith that desired to love their neighbors well and share the Good News of Jesus brought new opportunities for outreach and growth.

One of the best features of the Swedeburg Covenant Church is its beautiful stained-glass windows illuminating the sanctuary on the north and south side of the building. 

During the early 1900’s, the Swedeburg Covenant Church was a central institution for the Swedish immigrant community in Wahoo, providing support and resources for new arrivals and their families. In later years, the church adapted to changing times and demographics, welcoming new members from different backgrounds and expanding its outreach efforts. 

Today, the Swedeburg Covenant Church continues serving the communities of Swedeburg, Ceresco, Wahoo, and beyond, as a reminder of the lasting impact of faith in God and perseverance to serve Him in east central Nebraska. Swedeburg Covenant Church is in a season of growth, having survived a lengthy pastoral transition midway through the Covid pandemic. 

We believe that the best expression of faith is lived in community! 

No matter your story, or where you are from, you belong here!

Swedeburg Covenant Church is a part of the Evangelical Covenant Church where the vision is to join in God’s mission to see more disciples among more populations in a more caring and just world. 

The Evangelical Covenant Church is a rapidly growing multi-ethnic denomination in the United States and Canada with ministries on five continents of the world. Founded in 1885 by Swedish immigrants, the Evangelical Covenant Church values the Bible as the Word of God, the gift of God’s grace, an ever-deepening spiritual life that comes through a faith in Jesus Christ, the importance of extending God’s love and compassion to a hurting world, and the strength that comes from unity within diversity.  

The Evangelical Covenant Church is:

• Evangelical, but not exclusive
• Biblical, but not doctrinaire
• Traditional, but not rigid
• Congregational, but not independent  

What we believe can be summed up in our six affirmations:

• We affirm the centrality of the word of God.
• We affirm the necessity of the new birth.
• We affirm a commitment to the whole mission of the church.
• We affirm the church as a fellowship of believers.
• We affirm a conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit.
• We affirm the reality of freedom in Christ.

We belong to the Midwest Conference which consists of 94 churches and fellowship groups, a growing movement of God’s Covenant people that spans Western Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming.