A Corner on Crosstown That Has Been Gospel-Shaped Since 1880
Constance Free Church sits at 16150 Crosstown Boulevard NW in Andover, Minnesota, a single campus that has been at the heart of a small northern suburb for more than a century. Two Sunday morning services, a mid-week lineup for every age, a full disability ministry, and a global mission footprint of more than thirty-five partners all run out of this one address. The church is an active congregation of the Evangelical Free Church of America, and its purpose, in its own words, is to help people connect with Jesus.
The church's story began in 1880, when Mrs. Hegland began a Sunday School to meet the spiritual needs of children in the unincorporated community of Constance. In 1893, that group of Christians incorporated as the Free Church of God, later known as Constance Community Church. The original building, raised at a total cost of $175, sat west of what is now the Constance cemetery. In 1948 the building was moved to the southwest corner of Crosstown Boulevard and Constance Boulevard. A new basement followed in 1968, and the upper portion was added in 1981 through a gift from Mrs. Ruth Book Simonson Anderson, daughter of Reverend Magnus S. Book, one of the early ministers.
Significant growth came in the mid-1990s as Andover developed under the ministry of Pastor Randy Discher, paving the way for the current facility in 1995. An extended education wing was completed in 1999, and the worship auditorium and additional education space were added in 2004. Reverend Discher served as Senior Pastor for nearly forty years, from 1986 until November 2025, when he passed the leadership baton to Lead Pastor Travis Fox.
Sundays at Constance
Worship on Sunday morning comes in two shapes. In the Auditorium, the 9:00 and 10:45 services feature a contemporary service with a full band and teaching. Across the building, the Traditions service at 9:00 offers a more classic expression of worship for those who prefer a familiar liturgical flow.
Families with children can stop by the Connection Corner in the lobby, where a team will walk first-time guests to the right classrooms. Nursery through fifth grade programming is open for drop-in participation during both auditorium service times, and families can pre-register online to save time on arrival. Children's ministry staff emphasize safety: every volunteer is background checked and prevention trained, response team members keep watch over the kids' area, toys are cleaned regularly, and parents receive a matching sticker at check-in that they must show when picking up a child.
Adults who arrive early or stay after the second service can join Adult Bible Fellowship (ABF) at 10:45, a multi-generational Bible study community that meets weekly from September through May with no registration required. For those who cannot attend in person, every service is livestreamed online, and the full message archive is available afterward.
What Constance Believes
Constance Free Church holds to the Statement of Faith of the Evangelical Free Church of America. It teaches belief in one God, eternally existing as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who has spoken in the Old and New Testaments, which the church regards as the verbally inspired, error-free, and authoritative Word of God.
The congregation teaches that human beings, created in God's image and fallen into sin through Adam, are rescued only through the saving work of Jesus Christ, God incarnate, born of the virgin Mary, sinless in life, crucified under Pontius Pilate, raised bodily from the dead, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and serving as High Priest and Advocate. The Holy Spirit convicts, regenerates, indwells, illuminates, guides, equips, and empowers believers for Christ-like living. The true church is the community of all who have been justified by grace through faith, expressed in local churches whose membership is composed of believers.
Two ordinances are celebrated: baptism and the Lord's Supper. Constance practices believer's baptism by immersion as a public declaration of personal faith in Christ, and parent and child dedication is offered in place of infant baptism, with services held two to three times a year. The church looks for the personal, bodily return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and final judgment, with the believer destined for eternal blessedness with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth.
Rooted and the Life of Small Groups
The doorway into community at Constance is Rooted, a ten-week small group experience designed to connect people to God, the church, and their purpose. Groups of ten to fifteen people work through daily devotions, gather weekly for discussion and prayer, and participate in prayer and service experiences together. The cost is $20 per person with needs-based scholarships available, and free childcare is typically offered.
From Rooted, participants move into Small Groups of six to twelve people meeting weekly in homes, at the church, or in the community. Groups study scripture, pray, share life updates, and participate in a service experience at least once per semester. Community Groups gather twenty or more people around a shared life stage, and a wide range of Support Groups serves those walking through grief, addiction, divorce, or other difficult seasons. Childcare is available for groups meeting Sunday and Tuesday evenings at Constance. On Tuesday evenings, childcare is available for children two years old and under; children ages three through fifth grade are signed up for Kids Club.
Children and Students
Children's ministry at Constance is led by Jill Discher, Children's Ministries Director, with Leslie Clark as Early Childhood Coordinator. Nursery through fifth grade classes run during both Sunday morning services and on Tuesday evenings during the school year through Constance Kids Club, a mid-week program that combines Bible teaching, scripture memory, discipleship groups, team games, and meaningful relationships.
Middle school students meet for Ignite on Wednesdays from 7:00 to 8:45 PM. The gathering pairs active games, an engaging message, and small group time led by Middle School Ministries Pastor Josiah Gould and Coordinator Sarah Hammes. The fall retreat at Camp Shamineau, the Week of Devotionals, and the dedicated Disability Intake Form for students with special needs round out the year.
High school students gather for Elevate on Wednesdays from 7:00 to 9:00 PM under Student Ministries Pastor Dan Mattson. The night centers on worship, teaching, and small groups, with a rotating Creative Team of students who meet monthly to shape events. Retreats at Trout Lake Camps, the Village127 mom retreats, and cross-cultural mission trips round out the year. A separate HSM Instagram account and a text-update keyword keep students and parents in the loop.
Women, Men, and the Stages In Between
Women's ministry, coordinated by Julie Dreyer, gathers a wide range of ages around shared rhythms. Women's Connect meets on the second Saturday of each month from 9:30 to 11:00 AM, a multigenerational time of encouragement for ages sixteen and up. A ten-week study called The Bible Recap: Gospels meets on Sunday evenings, walking through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. MomCo gathers most first and third Thursdays for mothers; Bible Art Journaling Thursdays invite women aged ten and older; and RevFit, a faith-friendly Revelation Fitness class, meets Monday mornings. A small group Bible study on Wednesdays in the fall semester called Mom to Mom serves mothers of children with disabilities.
Men's ministry centers on small groups, an annual retreat at Camp Shamineau called Overhaul, and seasonal gatherings around the fire. Prime Time (Ages 60+) meets on Wednesdays at 10:00 AM throughout the school year for teaching, prayer, and fellowship, with the broader Ages 60+ ministry offering Care & Support for what life brings, linking to Care Ministries.
Young Adults, for those eighteen to twenty-six, gather Monday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 PM at the Fireside area on campus for worship, teaching, and small group discussion, with a new season typically beginning in the fall.
Care Ministries: Prayer, Counseling, and Crisis Support
The Care Ministries team, led by Pastor Matt Knapp with Beth Bristol as Care Ministries Associate and Rich Patrow as Senior Care Coordinator, exists to walk alongside people in difficult seasons. Prayer requests can be submitted online, and a staff and e-prayer team lifts needs weekly in real time. Following the example of James 5, elders are also available to pray for healing before or after worship services.
Stephen Ministry provides one-to-one caregiving, matching a same-gender caregiver with someone walking through grief, loss, divorce, hospitalization, or other crises. The Care Ministries team coordinates referrals to Christian counselors, premarital counseling and weddings, pastoral urgent care for those who would like to speak with a pastor, hospitalization support, ongoing visitation to those who are homebound or in recovery, financial counseling paired with a Benevolence Fund for one-time crisis help, and practical needs like meals, rides, and basic home support.
Support groups run on a rotating calendar: GriefShare offers a 13-week program, a one-night Loss of a Spouse event, and a summer group; DivorceCare runs a winter 13-week series on Tuesday evenings starting in January; the Men's Sexual Integrity Group meets on Zoom in partnership with Transparent Recovery; and Alcoholics Anonymous gathers on Monday evenings at Constance year-round. The Created for Connection marriage workshop weekend, led by licensed therapists, draws couples from across the church several times a year, and a Caregivers Lunch serves those caring for terminally ill relatives, aging parents, a spouse, or a child with a disability.
Constance's non-profit arm, Bridgelink, channels donations to local food shelves for those facing food insecurity in Anoka County. A community food resource calendar points neighbors to daily free meal sites across the county.
Disability Ministry and the Disrupters
Disability Ministry is woven throughout Constance's life, coordinated by Andrea Haglund. The team's vision is that people with disabilities and their families would experience care, find community, and contribute toward helping others connect with Jesus. A Family Intake Form opens the door to individualized support for kids, students, and adults.
Children with disabilities are welcomed in Constance Kids on Sunday mornings, with the option for parents to stay with their child or enjoy the worship service confident that staff will contact them if needed. Middle school and high school students can join the Wednesday night student ministries with the appropriate support in place. Disrupters, a ministry for adults with disabilities, typically meets on the second Sunday of the month to study God's word, serve their community, and share life together. Moms of Children with Disabilities meet on the first Thursday of each month for Bible study and shared support. Two sensory rooms are planned for the upcoming building expansion.
Village127, Prayer Partners, and Fostering & Adoption
Village127 is Constance's adoption and foster care ministry, named for James 1:27. The ministry educates, engages, and encourages anyone with an interest in orphan care, gathering periodically throughout the year with adoptive, waiting, foster, and like-minded families, including special events, service projects, and prayer gatherings.
Prayer Partners matches fifth through eleventh grade students with same-gender praying adults from the congregation for a year-long relationship of prayer, conversation, and the occasional donut in the Prayer Partner Café. The vision is intergenerational friendships that develop grace-based, gospel-centered faith in students.
Local Outreach and Bridgelink
Constance serves Anoka County and beyond through its own non-profit Bridgelink, which channels donations to local food shelves. The Serve the Community ministry, led by Greg Atkins and Missions Coordinator Mark Maloney, organizes serve experiences in Anoka County for individuals, families, and small groups. The Serve Globally ministry partners with ReachGlobal, the EFCA's mission arm, to bring short-term mission trips to the congregation and to financially support global partners around the world. There is also a particular focus on serving international refugees locally and partnering with national ministries like Campus Outreach, Cru, and Intervarsity.
Global Partners and a Century-Old Mission in Congo
Constance supports over thirty-five missionaries and global partners, with ReachGlobal (the EFCA's mission sending arm) at the center of the work. The oldest area of long-term involvement is the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Constance joined a consortium of Free Churches in 2007 after a vision trip. Today the church partners with Elikya Centers (a widow and orphan ministry), Tandala Hospital, Global Fingerprint child sponsorship sites, Promise Home (a disability ministry serving young people), and the Tabitha and FollowMe Centers (women's and men's spiritual mentoring and job training).
In Congo, Constance funded the purchase of a well-drilling rig in 2009 and, more recently, a replacement drill in 2022 to serve the Ubangi region. South Asia projects provide shoes and outfits for sponsored children at Global Fingerprints sites; Haiti builds homes in GlobalFingerprints site areas; and Poland supports church repairs, leaders' camp, and VBS through the Evangelical Christian Church in Hrubieszów. Global Fingerprints, the EFCA's child sponsorship program, walks alongside local church planting efforts around the world, and Constance promotes sponsorship at its campus.
The Every[one] Initiative: Building for the Next Generation
In fall 2026, Constance broke ground on a roughly ten-million-dollar building expansion called the Every[one] Initiative. The project includes a new Kids' Check-In just inside the front door, classrooms from nursery through fifth grade behind a secure set of doors, two sensory rooms for Disability Ministry families, an expanded lobby with added conversation seating, refreshed hallways, a coffee area and prep kitchen with adjacent casual seating, a full commercial kitchen off the Community Room, relocated staff offices in dedicated spaces for focused ministry work, and a new mid-size adult classroom between the Community Room and Auditorium.
Funding draws on three sources: approximately $1.5 million from Constance's capital reserves, pledges from over three hundred families totaling more than $4 million over three years, and a responsible loan covering the remainder. Each dollar pledged above $4 million directly reduces borrowing. Members will vote on the final construction contract and financing at a congregational meeting in late summer 2026, with Langer Construction serving as general contractor and KOMA and Pope as architects. Full project completion is expected by the end of summer 2027.
Getting Connected, Giving, and Staying in Touch
Visitors who would like to learn more about the church can register for Starting Point, a one-hour experience offered on the first Sunday of each month during the 10:45 AM service, or join the next Membership Class held quarterly. The church's app and weekly eNews carry announcements, while RightNow Media gives the congregation a large streaming library of biblical resources at no cost. Giving is accepted in person in locked Giving Boxes, by mail, by text (text GIVE to 866-350-5915), online through the Church Center giving portal, and through non-cash gifts coordinated with the office.
Online content, including an embedded audio and video player for the most recent messages, the service archive, sermons-by-series discussion guides written by Pastor Greg Atkins, group study guides for purchase, an event calendar, and a directory of missionaries and global partners, is all hosted through Church Center or the church's own online platform.
Who Pastors Constance Today
The current pastoral team is led by Lead Pastor Travis Fox and Executive Pastor Nate Kirby. Community Ministries Pastor Greg Atkins oversees adult ministries, missions, men's ministry, and disability ministry. Care Ministries Pastor Matt Knapp, Associate Beth Bristol, and Senior Care Coordinator Rich Patrow lead the care and prayer ministries. Julie Dreyer coordinates Women's Ministry. Jill Discher directs Children's Ministries with Leslie Clark coordinating early childhood and Andrea Haglund overseeing Disability Ministry. Middle School Ministries Pastor Josiah Gould, Coordinator Sarah Hammes, and Student Ministries Pastor Dan Mattson lead student ministries, supported by Worship Arts Associate Gracie Legan. Nate Brant serves as Pastoral Resident and Connections Coordinator. Mark Maloney is the Missions Coordinator.