He came and served six years. During his ministry, the first unit of the church and the parsonage were built, and the church began to grow. In 1968, Pastor Hess left to go to Fargo, North Dakota as the pastor. There was a saying in the Midwest that chickens die back to the size of the coop. If you have a hundred chickens and a coop for fifty, before long you're going to have only fifty live chickens.
Congregations are the same.
They don't like to be crowded. The first occupant was a sexton who received housing for maintaining the facilities and grounds. Later, David Rodquist, the first Assistant Pastor, was called to work with Christian Education and youth. The church began to expand and reach out into the community. In time, God's people began to see the results of their sacrificial labor.