The 50th anniversary of the Church of the Nazarene of Winner was held Sunday, Oct. 9. The church was started by Rev. Robert “Bud” Hockett. The Hockett family at the celebration include in front from left Maylee Spreckels, Brynlee Spreckels, Phyllis Black and Kris Hockett. Second row from left are Anna Nesseth, Sara Swartz, Tracy Fischer and JoEllen Black. Third row from left are Adam Spreckels holding Dylan Spreckels, Lisa Spreckels, Travis Swartz, Joe Hockett, Ernie Hockett and Tom Black. In back from left are Rich Hockett, Dan Nesseth and Brian Fischer. The current pastor is Rev. Ron Snethen.
The Winner Church of the Nazarene celebrated its 50th anniversary on Sunday, Oct. 9.
There was music, singing and persons sharing memories of the 50 years of the church.
Early in the 1970’s Rev. Robert “Bud” Hockett, who was pastoring in White River at the time, would travel through Winner selling advertisements for the radio station where he was employed.
During his travels to Winner, he began to feel the call of God to start a Nazarene church in Winner. Ken Remmers, a layman living in Winner, had started a bible study with a group of like-minded people with the hope of a Nazarene church moving to Winner.
One of the first persons Remmers contacted was Doris Kelly, Gregory. She also had been praying for a Nazarene church to open nearby.
Shortly after arriving in Winner Remmers decided he needed to complete his education and he moved to Colorado Springs to attend Nazarene Bible College.
In 1972, the Dakota District Church of the Nazarene voted to open the new “church start” in Winner and appointed Rev. Hockett to become the first full time pastor in the summer of 1972.
On Dec. 17, 1972, the church was officially organized with 33 initial charter members with a few more added in the months to come.
At that time the church was meeting at the Odd Fellows Hall at 321 S. Madison St but in 1973 they purchased a store front building at the corner of Main and 2nd St which they repaired and renovated to make it their church home for the next 14 years.
Early on Rev. Hockett had a dream to build a church on the east side of Winner on Highway 44. In 1979 the church purchased two acres of land just east of bowling alley.
Rev. Hockett never realized his dream of building on the two acre plot, but he laid the foundation for the church that exists there today.
In 1980, because of declining health, Rev. Hockett had to step down from the pastorate and his son, John Hockett filled the pulpit for the next year until he was called to pastor the White River Church of the Nazarene where his father had previously pastored.
In 1982. Rev. Dan Turner was called to come to Winner and he served as pastor until he moved to Oklahoma to continue his ministry there. Turner was a carpenter and during his ministry the church did extensive remodeling both inside and out.
In 1987, the church bought the vacant Catholic Church in Hamill and moved it to the two acre plot because of Rev. Hockett’s dream. In 2008, the church built a sanctuary addition with church member Clint Black as the head contractor and volunteers from the church helping in the building process.
To show you how God sometimes works in mysterious ways, when the Winner Church was first organized in 1972 one of the families in that organizational service was a young 15 year old teen Ronald Snethen. Twelve years later he was called to become the fourth pastor of the church.
This fall Rev. Snethen celebrates 38 years of ministry to this church that became a lighthouse for his childhood family and hundreds of families in the years that followed.
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