John Stanley Rendahl papers, 1963-2008

Collection

Identifier: MSS-Bio-1-2022

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The majoritiy of this collection involves the sermon notes and other religious writings by Rendahl.

The 2022 acquisition series maintains the materials donated to Converge North Central by Dale Rendahl. The brown scrapbook was gifted to Rendahl by the Iowa Baptist Conference churches in appreciation for his service, and contains mostly correspondences from his church work in 1971. The green binder acting as a scrapbook contains periodical articles, many written by Randahl, as well as some newsletters and memoir writings. The correspondence folder primarily consists of notes from Iowa based churches from 1971. The photographs are of Pine Lake Camp in Eldora, Iowa.

Some other materials were added to this collection from Rendahl's biographical file. The Bible belonged to Rendahl and contains annotations. As 2010 Bethel Alumnus of the Year, there are two DVDs and a Tribute Picture Book from this event.

Dates

Majority of material found within 1963 - 2008

Creator

Rendahl, John Stanley (Person)

Biographical / Historical

John Stanley Rendahl was born to Swedish immigrants Axel and Judith in 1915 in Pennsylvania. He attended high school at Bethel Academy and Bethel Junior College. After graduating from Sioux Falls College, he finished his studies at Bethel Seminary. During World War II, he enlisted as a chaplain in the army, serving in Asia. Rendahl married Lillian in 1945 and had four children. He served as pastor at different churches around the country. He was Executive Minister of the Iowa Baptist Conference and as Director of Senior Adult Ministries for the Baptist General Conference. He authored several books and articles for various publications. As a member of the Bethel Seminary Alumni Council, he was honored as the 2010 Alumnus of the Year. He died in 2011 in Minnesota.

Extent

3 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

The Writings and Sermons series is organized by topic, with biblical books in box 1, organized by New Testament, then Old Testament. The box 2 folders in this series is organized thematically. Donated order is unknown. Current arrangement reflects the order in which the files were found in 2022.

The files in the 2022 Acquisition retain their donated order. The brown scrapbook is kept outside the collection box due to its size. The materials inside the green binder acting as a scrapbook were removed from the book and placed in order inside corresponding files.

Custodial History

The custodial history of most of the collection is unknown.

Stanley's son Dale donated the 2022 acquisition series to Converge North Central. This series was brought to the History Center by Carolyn Lenz of Converge North Central in April 2022. The collections other parts' provenance are unknown. The Bible, DVDs, and Tribute Picture Book were added to this collection from J. Stanley Rendahl's biographical file.