Archive Services

The archivist of the Minnesota Annual Conference organizes, preserves and makes available for research the permanent records of the annual conference, including records of discontinued congregations as well as records of conference and district agencies and staff.

Online Archive

The Archive of the Minnesota Conference has an online archive website. Highlighted items are available there. Contact Heidi Heller for more information.

Ask the archivist for

full names of clergy and dates of service at a church
biographical information and photographs of clergy
early history of a local congregation
annual statistics of a congregation
previous names of a congregation
baptismal, marriage, and membership records of churches no longer in existence
help with genealogy research
past actions of conference committees and teams
how to care for local church records

Commission on Archives and History

The Minnesota Annual Conference Commission on Archives and History has the duty to protect and preserve the historically significant records of the annual conference and its agencies. It encourages and assists the local churches in preserving their records, compiling their histories and celebrating their heritage. It also nominates to the General Commission on Archives and History buildings, locations, and structures within the conference for designation as historic sites.

View the United Methodist historic sites in Minnesota.

Short histories of historic and active congregations

Read or download Planting United Methodist Roots, a compilation of all the Minnesota congregations, from 1837-2018, with roots in the United Methodist Church or its antecedents.

For more archive services

The General Commission on Archives and History of the United Methodist Church has:

Resources, archival leaflets, history notes, and manuals for information useful to local churches.
Research, genealogy, or Annual Conference archives for assistance in researching family history.

The library collection at The Minnesota Historical Society includes some records of discontinued Methodist, Evangelical, and United Brethren Churches. Also provides links to local and county historical societies in Minnesota.