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Thursday, July 26, 2012
Evangelist Lowell Lundstrom Passes Away
By Michael Ireland
Senior International Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
SAVAGE, MN
(ANS) – Reverend Lowell Lundstrom, age 72 of Savage, Minnesota, founder of Lowell Lundstrom Ministries and Celebration Church, went home to heaven on July 20, 2012 after a long, courageous battle with Parkinson’s.
Lowell Lundstrom
(Courtesy: LakevillePatch.com)
According to the Celebration Church website (www.celebrationchurch.net ), Lowell was with family members when he died at his home in Savage, Minnesota. His homegoing comes seven months after the death of his beloved wife of 55 years, Connie, who was his lifelong partner in spreading God’s word and love.
The church website says Lowell Lundstrom was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on November 28, 1939. He moved with his parents and brothers to Peever, South Dakota and grew up working on the family farm in the 40s. Lowell started a rock and roll band when he was 14 years old, and that same year met his new guitar player and future wife, Connie Brown.
The website says that Lowell’s ministry began on April 7, 1957 when he gave his heart to Jesus while attending a service at Connie’s church in Sisseton, South Dakota. The first words he said when he got up from the altar were: “Wait ‘til everybody hears about this!” Lowell and Connie were married on June 14, 1957 and dedicated the rest of their lives to sharing the great Gospel of Jesus Christ. Lowell often said his heart was summed up in the following order: his God, his girl, and his guitar.
The site says that Lowell and Connie attended Lakewood Park Bible School (now known as Trinity Bible College). In 1961, he graduated from North Central Bible College, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Lowell became an ordained minister and was honored to be a respected leader in the Assemblies of God throughout his life. Lowell, Connie, and their children Londa, Lisa, L.J., and Lance, along with brothers Larry and Leon and their families crisscrossed the United States and Canada by bus, holding interdenominational crusades and evangelistic outreaches. The impact of this ministry is felt not only nationally but also internationally.
According to the website: “Lowell and his family ministry led an estimated one million people to Jesus Christ through preaching, music, literature, crusades, and radio and television programs during a ministry that spanned over five decades. Lowell was a world class communicator. Lowell was a prolific musician and writer. He wrote more than 600 gospel songs, produced 60 music albums and wrote 15 books.
“In 2005, he was inducted into the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame. Lowell and Connie wrote and recorded 30-minute weekly radio broadcasts ‘Message for America’ for 20 years which aired on as many as 170 radio stations. He and his daughter, Lisa, co-hosted ‘Lowell Live’ a radio call-in talk show. The family aired many nationwide one-hour TV programs and were known for their primetime Christmas television specials. For 12 years, ‘The Lundstroms’ weekly TV program reached millions in the United States and Canada. He also served as president and chancellor of Trinity Bible College in Ellendale, North Dakota for 10 years.”
The website goes on to state that in 1996, the Lundstroms founded Celebration Church in Minneapolis, an interdenominational church with a focus on evangelism and outreach. In recent years, Lowell passed the mantle of leadership for Lowell Lundstrom Ministries and Celebration Church to his daughter, Reverend Londa Lundstrom Ramsey, an ordained minister with the International Ministerial Fellowship.
The site says: “Lowell was proud of his roots in rural South Dakota. Although he often appeared before massive crowds at his rallies and crusades, Lowell never missed an opportunity to lead one person to Jesus. Lowell’s passion for the lost was his driving force in life. He communicated the Gospel with a combination of humor, sincerity, and practical Biblical truth. If there was one more person to be won for Christ, Lowell Lundstrom was committed to reach them. He often said, ‘You can’t retire while hell’s on fire!’”
There is a book currently being written on Lowell Lundstrom’s life and ministry entitled: “Wait ‘til everybody hears about this!”
Lowell was preceded in death by his wife, Connie Joyce Lundstrom, who went home to heaven on December 13, 2011. Lowell is survived by his four children: Reverend Londa Lundstrom Ramsey (Reverend Brent Ramsey), Lisa Lundstrom, Lowell Lundstrom Jr. (Kim Lundstrom), and Lance Lundstrom (Paola Macassi). Lowell was blessed with five beloved grandchildren and two step-grandchildren: Chase, Conor, Grace, Reagan, Lowell “Zeke”, Haley, and Zach.
Visitation hours were from 4-8pm on Thursday, July 26 at Celebration Church, 16655 Kenyon Ave, Lakeville, Minnesota 55044 with prayer and remembrance at 6:30pm. Homegoing Service is at 1pm on Friday, July 27 at Hosanna Lutheran Church, 9600 163rd Street West Lakeville, MN 55044.
An additional service will take place at 2pm on Tuesday, July 31 at the Sisseton Fine Arts Center, 516 8th Avenue West, Sisseton, South Dakota 57262. Interment: Peever Cemetery, Peever, South Dakota. In lieu of flowers, memorials will be forwarded by the family to various causes including Lowell Lundstrom Ministries.
His family said on the website: “We are saddened at his loss, but rejoicing that he is reunited with his bride, Connie Lundstrom, and all the converts won to the Lord as a result of his ministry. Thank you for your prayers for the family.”
** Michael Ireland is the Senior International Correspondent for ANS. He is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London (United Kingdom) newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB UK, a British Christian radio station. While in the UK, Michael traveled to Canada and the United States, Albania,Yugoslavia, Holland, Germany,and Czechoslovakia. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China,and Russia. Michael’s volunteer involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department — ‘Michael Ireland Media Missionary’ (MIMM) — of A.C.T. International of P.O.Box 1649, Brentwood, TN 37024-1649, at: Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) International To support his stated mission of ‘Truth Through Christian Journalism,’ please contact Michael for more information. Michael is a member in good standing of the National Writers Union, Society of Professional Journalists, Religion Newswriters Association, Evangelical Press Association and International Press Association. If you have a news or feature story idea for Michael, please contact him at: ANS Senior International Reporter
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<!–BYLINE:By Michael Ireland
Senior International Correspondent, ASSIST News Service–>