The town of Garfield, located in central Minnesota’s Douglas County, has a population of 332. The night of St. Luke’s Church (LCMC) annual Fish Fry for Missions, however, the town grows by about 500.  

This year’s annual event, held April 24, netted $4,200 to support a long list of nonprofits, from local to national and worldwide, including LPGM. In fact, this single event raises the funds to sponsor seven girls at our partner’s Lutheran boarding homes in India.

Georgia Nelson, a longtime member of St. Luke’s and LPGM sponsor, claims the fish fry goes back 32+ years. It began as a “thank you” to the congregation from the Church Council, who even caught their own fish. “It was small back then,” Georgia recalls, “but it’s really evolved.”  

This year, the crew served 420 guests 300 pounds of fish, four roasters of baked beans, 60 pounds of cole slaw, and 35 pans of cheesy hash brown potatoes, plus cookies and dipped pretzel sticks galore! 

“It’s a great gathering of people, a good community event, and a great fundraiser for a number of missions,” says co-chair Brenda Haak. 

She and her husband, Dana, first visited St. Luke’s to attend the fish fry in 1996, and soon after became members of the church.

“We thought, wow – this could become a bigger event and raise even more funds!” This year was their 23rd year chairing the fish fry. 

From the men frying the fish in the outbuilding behind the church, to the decorations crew, servers, dishwashers, ticket takers, beverage pourers, and even joke tellers (who keep hungry guests entertained in the sanctuary while waiting for their number to be called), the event requires a small army of people of all ages, including young children.  

Brenda’s advice to other churches looking to launch a fundraiser for missions?  

“Ask a variety of members with different skill sets to help. (We even have non-members help.) Let them do their thing without micro-managing. (That’s what we do with the decorators.) Keep really, really good records so you don’t have to recreate the wheel every year.” 

Georgia Nelson fills me in on the event's history.

It also helps to have good ventilation.  

Thanks to everyone who attends the fish fry and to the hardworking folks at St. Luke’s for their 26+ years of partnership with LPGM!  

Bethany Krepela joined LPGM as Development Director in 2020. She’s enjoyed visiting St. Luke’s over the past years and was excited to finally get to taste the fish this spring, which helps provide education to girls in India.