Fewer Than 10 Members, a 1908 Church and a $70,000 Price: A North Dakota Town Says Goodbye

• First Congregational United Church of Christ in Glen Ullin, North Dakota, was listed for $70,000 in March 2025.
• The 4,500-square-foot church was completed in 1908; the congregation dates from 1884.
• Membership fell to fewer than 10, and the last services were held in April 2025.
• Glen Ullin, 50 miles west of Bismarck, has about 670 residents.

A small-town church in North Dakota has been put up for sale. InForum reported that First Congregational United Church of Christ in Glen Ullin is available for $70,000.

The church at 311 Ash Ave. W. covers 4,500 square feet. The congregation was established in 1884 by Methodists, Presbyterians and Congregationalists; its first building burned in 1887, and the present church, built by architect George Wilson and mason John Kneole, was completed in 1908. Stained-glass windows were added in 1964. The town, 50 miles west of Bismarck, has about 670 residents.

The church was listed in March 2025 and held its last services in April. Its congregation had fallen to fewer than 10 members amid rising maintenance costs and declining numbers. Josh Gartner said: “Before COVID, it was full every Sunday…Now you can watch it online…it’s 18. Where’s the other hundred?”

Sharon Shafer said: “Just walking into the church and the feeling you get, it’s like home.” She hoped for a new life for the building: “It would be nice to see if a family could renovate it and make it into a nice home.”

Rural churches across the world face the same pressures: ageing, shrinking congregations and buildings that cost more to maintain than members can give. Jamaica’s rural districts have many small churches too. When a congregation can no longer carry its building, a sale to a family or a community group can keep it in use. Buyers should remember that a low price may come with heating, roofing and repair bills, and should check what the building can legally be used for. Congregations selling should also decide early what happens to memorials, windows and records.

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