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Editor's note: The following is an obituary for Lowell Lunsdtrom.

Seven months after losing his wife, Connie Lundstrom, to cancer, Reverend Lowell Lundstrom, co-founder of Lakeville's Celebration Church, died July 20 after a battle with Parkinsons Disease. He was 72.

Lowell 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!”