Marie Sandvik Center

05/20/2026

Last night, this semester's iCAN class graduated after 17 sessions together.

They spent the evening in mock interviews with interviewers from Chick-fil-A, Trader Joe’s, Cub Foods, and other local workplaces. One interviewer said, “Every student gave me a resume. That’s never happened before.” Another said, “You can really see their confidence and eye contact has grown.”

Across the sessions, more than 60 volunteers gave over 500 hours to invest in these students. And throughout the program, they talked with students about grace. So much of life is about proving yourself. The gospel says something different. You are already fully known and loved by Christ.

We are so happy for these students and for a night that showed how much they’ve grown!

05/12/2026

We’d love to stay better connected with you.

MSC is launching a digital newsletter to share ministry updates, stories, and prayer requests in a timely and thoughtful way. This helps us steward resources wisely while keeping you informed about what God is doing in the Phillips community.

You can expect occasional updates, not spam.

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Sign up to receive occasional updates, ministry stories, and prayer requests from the Marie Sandvik Center. We respect your inbox and will not send frequent emails.

05/11/2026

On Saturday, the Marie Sandvik Center hosted a Mother’s Day celebration for single mothers and widows in the Phillips neighborhood.

We enjoyed food and games as women and children from the community gathered for encouragement and fellowship.

Much of the ministry at MSC begins with simple things like sharing a meal and spending time together. Over time, those moments grow into relationships, trust, and ongoing care.

05/05/2026

C.S Lewis once said, “I know now Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself, the answer.” God is our answer for all our needs.

04/30/2026

I love simplicity. My three words are simplicity, clarity and brevity, these are my favorite word friends. When I apply these words to understanding the Bible it comes out with three other words, redemption, promises, and warnings. God defined for me, brings out three more words, mercy, love and forgiveness. In our world the issues we face are complex, everywhere you look the complexity of everyday life can be overwhelming. Yet, life is simple if we place God in control. The message of Jesus was simple, believe in Me and I will give you eternal life. The Bible says there are two places we reside after death, heaven or hell, that too is simple. The greatest decision you will ever make is also simple. Believe in Jesus or reject Him. It is that simple!

04/09/2026

I have a colleague whose tag line is, “study to learn, learn to do.” The Apostle Paul said the same thing, “practice what you have learned.” Bernard Shaw said this, “Whose who can, do, and those you can’t, teach.” The big idea for all of us is, “stop the talking, and go, do something more important than your devotions.” The days are evil, and evil loves when we do nothing with what we know is true. It is easy to get complacent and lack motivation, but God has given us the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us to do God’s will. So, the question is, “it is God’s will for you to do nothing with your faith in Him?” God gives Himself to us and it becomes a measurement of how we trust in Him.

The Marie Sandvik Center is a place where faith is practiced everyday, and you are welcome to come and join us in the mission of reaching the city for Christ. Check out our website.

We provide the Hope of God’s Love to the Inner City, Minneapolis, Minnesota

04/08/2026

Jesus told a story about three guys who were given money to invest. One was given 10 talents, one 5 talents and another 1 talent. Now here is what one talent was worth. One talent was worth roughly 6,000 denarii, representing about 20 years of wages for a laborer. Today, this is often estimated to be around $400,000–$600,000 USD. So, if one talent was worth this amount of money, you can see what enormous amounts of money the other two guys had to invest. Jesus told this story to remind us that life is not to be buried, but to be invested. Money was used to illustrate the principle, but the idea isn’t money as much as it is about investment. How are you investing your life? The one who had been given 1 talent didn’t invest, he buried it. Too often we do that same thing. We bury what God has given to us rather than invest it into His Kingdom. The Marie Sandvik Center is a perfect place for you to invest in meaningful and purposeful work. We would love to have you invest yourself with us. Call or visit us online to find out how you can use what God has given to you to invest. https://www.mariesandvikcenter.org

04/07/2026

Great Movie that will inspire you to live all out for Christ.

03/09/2026

We take our role in our community very seriously. We plan our weekly programming for maximum impact on kids, youth and adults, because it matters to God. In a world where people are overlooked, dishonored and ignored, we do the exact opposite. Everybody is a somebody at the Center. If it matters to God, it matters to us. Marie Sandvik Center is place people will know your name, and honor your presence. Thanks for coming to the Center.

03/04/2026

The Marie Sandvik Center is embracing our new vision in a bond of unity between the Board of Directors, staff, and volunteers. God has given us favor and enabled significant progress in refurbishing the facility and starting new and innovative life changing programs to reach all ages. Every day in the news we hear about the anger, divisiveness, human trafficking, crime, drug abuse and the deterioration of Minneapolis. We are so grateful to our ministry and financial partners who stand with us in seeing this 77-year-old ministry revamped for the challenges we face today. I want to thank all of you for your prayers and financial gifts that help make this happened.

Ken Peterson
Marie Sandvik Board Chair