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And in its first year, this small independent Baptist church that Toft started has been filling better than he expected. A year ago, he started with his wife and two children. Now an average of 30 people join his Sunday morning service at 253 E. Third St.
Island City Baptist also has a Thursday night service and hopes to add a Sunday school, Sunday evening service and Bible institute in the coming years.
While declining membership and aging populations affect many churches, Toft's congregation is but growing.
He attributes that growth to an "evangelistic mission."
Toft said that, historically, many churches in the area built large congregations by going out into the community and sharing the Gospel. However, he sees few churches doing that today.
"We teach that there is a real heaven and a real hell and that has caused us to do something about it," Toft said.
He chose to come to Winona because he felt there was not enough "soul-winning, evangelistic churches."
Since opening the doors of Island City Baptist, Toft has knocked on more than 8,000 doors.
"I quit keeping track after 8,000," Toft said.
The first thing he tells people is that he is not a salesman and is not trying to turn people into Baptists.
"I don't want to be a sheep stealer," Toft said.
Armed with a track titled "Are you 100 percent sure that when you die you will go directly to heaven?" he asks people about their beliefs.
He said 95 percent of people have been welcoming.
"The common response is that you can't know or don't know," Toft said. "My favorite response was from a man who said, ‘Preacher, life is a crapshoot, I hope I will shoot the dice well.'
"That makes me laugh and cry at the same time."
Toft said what attracts people to Island City Baptist is the ideal of returning to a "bible believing" church that uses the King James Version and believes in the literal heavenly streets of gold and pearly gates while also believing in the eternal fire of hell.
"Once a person realizes that you care about them and where they go, it's amazing the conversations you have," Toft said.
Island City Baptist recently had its first three baptisms in Lake Winona.
"It's going better than I thought," Toft said. "Pastors have to be real careful not to measure it numerically. There's a lot of people in Winona who are very religious and don't go to church. But there's just no way a person should have to dread going to church, go through the same liturgy and still have no peace and leave unsatisfied."
