It is one of the two churches for the Risør parish which is part of the Aust-Nedenes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.

[1][2] The saga of Olav Trygvasson talks about a church in Søndelef in Visedal an old name for the prestegjeld of Gjerstad.

The town had Risør Church and the rest remained in Søndeled.

The large parish of Søndeled was split into two parts and a new church was built in Frydendal, just outside the town of Risør.

The old church was renamed Indre Søndeled (meaning "inner" - further from the ocean) and the new church was named Ytre Søndeled (meaning "outer" - closer to the ocean).