It is the church for the Gjøvdal parish which is part of the Aust-Nedenes prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Agder og Telemark.

The church is believed to be located on the same site as an ancient heathen hof.

In 1724, the priest Niels Pedersen purchased all the churches in the Åmli prestegjeld when the King put them up for sale to help pay off his war debts.

In 1779, the people of the Gjøvdal area purchased the church together so that the congregation could own the building.

A new, larger timber-framed church was built that same year on the same site by Gjermund Gunnarson Veum from Fyresdal, a neighboring valley to the north.