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

The large, green, wooden church was built in a cruciform design in 1881 using plans drawn up by the architect Henrik Thrap-Meyer.

[1][2] The first church in the growing town of Grimstad was built in 1849 on a prominent hill overlooking the harbour.

[3] This was the first Neo-Gothic church in Norway to have its exterior paint examined in the 1960s.

After discovering the original colors, the parish had the church repainted to its original colors of a light green with contrasting trim painted in yellow and red ochre.