It is one of the two churches for the Bjordal og Ortnevik parish which is part of the Sunnfjord prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Bjørgvin.

In the early 1920s, permission was given to build an annex chapel in Ortnevik for the people living in the southeast part of the municipality.

It ended up in the field on the south side of the church and stood vertically in the ground as if it was planted there.

Other damage to the building from the storm meant that the completion of the church was pushed back several months.

At the time of its construction, planners thought that the area would be prime for population growth, although the opposite came true.