It is the church for the Ranem parish which is part of the Namdal prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Nidaros.

The Romanesque style church was built of stone from local quarries.

Over the centuries, many chapels were built in the surrounding areas that were eventually split off as separate parishes.

On 20 March 1899, the church suffered fire damage with all the interior wooden structures destroyed, but the stone walls remained.

The church was rebuilt the following year using the plans of Christian Christie's renovations in 1878.