St. Joan of Arc church is set in the Sandhills community of Brownlee, NE, located in southern Cherry County. St. Joan's is a mission church of St. Mary's of Mullen, NE.

In 1901 Father Peter Donnelly traveled to Brownlee from Dale, NE to serve as priest to the people of this remote area. Fathers Thomas Minogue and Paul Moser and others from Dale, Broken Bow, and Anselmo joined in caring for the spiritual needs of the people until 1917. During this period, mass was offered occasionally in the homes of the McNitt's, Shanley's, McGuire's, and Higgins families.

In 1910, with an increasing number of Catholics in the area, the congregation began using the American Woodsmen building as their church. In 1916, this building was renovated and officially dedicated as St. Joan of Arc Church. Father Edward Hynes traveled from Hyannis to serve the congregation. The following year, Fathers M. M. Ballou and his assistant, Father Albert Albel took over these duties.

In April 1918, this church at Brownlee became a mission parish of Seneca, NE. Later, it became affiliated with the St. Mary's Mission of Mullen, NE.

On Pentecost Sunday, 1956, a new St. Joan of Arc church was dedicated. Father Mitchell Koprowski designed the new church, with a seating capacity of 100. In addition to the design, Fr. Kaprowsiki contributed greatly to the actual construction of the building. With the exception of one hired carpenter, the church was built entirely with volunteer labor. All of these volunteers traveled many miles from their ranches to complete the construction of the church.

For over forty years since the construction of the St. Joan of Arc church, this mission parish has continued to thrive in spite of the distances between parishoners and the mission headquarters at Mullen, NE.