May Report

In this month’s report you can read about how the church got started in Salmon as I spoke with the brother that was a part of making that happen. Also hear about how the church was started in Salmon.

A Camping Trip Turned Into a Church Plant

It is always interesting to hear how congregations get their start. Similar to what happened in the early church as Christians fled persecution and, “went everywhere preaching the word” (Acts 8:4). There are many congregations dotted around the U.S. because Christian families moved into an area and didn’t find the Lord’s church, so they planted the seed. I visited with a ninety year old brother that was instrumental in getting the church started in Salmon.

In July 1971 James Monroe and his family came to Salmon, ID for a vacation. They liked the area so much that they sold everything where they were living in Twin Falls, ID and moved to Salmon in 1972. They didn’t find the Lord’s church in Salmon. The closest congregations were 97 miles over the mountain in Hamilton, MT or 117 miles south to Idaho Falls, ID. For the first year they would make the trip to Hamilton on Sunday’s. It is not uncommon in the West for people to travel long distances to worship with the saints.

It wasn’t long until James and his family found other members of the church in the Salmon area. There was a prospector up from Nevada and a couple from Arkansas, she was a school teacher and he was a farrier. They began meeting on Sundays in the Legion hall. James did a lot of the preaching and teaching, though he was never formally trained. An elder from Idaho Falls came once a month and the preacher from Hamilton also came once a month. The first baptism was a local rancher and he was baptized in his own horse trough.

Things changed for the group in 1975 when they had the first located preacher with the support from other congregations. In 1978 they bought a building that was near the high school. They out grew the building and in 1998 moved into the current building. It was built with the help of the church in Marble Falls, TX and a generous family of building contractors that are members of that congregation. Brother James said some of the biggest struggles they had was dealing with the Mormons and other denominations in the area. He said that people were also getting baptized and, “are not sticking with the church”. They would leave and join denominational groups for various reasons.

Today the congregation is self supporting and doing well. They have some very spiritually mature men that take turns preaching and teaching class. However, they are currently looking for a full time minister. I can tell you from experience that this would be a great group of people to work with and a beautiful place to live.

Some Happenings in May

We have stayed busy this month. The kids were able to come visit us before starting their summer plans. We took a quick trip down to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National parks. We also took the kids to Boise to visit their great-grandmother. Here we are on the Continental divide in Wyoming heading down to the Tetons. I promise it is spring.

The hills are green in the Salmon-Challis area. The spring flowers are blooming. This is a good sign that things are warming up.

We have enjoyed getting to know them members here in Salmon. We have been in their homes often and they invite us out in their various outings. We got to go out on a side by side trail ride in the mountains above Salmon with a few of them.

I really like the Western lifestyle and metal working. So when Jeff invited me out to with him to shoe a few horses I did not hesitate. Jeff is one of the men here at the Salmon congregation that preaches, teaches class, leads singing and everything else. Many men here are that way. It is common out here in the West for the men of the congregations to have several responsibilities.

Looking Forward

We are excited about the group coming up from Palm Beach Lakes in June. Already plans are being made for this effort. Please add the trip and the church here to your prayers as we reach out to the community and the members that have fallen away.