Sixty years is a great time to remember our past and focus on where we go next
By Karen L. Willoughby and JeQuita Lee
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Utah Idaho Southern Baptists celebrated their 60th Anniversary with the theme “A Firm Foundation”, on October 25th at their Annual Meeting at Risen Life Church in Holladay, Utah. The celebration focused on Psalm 119:105 and the amazing things that God has done over the past 60 years in the two-state convention. Executive Director Rob Lee provided the rich history of the convention as he shared about the sacrifices and dedication of those who followed God’s call to reach the lost in the West.
Southern Baptist work started in Idaho on Christmas Day 1887 at Independence Flat – now Clearwater – Idaho, with J.B. York as pastor, and at Roosevelt, Utah, in 1944, with Harold Dillman as pastor. The state convention’s mission offering was named the “York Dillman State Missions Offering” in their honor. To date the convention has 185 churches across the two states whose mission is to share the Gospel and make Jesus known.
Roger Naylor, President of the convention, told messengers and guests that “This year we’re excited to be having our 60th anniversary. What’s been consistent over the last 60 years? The Word of God. We’ve grown because from the beginning we’ve focused on the inspired, inherent, infallible, everlasting Word of God.”
The 185 churches, missions, and plants in Utah and Idaho to date have given $26 million of their undesignated offerings to missions through the Cooperative Program, and $6.1 million of that has left the states to fuel Southern Baptist missions globally.
“Last year, through CP and missions’ offerings, we passed on 50.4 percent of the gifts – $520,328 – in Cooperative Program, Annie Armstrong Easter Offering, Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, and hunger funds,” Lee reported. “We’ve baptized 44,579 people in our ACP (Annual Church Profile) history.”
Adam Groza, president of Gateway Seminary, was present to speak about theological education. Gateway’s precursor, Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, which started in 1944, to date has graduated 12,000 students, Groza said.
“We want to put educational opportunities where the churches are in the West,” the newly inaugurated president told his listeners. That’s why the Rocky Mountain campus of Gateway Seminary was started in 1996. Today the Rocky Mountain campus also includes the Salt Lake School of Theology.
Jonathan Howe, the SBC’s vice president for convention administration, described the “force for good” that is the Southern Baptist Convention.
“Our cooperative efforts have excelled and expanded for more than 175 years,” Howe said. “Southern Baptists operate the largest free program of religious instruction in the United States.
“Because of the Cooperative Program and other gifts, we have the largest missions sending agency, largest domestic church planting movement, largest religious disaster relief force, largest seminary and largest seminary system in the United States, and likely the world,” Howe continued.
Jackie Allen, NAMB’s western region Send director, told messengers Southern Baptists have planted more than 11,000 churches since 2010. The Send Network Utah-Idaho provided a lunch and presentation on Church Planting following the morning session.
Business, heard by 104 messengers from 38 Utah and Idaho churches, plus 32 guests, consisted of electing officers, approving the budget, and passing a gesture of appreciation to the host church.
Roger Naylor of First Baptist Church, Bonners Ferry, Idaho was re-elected president. Dave Carver, pastor of Water’s Edge Fellowship in Burley, Idaho, was re-elected first vice president. Timothy O’Day, pastor of Christ Fellowship Church in American Fork, Utah, was re-elected second vice president. Allen Featherstone, pastor of Mosaic Church in Provo, Utah, was re-elected recording secretary.
Despite lower than anticipated income for the third year in a row, messengers approved a $1,539,960 budget for 2025, up from $1,518,344 last year. Next year’s budget includes up to $635,000 from NAMB, an anticipated $806,960 in CP giving from churches, and $98,000 in giving to the York Dillman State Missions Offering.
The budget includes $242,088 – 30 percent – of CP giving from churches being forwarded to the SBC Executive Committee for dispersal to SBC entities as approved at the 2024 SBC annual meeting.
In other business, the UISBC Abuse Prevention Policy and Procedures, approved earlier this year by the Executive Board, received unanimous approval confirmation from the messengers.
Two recognitions were announced by the executive director: Jason McNair for 15 years on staff as church strengthening director, whose expertise is helping churches technologically enter the 21st century; and Debbie Chidester, who for 25 years has managed the convention office. Chidester received a standing ovation for the effectiveness of her ministry.
“The annual meeting was filled with opportunities for all to network,” Lee said. “The business sessions focused on our mission of sharing Christ, starting churches and strengthening churches, and standing on the firm foundation of the Word of God for the next 60 years.”
A time of celebration with ice cream floats was made available “to celebrate God’s faithfulness throughout our history,” Lee told Baptist Press. “Everyone enjoyed a time of fellowship together reflecting on God’s goodness to Utah-Idaho.”
The next annual meeting of the Utah Idaho Southern Baptist Convention is set for Oct. 24, 2025, at Central Valley Baptist Church in Meridian, Idaho.
Karen L. Willoughby is a national correspondent for Baptist Press. JeQuita is a school teacher and wife of Executive Director, Rob Lee. Portions of this article were published by Baptist Press and were used with their permission.
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