A Brief History of Mount Ida, Arkansas
The Work Begins
In the summer of 1952, Fred Hoover, an elder in the Hot Springs church, reported that a new branch Sabbath school had begun meeting in Mt. Ida (Record, 1952). In 1965, Lowell Montgomery, the Hot Springs missionary leader, led three carloads of workers to Mt. Ida to contact every home in the city, handing out the tract This May Startle You. It only took about an hour to cover the entire town and surrounding area (Green, 1965). It was more than forty years later before any further work was done in this small community.
Mt. Ida Church Organized in 2013
In 2007, the Chapel Valley church began to sponsor a church plant in Mt. Ida. On December 18, 2007, God provided an existing church on Highway 27 North in Mt. Ida from the Trustees of the Evening Light Tabernacle of Mt. Ida. The pastor of this previous Pentecostal congregation said, “I can’t rent it to you, nor can I sell it to you, however, I will give it to you.” It had been given to the Pentecostal church and they were obligated to give it to the next congregation that needed it (Davis, 2009). The building was restricted to be used only as a church and just needed some minimal foundation repair (Minutes, 2007). The Mt. Ida group was able to dedicate the church debt free on May 9, 2009, with a special service attended by guests from Chapel Valley, Mena, Bonnerdale, and Amity (Newsletter, 2009). The Chapel Valley church discontinued meeting at the Chapel Valley location in 2013, and began meeting at the Mt. Ida church, merging the two congregations (Minutes, 2013a). This changed the status of the Mt. Ida group to the Mt. Ida church on March 9, 2013 (Simpson, 2013). The Chapel Valley church was sold at the end of 2013 (Minutes, 2013b).
A New Church in 2016
In May 2016, a daycare on Cedar Street was purchased that could be remodeled to fit the needs of the church. It was dedicated debt free on November 16, 2019.
Citations
(1952, Sep. 10). Southwestern Union Record, p. 6.
(2007, Dec. 13). Arkansas Louisiana Associations Board Preliminary Minutes. Shreveport, LA: Arkansas-Louisiana Conference of SDA.
(2009, Jun. 1). Newsletter, Arkansas-Louisiana Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, p. 3.
(2009, Jul. 1). Southwestern Union Record, p. 21.
(2013a, Mar. 5). Arkansas Louisiana Associations Board Preliminary Minutes. Shreveport, LA: Arkansas-Louisiana Conference of SDA.
(2013b, Dec. 3). Ibid.
Green, George. (1965, Apr. 14). Southwestern Union Record, p. 4.
Simpson, Chris. (2013, Mar. 11). Mt Ida SDA Church. Retrieved from eadventist.net.
How it all Began 