1965-2000
At the close of World War II, the discovery of oil and uranium and the production of steel brought a new era into existence in Utah and Idaho. The first Southern Baptist church in Utah was the Roosevelt Baptist Church, organized in Roosevelt on July 2, 1944, under the sponsorship of the First Baptist Church, Carrizo Springs, Texas. The Roosevelt Church was instrumental in developing most Southern Baptist work in the two-state area. Baptist churches continued to form throughout Utah in the 1950s, including missions for the Indians in Whiterocks and Fort Duchesne. The first Baptist church in Idaho was the Calvary Baptist Church, organized in Idaho Falls in 1951.
In 1960, there was an effort on the part of Southern Baptists in these two states to organize a state convention. Messengers were elected from the churches and met at First Southern Baptist Church in Salt Lake City, Utah. Representatives of the Arizona Baptist Convention, the California Convention, and the Home Mission Board were also present. After much discussion concerning the total program of work and the size and number of churches involved, it was decided by a majority that the convention would not be organized at this particular time. In October, 1964, the Utah-Idaho Southern Baptist Convention organized with 50 churches.
The Convention’s annual normally includes the constitution and bylaws, Convention proceedings, directories, executive board and U-ISBC department reports, financial statements and budgets, and statistical and historical tables. The annuals are any word searchable.
