140 Years of Jesus in Idaho Falls

  Donald Dewayne Patterson was born in Idaho Falls and died in Idaho Falls. He grew up attending Community Church of God in Christ with his family, and died on August 25, 2017, surrounded by his family singing songs of glory. Prior to becoming the pastor of Community COGIC, he served as their youth pastor, choir director and Sunday school superintendent, all the time (until 6 weeks before his death) holding down telecommunication jobs, at Mountain Bell Telephone, then at the Idaho National Laboratory, and then at University of Idaho offices at University Place in Idaho Falls. Don graduated from Bonneville High School in 1966 and Idaho State University in 1972, with a degree in Business Administration. In both high school and college, Don was a member of school choirs and a frequent soloist. He knew at a young age that he would someday be a pastor, and at age 33, Don experienced a call to ministry and began to prepare, becoming the pastor of Community COGIC twelve years later an...

John Dawson, age 21, came directly from Northern Ireland to Eagle Rock in 1890.[1, 2, 3]  He stopped in Rock Springs, Wyoming to visit his brother, Isaac, who had immigrated in 1888 and was rector of the Rock Springs Episcopal Church.[4] John came as a missionary, and the territory given him extended from Ross Fork to Beaver Canyon and as far east and west as he cared to go.[2,5] John related the story of his coming to Eagle Rock when he visited Idaho Falls in 1929:[2] “I came to Eagle Rock in July 1890, spending my first Fourth of July in the States here.  The Rev. Bert Foster accompanied me.  We joined in the town celebration emphasizing our presence by standing while the Star Spangled Banner was sung, but all of of the others remained seated. I thought that rather strange.  We were the guests of Mr. and Mrs. Sam Taylor who lived in the only brick residence that I remember being here at that time.  I got to be well acquainted with Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler, who edi...

While Rev. M. T. Lamb stayed in Eagle Rock less than a year, the facts that he (1) was the first resident pastor in Eagle Rock, (2) oversaw construction of the first church building in Eagle Rock, and (3) likely gained a new calling - that of outreach to Mormons - while in Eagle Rock, place him firmly with others that Jesus has sent to and from Eagle Rock and Idaho Falls. Rev. Martin Thomas Lamb was born in Michigan in 1838[1] and ordained as a Baptist minister at age 22 in Illinois.[2] Upon graduation from college he applied to the American Baptist Missionary Union as a foreign missionary candidate but was told he wasn’t needed.[1,3]  So he gave what savings he had to foreign missions and then pastored churches for a number of years in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Iowa, working with the American Baptist Home Mission Society.[1,3,4]   In an interview more than 40 years later, Rev. Lamb reflected on his call to take the gospel to the unreached.[5] While reflecting on ...