Region by Region The Western Region

by Jacob Clagg, Director of Communications

Distance is one of the most defining features of the western states of the U.S. Outside of places like the steppe territory in Eurasia, there are few places on Earth with such vast flat land as the center of the United States. The width and breadth of individual states in the West reinforce the idea of great distance. The relatively small population density in comparison to the eastern and western coasts, in combination with the flat land, gives the impression of an ocean of farmland that stretches on and on.

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, when settlers of the then newly established United States of America began crossing these great distances, communication and travel was often at the speed of horse and train. For settlers who had made it hundreds or thousands of miles from the eastern costal states, this distance was tantamount to isolation, in effect, cutting them off from the rest of the Union. In relative isolation, and in a different environment, cultural differences between western states and eastern states emerged rapidly. For organizations that were trying to maintain a sense of unity across the expanding territory, the distances became an immense challenge.

The Churches of God, General Conference (General Eldership at the time) had already developed a pragmatic rule for dealing with these great distances, specifically when it came to the business of the church. If a group of elders found themselves too far from another regional eldership to regularly do business, there was precedent for them to start an eldership of their own. C.H. Forney’s seminal text, History of the Churches of God in the United States of North America, states that new elderships like the Kansas Eldership or the Missouri Eldership arose for practical concerns over distance. The churches in Missouri were originally held under the Iowa Eldership while northern Kansas churches were a part of the Nebraska Eldership. The Missouri and Kansas Elderships each formed into distinct elderships because the distance made communion with Iowa and Nebraska too difficult. This is true of nearly every eldership that developed.

We may be under the impression that modern technology has erased distance. Zoom meetings, international phone calls, instant messages, modern highway systems, and airplanes have all made communication and travel much faster, but we should still recognize how geography and distance affects culture and identity. Even after the unification of separate elderships into a larger region in the early 2000’s, distance still plays a powerful role in shaping the culture and values of places like the Western Region. Encompassing the states of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma, the Western Region of the CGGC has a rich history and a unique cultural identity that stands out among the CGGC’s regions.

In this issue, we hope to highlight the good work of the Western Region, and how God’s mission for the CGGC is being carried out faithfully in churches all across the denomination. Churches like Bethel of Neodesha KS, and Firehouse in Moore, OK, are reaching outside of their church walls to make a powerful impact on their communities, while organizations like the West County Community Hope Center in Leadwood, MO are partnering with churches all around their region to serve people and bring them to Jesus. Across the states, across the regions, and across the globe, CGGC churches are partnering in God’s mission to make kingdom impact.