Rooted in faith · Connected in mission
History of the
Iowa-Missouri Conference
From scattered pioneer families and tent meetings to one united conference serving Iowa and Missouri, this is a story of perseverance, education, outreach, and mission.
Statistics as of June 30, 2025. Adventist Yearbook
The conference today
One conference.
Two states. One mission.
The Iowa-Missouri Conference is an administrative unit of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Mid-America Union Conference. Its territory includes both Iowa and Missouri in their entirety, with headquarters in West Des Moines, Iowa.
The conference’s history reaches back to the earliest Adventist work in the region, when Sabbath-keeping families, traveling evangelists, tent meetings, schools, camps, city missions, and local congregations helped establish a growing movement across both states.
1844–2025
Milestones that shaped the mission
Follow the major moments in Iowa, Missouri, and the united conference. Use the filters to focus the timeline by place.
1844
The Millerite message reaches St. Louis
A. A. Stevens preached in St. Louis, placing Missouri within the early western reach of the Millerite movement.
1852
Samuel Everett arrives in Iowa
The first seventh-day Sabbath keeper known to write to the Review from Iowa settled in the state with his wife, Lucinda.
1856
A winter revival at Waukon
James and Ellen White made a difficult December journey to visit the discouraged Adventist group gathered near Waukon.
1858
A stronger connection begins in Missouri
E. B. Saunders and Moses Hull preached in Daviess County, where Sabbath keepers sought closer connection with Adventists in Iowa.
1859
Tent meetings flourish in Knoxville
Large meetings drew hundreds, leading many to keep the Sabbath, subscribe to the Review, and become part of a newly organized church.
1862
Two Iowa conferences organize
The Southern Iowa Conference formed in Knoxville and the Northern Iowa Conference organized in Marion.
1863
The Iowa Conference is formed
The northern and southern organizations united, then adopted the General Conference’s recommended state constitution.
1868
First Iowa camp meeting
The Pilot Grove gathering, where thirty-two people were baptized, became a turning point of revival and renewal.
1870
Missouri and Kansas organize together
The Missouri and Kansas Conference formed at Pleasanton, Kansas, to strengthen the work across both states.
1871
The Iowa and Nebraska Conference forms
Nebraska joined Iowa, creating a conference with 1,500 members in 72 congregations.
1875
Missouri becomes an independent conference
Missouri and Kansas separated, and Josephus H. Rogers was elected president of the new Missouri Conference.
1884
City mission work expands
A St. Louis mission opened, followed by similar efforts in Kansas City and Springfield.
1901
Adventist education grows in Iowa
The Iowa Industrial School opened in Stuart and later became Oak Park Academy.
1937
Junior camp ministry begins
The first Missouri Conference summer junior camp was held at Moreau Park in Jefferson City.
1946
Sunnydale Academy opens
Missouri’s secondary school in Centralia opened for classes, becoming a lasting center of Adventist education.
1961
Camp Heritage is purchased
The Missouri Adventist Medical Society purchased the Climax Springs property for the conference’s use.
1980
Iowa and Missouri vote to merge
Economic pressures, a desire for broader support, and plans surrounding the academies led to formation of the Iowa-Missouri Conference.
1995
Community Services grows in St. Louis
A large Adventist Community Services center opened in Breckenridge Hills and later moved to a larger Bridgeton facility.
2013
Refugee education outreach expands
A scholarship pilot helped refugee children attend Adventist schools and later broadened to additional schools and Sunnydale Academy.
2025
“IM Called” School of Evangelism launches
The conference began a training initiative designed to equip lay members for Bible study, theology, prophecy, and personal ministry.
Explore by chapter
A story of persistence and purpose
Open each chapter for a concise account of the people, institutions, and turning points that shaped the conference.
Adventist roots in the region began with individuals and families who moved west in search of opportunity while carrying their new Sabbath convictions with them. Samuel Everett arrived in Iowa in 1852, and Adventist families later gathered around Waukon. The difficult winter visit of James and Ellen White in December 1856 helped revive that discouraged group.
Traveling evangelists such as Joseph Bates, Moses Hull, J. H. Waggoner, Merritt E. Cornell, and others expanded the work. Tent evangelism proved especially effective, with large meetings in Knoxville drawing hundreds and leading to baptisms, new Sabbath keepers, and an organized congregation.
In 1862, Adventists organized separate northern and southern Iowa conferences. The two united the following year as the Iowa Conference. Early years brought both expansion and conflict, including a significant organizational dispute that cost the conference members and leaders.
The first Iowa camp meeting at Pilot Grove in 1868 marked a spiritual revival. Under George I. Butler’s leadership, stability returned, and the conference became a training ground for influential Adventist leaders, missionaries, educators, and evangelists.
The Millerite message reached St. Louis by 1844, while a scattered group of Sabbath keepers emerged in northern Missouri during the 1850s. The work initially organized with Kansas in 1870 because the earliest congregations were geographically closer to one another across the state line.
Missouri became an independent conference in 1875. City missions in St. Louis, Kansas City, and Springfield helped reach growing urban populations, while local schools, literature ministry, evangelistic tents, and camp meetings strengthened the work throughout the state.
Adventist education became a major part of the conference story. Iowa’s industrial school in Stuart eventually became Oak Park Academy, while Missouri developed local schools, the Turner Industrial School near Springfield, and Sunnydale Academy, which opened in Centralia in 1946. Clinton Theological Seminary, a German-language school operated by the General Conference, closed in 1925; the Missouri Conference bought one of its buildings for a headquarters.
Youth and camp ministries also grew. Missouri’s first summer junior camp was held in 1937, and Camp Heritage was purchased in 1961. Over time, the property expanded and became suitable for year-round ministry.
By the late 1970s, both conferences faced membership and financial pressures. Constituents voted to merge, seeking a broader base of support and lower administrative costs. Plans involving Oak Park Academy and Sunnydale Academy also contributed to the decision.
Ralph S. Watts Jr. became the first president of the new Iowa-Missouri Conference. The conference office remained in Des Moines, and educational operations were centered at Sunnydale Academy. Leaders spent the following years reducing debt while maintaining a strong mission focus.
New ministries developed in response to changing communities. Adventist Community Services expanded in the St. Louis area, refugee education scholarships supported children in conference schools, and refugee and youth ministries helped establish new congregations and Pathfinder outreach.
In 2025, the conference launched the “IM Called” School of Evangelism to equip lay members for personal ministry. The ongoing goal is to help local churches envision how God can use them and to help every member discover a ministry calling.
Leadership through the years
Conference presidents
Search by president, conference name, or era. Historical organization names and tenures follow the Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists article; current officers are from the Adventist Yearbook.
Northern Iowa Conference
1862John T. Mitchell acting, 1862
Southern Iowa Conference
1862Henry C. Whitney chair, 1862
Iowa Conference
1863–1871John T. Mitchell 1863
Benjamin F. Snook 1863–1865
George I. Butler 1865–1871
Missouri and Kansas Conference
1870–1875Russell J. Lawrence 1870–1873
Josephus H. Rogers 1873–1875
Iowa and Nebraska Conference
1871–1878George I. Butler 1871–1872
Henry Nicola 1872–1876
George I. Butler 1876–1877
Eugene W. Farnsworth 1877–1878
Missouri Conference
1875–1908; 1914–1980Josephus H. Rogers 1875–1876
William Evans 1876–1877
George I. Butler 1877–1882
Dan T. Jones 1882–1889
R. S. Donnell 1889–1892
W. S. Hyatt 1892–1896
W. A. Hennig 1896–1900
J. M. Rees 1900–1903
R. C. Porter 1903–1906
H. M. Steward 1906–1907
D. U. Hale 1907–1908
J. S. Rouse 1914–1916
D. U. Hale 1916–1920
H. C. Hartwell 1920–1933
Charles Thompson 1933–1935
E. L. Branson 1935–1938
J. W. Turner 1938–1941
F. A. Mote 1941–1945
G. E. Hutches 1945–1947
Carl Sundin 1947–1950
R. S. Watts 1950–1951
W. A. Dessain 1951–1954
H. C. Klement 1954–1962
James E. Chase 1962–1964
Alfred V. McClure 1964–1977
John W. Fowler 1977–1980
North & South Missouri Conferences
1908–1914A. R. Ogden North, 1908–1912
Eugene E. Farnsworth North, 1912–1914
D. U. Hale South, 1908–1911
L. W. Terry South, 1911–1912
Iowa Conference
1878–1980L. McCoy 1878–1879
Eugene W. Farnsworth acting, 1879
George I. Butler 1879–1882
Henry Nicola 1882–1883
Eugene W. Farnsworth 1883–1884
Ole A. Olsen 1884–1885
George I. Butler 1885–1886
James H. Morrison 1886–1892
C. A. Washburn 1892–1893
Edward G. Olsen 1893–1896
Clarence Santee 1896–1900
E. E. Gardner vice president, 1900–1901
L. F. Starr 1901–1907
M. N. Campbell 1907–1912
A. R. Ogden 1912–1920
W. H. Clark 1920–1923
H. H. Hicks 1923–1928
C. F. McVagh 1928–1932
R. S. Fries 1932–1935
D. S. Osgood 1935–1941
D. N. Wall 1941–1942
J. D. Smith 1942–1946
W. A. Dessain 1946–1951
D. C. Butherus 1951–1959
M. D. Howard 1959–1963
Kimber Johnson 1963–1969
E. L. Marley 1969–1976
Don E. Holland 1976–1980
Iowa-Missouri Conference
1980–presentRalph S. Watts Jr. 1980–1981
William D. Wampler 1981–1999
Walter E. Brown 2000–2006
T. Dean Coridan 2006–2023
Lee Rochholz 2024–present
No conference era or president matched your search.
The story continues
Honoring the past.
Read the complete source article
Honoring the past.
Carrying the mission forward.
The conference’s history is not only a record of institutions and leaders. It is the story of members, pastors, educators, families, and local churches responding to God’s call in their communities.
Historical content on this page is condensed from Sabrina Riley, “Iowa-Missouri Conference,” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists (ISSN 2690-8514), published August 4, 2026, encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=C9JT. © General Conference Corporation of Seventh-day Adventists. Current statistics and officers are from the Adventist Yearbook.
