Leaders of a small, relatively new Reformed body are gathering this weekend to celebrate the installation of Terry Simm as pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church in Conway.
Simm, who farmed for years before entering the ministry, is the former longtime pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Sibley, Iowa.
He had been the Conway congregation's transitional pastor since November 2021.
Although the arrangement was initially short-term, Grace Presbyterian members liked him enough that they petitioned the Presbytery of the West and requested that he be allowed to stay, a request that was ultimately granted.
"Rev. Simm is a wonderful man so we're glad to have him on board," said Joe Pruett, one of the congregation's lay pastors.
"None of the members," Pruett said, "thought that him staying long term could even ever be a consideration."
Pruett is a founding member of Grace Presbyterian, one of 39 people, he said, who broke away from First Presbyterian Church in 2014 after growing dissatisfied with the direction of its parent denomination, the Presbyterian Church U.S.A.
"We started by meeting in a very small chapel here in Conway, Chapel [at] Four Winds, which held 35 of us but the minute we became 36, we had outgrown it," said Renee Hunter, another founding member.
Starting from scratch wasn't easy; there were bylaws to write and logistical challenges to solve, she said.
"Our first pianists were students from UCA [the University of Central Arkansas]. They actually came from one of the the Eastern European countries ... [and] didn't know anything about church music," she said.
Today, the congregation has its own Steinway baby grand piano and musicians familiar with sacred songs.
There's a little more elbow room these days as well.
"We're a strip-mall church," Hunter said.
The new congregation didn't remain independent long.
"We had to find a denomination to connect with because Presbyterians are very connectional," she said.
They opted to join ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians.
Initially known as the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians, the denomination was formed in Orlando, Fla., in January 2012. Billed as a "Presbyterian denomination built for the 21st Century," it has grown to include nearly 400 churches with more than 127,000 members (known as "covenant partners").
Grace is its only church in Arkansas. Average attendance is 60 to 70, Simm said.
The new pastor, who earned his bachelor's degree from University of Dubuque, also holds a Master of Divinity from the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary. He also knows a thing or two about growing corn and soybeans -- and raising hogs.
Simm and his wife, Dawn, have three children and eight grandchildren. They've been married for 46 years.
ECO emphasizes "biblical integrity," Simm said.
"We believe the Bible is authoritative," he said. "We also believe in ... the Great Commission and that we need to go out and make disciples."
The denomination continues to emphasize the importance of starting new churches, he said.
Hunter is among those glad to see Simm staying.
"He's meticulous in doing what he's supposed to do. If he tells you that he's going to something he will do it," she said.
"He's very good at visiting with and getting to know and meeting the needs of the members. He's a pastor in every way that is important as well as being a pretty good preacher," she added.
William Enns, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in North Palm Beach, Fla., will preach Sunday's installation sermon. He'll be joined at the service by ECO ministers from Edmond, Okla., and Branson as well as Herschel Richardson, pastor of Grace Methodist Church in Conway, a congregation that recently disaffiliated from the United Methodist denomination.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) remains the country's largest Presbyterian body, with 8,704 churches and 1.14 million active members as of 2022. In the 2020 religion census, it reported 90 Arkansas churches with 12,805 members.
Like many other mainline Protestant denominations, it has faced divisions over sexuality and Scripture. It allows the ordination of gay men and lesbians and now recognizes same-sex marriages.
The Presbyterian Church in America is second, reporting 382,209 members in 1,627 churches as of 2022. As of the 2020 census, it had 14 churches in Arkansas with 1,391 total members.
It continues to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman, a position shared by ECO.
Grace Presbyterian Church, 1010 Hogan Lane, Conway will hold its installation service at 4 p.m. Sunday.