Roberts, Idaho was founded alongside the Snake River on the road that led to the gold mines in Montana. The town was originally called Market Lake and at one time it looked like it would be a bigger town than nearby Eagle Rock, which is now known as Idaho Falls. Not much of the former glory of the town remains, with most of the people in town working on the farms and ranches that surround it or employed by the nearby potato processing plants. It is still a nice place to live, with quiet streets and a wide variety of recreation, such as hunting, fishing, camping and snowmobiling, available in the nearby mountains.
In the early 1900s Roberts had two Protestant churches in town. The chapel of the current community church was built in 1918 by the Presbyterian church. Those small churches struggled then, as they do now, and in 1928 the Presbyterian church merged with the Baptist church to form the Roberts Community Church. In those early years many different ministers served the church, bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of Roberts. Unfortunately there were also times when there was no pastor available and the pulpit was filled by laymen or by pastors from various churches in Idaho Falls. By the 1960's services were sometimes held only once a month and the church only remained alive through the work of a few dedicated women who worked to hold Sunday School every week. This was the situation in 1975 when the church decided to ask Village Missions to help them find full-time leadership.
The first Village Missionaries appointed to Roberts were Mel and Rose Dietz, who arrived early in 1976. Their tenure was to start out with challenge; on June 5, 1976 the Teton Dam broke and flooded Roberts along with many other communities in the area. The flood damaged or destroyed many buildings in town and left the church basement filled with mud and water. Much of the summer was spent cleaning up and repairing damage. Mennonite people from Ohio came to the area and helped to clean up and remodel the church basement and the parsonage. Their help is still remembered with great appreciation! Despite their rocky start the Dietz's saw the church began to grow again as people responded to the Gospel.
Deitz's were followed by another couple who only stayed a few months. The next Village Missionaries were Charlie and Lila Hill, who served the church for 5 years before Charlie's death. Even today their work is bearing fruit. The Awana youth program was started during their tenure and now involves more than 50 children each week. Charlie and Lila's son Steve has also gone on to become a Village Missionary. During the Hill's ministry the old front steps on the church were removed and a new foyer with bathrooms and a church office was constructed. The Hill's were followed by Charles and Patty Scott, who served the church for 12 years, during which the Lord blessed in many ways. There were new members added to the church and new believers added to God's kingdom.
Around this time God provided the means for the church to build a gymnasium to serve the church and the community. The construction was financed by a grant and the building includes a gymnasium, bathrooms and four classrooms. It has proven to be a great blessing both to the church and to the community as it is used for Awana meetings, Sunday School, youth functions, concerts, revival meetings, funerals and a variety of community activities.
The current Village Missionaries to the Roberts Community Church are Tim and Barb Douglass, who came to the church in May of 1999. God is still blessing the church with growth in attendance and by adding new believers. It is obvious that God has plans for the Roberts Community Church and that He will continue to use the church, and the people who make it up, to further His kingdom in this area.
Written by Tim Douglass
Derived from writings by Charles Scott and Enid Anderson