🚜 Off The Beaten Path: It’s Where To Find Some Of The Best Faith Stories 🔌
Weekend Plug-in 🔌
Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” meets readers at the intersection of faith and news. Click to join nearly 10,000 subscribers who get this column delivered straight to their inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr.
MIDVALE, Idaho — I’ve reported from most of the nation’s largest cities.
New York. Chicago. Los Angeles. Houston. Washington. I love covering the news in such important urban centers.
And I’m not just talking about music, although I certainly enjoyed the Grand Ole Opry when I worked in Nashville.
My earliest memories take me back to southeastern Missouri’s Bootheel, where both sets of my grandparents lived.
My brother, sister, cousins and I played hide-and-seek amid rows and rows of taller-then-us corn stalks. We couldn’t avoid the stench of the monster-truck-sized hogs that a neighbor raised in a cesspool of mud and slop.
We savored ice-cold Grape Nehi soda in a glass bottle that we bought at a tiny store down the street. That same store sold bologna sandwiches for a quarter and bags of candy for a dime.
A half-century has passed since those days, but I still treasure them.
A stack of hay rests on a field on a warm evening with a cloudy sky in the background. (Shutterstock photo)
A reporting trip to middle-of-nowhere western Idaho got me thinking about that time — and about the speck-on-the-map places that chasing stories takes me.
Often, we journalists — on the Godbeat and otherwise — find rural America difficult to cover. Sometimes, we can’t even grasp the concept.
I still chuckle over a Los Angeles Times story in 2015 that reported on a “small town” in Texas. That small town? Garland, a major Dallas suburb that then had a population of 237,000.
It’s all about perspective, I guess.
A major challenge is, of course, getting to places like Midvale — the Idaho town of 222 residents where I wrote about a 144-year-old congregation that nearly died.
My trip required flying 1,900 miles — via an L-shaped route from Oklahoma City to Phoenix to Boise. Then I drove 90 miles to the church.
The trip was worth it. The people I met blessed me. The on-the-ground details proved crucial.
Also, a few stereotypes were shattered along the way. For instance, Kevin Hooper, the church’s preacher, doesn’t wear cowboy boots. And he’s no fan of country music. He grew up listening to rap.
Kim Hamilton and other Christians fill their plates at a church fellowship meal in Midvale, Idaho. (Photo by Bobby Ross Jr.)
In fact, Hooper left Midvale for a number of years, thinking he didn’t fit in. But he later returned and couldn’t be happier.
“I realized what a great upbringing I had, and I wanted to provide that for my children — more of a fenceless world,” the 53-year-old father of seven said.
“Maybe not country,” he added, referring to the music. “But rural, I like it a lot.”
As for me, I’ve grown accustomed to the amenities of big-city life — even if major media such as the New York Times don’t consider Oklahoma City, where I live, as such.
I don’t see myself ever relocating to a town like Midvale. I’m too addicted to my neighborhood Chick-fil-A.
Still, I relish traveling to places off the beaten path and telling their stories — be they inspiring, heartbreaking or a bit of both.
While far from exhaustive, the following list highlights 15 such places that made an impact on me.
A quick note first: I thought it would be interesting to give an idea of the distances — both in the air and on the highway — traveled. But when flying, in particular, hardly anyone ever goes anywhere in a straight line from Oklahoma City. So I should emphasize that the numbers provided are estimates, helped by online tools, and probably low in a number of cases.
1. ALSEA, OREGON — Population: 129. Flight path: 1,488 miles from Oklahoma City to Portland. Driving distance from airport: 107 miles. The story: After a string of suicides, a minister helps bring answers. When: 2011.
2. CANADIAN, TEXAS — Population: 2,169. Driving distance: 190 miles from Oklahoma City. The story: Texas Panhandle residents rely on their faith after the largest wildfire in state history. When: 2024.
A congregation prays after a wildfire hit the Texas Panhandle town of Canadian, Texas, last year. (Photo by Bobby Ross Jr.)
3. DAUPHIN, MANITOBA — Population: 8,368. Flight path: 940 miles from Toronto (where I was pursuing a different story) to Winnipeg. Driving distance from airport: 196 miles. The stories: A ministry seeks to overcome — and atone for — Canada’s history of snatching indigenous children from their parents. Also, churches that once shunned each other open their hearts to Syrian refugees. When: 2017.
4. DEADWOOD, SOUTH DAKOTA — Population: 1,347. Flight path: 564 miles from Oklahoma City to Sioux Falls. Driving distance from airport: 431 miles to Bismarck, North Dakota (for a separate story) and 291 miles to Deadwood. The story: Amid a massive biker rally, Christians renew ties and fellowship. When: 2016.
5. ELDORADO, TEXAS — Population: 1,495. Flight path: 248 miles from Dallas to San Antonio. Driving distance from airport: 190 miles. The story: A grieving community comes together after eight senior citizens die in a church bus crash. When: 2003.
6. GRAVELBOURG, SASKATCHEWAN: Population: 986. Flight path: 1,099 miles from Oklahoma City to Regina. Driving distance from airport: 117 miles. The story: While churches struggle in more than a few places in rural Canada, this one thrives. When: 2009.
7. MAYFIELD, KENTUCKY — Population: 9,805. Driving distance: 580 miles from Oklahoma City. The stories: Neighbors break down barriers to help tornado victims. Also, rebuilding means rethinking for tornado-ravaged churches. When: 2022.
A sign hangs from a barrier fence surrounding the historic Mayfield, Kentucky, courthouse, which was damaged by a tornado on Dec. 10, 2021. The tornado killed 22 people in Graves County, where Mayfield is the county seat. (Photo by Audrey Jackson)
8. MONTEZUMA, IOWA — Population: 1,421. Flight path: 584 miles from Oklahoma City to Des Moines. Driving distance from airport: 67 miles. The story: A 156-year-old congregation epitomizes the challenges of many small, rural churches but refuses to die. When: 2013.
9. OKARCHE, OKLAHOMA — Population: 1,193. Driving distance: 40 miles from Oklahoma City (I got to sleep in my own bed when reporting this one). The story: A farming community honors a hometown hero on his way to Catholic sainthood. When: 2017.
10. RAYMOND, MAINE — Population: 4,536. Flight path: 1,494 miles from Oklahoma City to Boston. Driving distance from airport: 123 miles. The story: For these New Englanders, a camp with mounted moose heads over the fireplace provides a place of refuge and fellowship. When: 2008.
11. ROANOKE, ALABAMA — Population: 5,424. Flight path: 758 miles from Oklahoma City to Atlanta. Driving distance from airport: 70 miles. The story: Profile of a preacher marking 65 years with the same congregation (he’s nearing 68 years there, by the way!). When: 2022.
12. SEABROOK, NEW HAMPSHIRE — Population: 8,401. Flight path: 1,481 miles from Oklahoma City to Manchester. Driving distance from airport: 122 miles. The story: Two New England houses of worship with common roots — one in New Hampshire, one in Maine — become a one body. When: 2024.
A bridge connects New Hampshire and Maine near the communities where two congregations decided to merge into one. (Shutterstock photo)
13. SELMER, TENNESSEE — Population: 4,590. Driving distance: 558 miles from Oklahoma City. The story: A minister’s slaying and his wife’s arrest deal a double tragedy. When: 2006.
14. SOMERSET, PENNSYLVANIA — Population: 5,870. Flight path: 1,001 miles from Oklahoma City to Pittsburgh. Driving distance from airport: 69 miles. The story: A child molester’s son shines a light. When: 2015.
15. WASILLA, ALASKA — Population: 10,318. Flight path: 2,876 miles from Oklahoma City to Anchorage. Driving distance from airport: 46 miles. The story: An annual gathering draws together people of faith separated by hundreds of miles and — in some cases — rugged terrain accessible only by boat or plane. When: 2014.
Inside The Godbeat
You might have noticed a new byline at Religion Unplugged.
Cassidy Grom is the new managing editor.
“Cassidy brings a wealth of experience in journalism, storytelling and editorial leadership,” executive editor Clemente Lisi said in introducing her. “Her background includes work in both newsroom and field-reporting roles, with a strong focus on news and faith — making her a natural fit for our mission.”
Welcome to the team, Cassidy!
The Final Plug
Last year, I wrote an in-depth profile of Ryan Walters. The MAGA devotee made national headlines as he pushed for requiring a Bible in every Oklahoma classroom.
Walters recently left his post as the Bible Belt state’s superintendent of public instruction. This week, his successor Lindel Fields — appointed by Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt — announced he’s rescinding Walters’ Bible mandate.
But look for the wrangling over religion in public schools to continue.
Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy the weekend.
Bobby Ross Jr. writes the Weekend Plug-in column for Religion Unplugged and serves as editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle. A former religion writer for The Associated Press and The Oklahoman, Ross has reported from all 50 states and 20 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.