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There are approximately 371 Open Bible affiliated churches in the U.S. and over 1000 oversees. In the U.S. we are arranged within five regions. Pacific, Mountain Plains, Central, Eastern, and Southeast. Rapid City lies in the Mountain Plains region and the Dakota District. Our region encompasses the states of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Nebraska, N. Dakota and S. Dakota. Open Bible's National Headquarters is located in Des Moines, IA, headed by President, Jeff Farmer. Our Mountain Plains Regional Headquarters is in Rapid City, SD and is headed by Regional Superintendent, Les Potts. Our Dakota District Superintendent is Chuck Loftis from Bismarck, ND.

History

Open Bible Standard Churches originated from two revival movements: Bible Standard Conference, founded in Eugene, Oregon, under the leadership of Fred Hornshuh in 1919, and Open Bible Evangelistic Association, founded in Des Moines, Iowa, under the leadership of John R. Richey in 1932. Similar in doctrine and government, the two groups amalgamated in 1935, as "Open Bible Standard Churches" with headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa.

Historical roots of the parent groups reach back to the outpourings of the Holy Spirit in 1906 at the Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles and to the full gospel movement in the Midwest. Both groups were organized under the impetus of Pentecostal revival. Simple faith, freedom from fanaticism, emphasis on evangelism and missions and free fellowship with other groups were characteristics of the growing organizations.

For more information, please visit our denomination's
national website. openbible.org

Download the 429 page  Heritage & Horizons in pdf format (19mb) which documents the history of the Open Bible movement from its beginnings in 1935 to the Golden Anniversary Convention of 1982. It is a large file, so you may want to right-click and save target to your Desktop or My Documents before opening. Easiest to read at 125%.