Celebrating Growth

CLARKSVILLE, ARK. – During the fall of 2016 and early spring of 2017, a group of refugees from the Republic of Myanmar began a small settlement in the Clarksville area of Arkansas.

They began meeting as a small group affiliated with the Clarksville Seventh-day Adventist Church. Most of the members only speak Karen, a language akin to Burmese, and very few speak English. They were welcomed and a meeting place was shared where they could hold Sabbath services in Karen.

On March 24, 2018, the group became a company under the leadership of Poe Stanley. Since forming the company in 2018, they have grown to a church of 62 members. They are in the process of obtaining their own building for worship and have a new pastor, Nayklowha Moo.

On June 19, 2021, the company was organized into a church and accepted into the Arkansas-Louisiana Conference on June 27 at the Conference Constituency Session. We are happy to welcome the Clarksville Karen Seventh-day Adventist Church into the sisterhood of churches in the Arkansas-Louisiana Conference. The celebration of this organization took place on June 19, which was the day before World Refugee Day.

By Sylvia DownsCommunication

Administrative Assistant