If you or your wife finds small town ministry undesirable then don't waste time reading this essay. There are only eight towns in Montana with populations over 10,000 and all of them have churches identifying themselves as independent Baptist. In fact, there are at least 22 independent Baptist churches in these eight towns.

One primary source of frustration for home missions-minded pastors here is that the few potential church planters who demonstrate interest in Montana are typically focused on the highest-populated towns where there are already good churches. Meanwhile, scores and scores of small towns here not only don't have independent Baptist churches, but no assemblies whatsoever which are even nominally evangelistic.

Of the 240 towns in Montana, 226 of them have populations under 5,000. That rounds off to 94 percent. There are at least 29 fundamental churches in the six percent (14 towns) with more than 5,000 people. That's an average of two churches per town.

Now let's look at the 94 percent (226 towns) with populations under 5,000. There are 26 independent Baptist churches in that 94 percent. That's an average of ONE CHURCH FOR EVERY NINE TOWNS. Even someone with a public school education can do the math. It equals a huge need for preachers willing to pay the price to minister in small-town Montana.

Are you still reading? If so you may have the faith, humility, patience and endurance it takes to pioneer a church in one of those little dots under the Big Sky. Now we'll get into specifics by breaking Montana down into three distinct divisions and examining the church planting need in each one. These divisions are: The Western Third, The Northeastern Tier, and The Eastern Plains. (Having a map of Montana to look at would be helpful as we examine each division).

The Western Third
Starting from the bottom of Montana, the eastern border of this division traces Highway 89 from Gardiner to Great Falls and then up I-15 to the Canadian Border.

The Western Third is the popular, even "hip" portion of Montana. It's the part-time home of "rich and famous" folks such as Ted Turner, Charles Schwab, David Letterman and even Hank Williams, Jr. to name a few.

Although the population is still quite modest by national standards, Western Montana has virtually burst in population over the past 15 years.

It isn't employment that's bringing people here as good-paying jobs are scarce and industry is actually declining. Yet people are fleeing crowded, fast-paced, crime-ridden areas (especially California) to live in what they see as a near "Utopia." However, a large number of them find their Utopian dreams shattered and head back to the big city, usually due to finances. There always seems to be others to come and take their places though. Some do find a way to carve out a living and stay.

A lot of newcomers are retired, including a surprising number of early retirees in their 40's or 50's trying to make it on savings, investments, and funds left over from selling high-priced homes in California. Many end up finding jobs or starting their own businesses to stay.

Because most of the newcomers have raised their children, many public schools in Western Montana are experiencing enrollment declines despite the large population growth. And, because about the only employment available involves low-paying, service-related jobs, Western Montana exports its greatest resources, the children. For instance, in Ravalli County, one of the fastest-growing areas of Montana, 95 percent of the young people move away within five years of graduating high school.

Despite its drawbacks, the Western Third obviously has much more to offer including beauty, wildlife, hunting and fishing, little major crime, fairly friendly people and a generally slower pace of life. These may be some of the reasons that 41 of Montana's 55 independent Baptist churches are located in this division.

Even though the churches are concentrated in this portion, there are still many western towns in need. The two largest without independent Baptist churches are Polson and Whitefish. Both have had several works planted in them, especially Polson, but none have stuck. Tourism mainly drives these towns with Whitefish featuring one of the nation's top ski resorts and Polson sitting on the south shore of wildly popular Flathead Lake.

Other larger small towns needing churches include Manhattan and Three Forks on I-90 between Butte and Bozeman. Then there are Conrad, Choteau and Shelby north of Great Falls, and Frenchtown and Lolo in the Missoula area. Those called to reach Indians for Christ would do well to investigate Hot Springs and Ronan located south of Flathead Lake. Then there is Libby in the far northwest which seems cursed with serious problems including poisoning from the old vermiculite mine. This is another place where many have come and gone, but with all their recent trials maybe the hearts of the people are ready to listen now.

The Northeastern Tier
Of course there's no way to know for sure, but there may be no area in the contiguous U.S. which has been so neglected by independent Baptists than this section of Montana. Bigger than many states, this division is some 400 miles long and 150 miles deep, sitting north and south of Highway 2 from just east of Shelby all the way to North Dakota. That's approximately 60,000 square miles of territory containing approximately 80 towns with a grand total of two independent Baptist churches. This means there's only one fundamental church per 40 towns. Now a good number of these towns have populations of 300 or less, but still!

So why is this forlorn region so neglected? A major reason is low and, in many cases, sinking populations. Others include frigid winters, barren and flat landscapes, isolation, and lack of acceptance towards newcomers. In addition, much of the territory has a heavy Indian population, some of the most difficult people to reach and disciple.

It would take pioneer preachers as tough as the rawhide-skinned folks who have managed to dig a life on the cracked tundra plains of the rugged Nothern Tier, but truly with God nothing is impossible. One might just look upon it as "Kansas with a kick"!

There are three larger towns on Highway 2 where churches could be planted and used as a base for outreach to the scores of miniature towns which mark the region. They're Malta, Glasgow and Wolf Point. (A fourth, Havre, now has a church). Plentywood, up in the far northeast corner, is another key town. This chunk of Big Sky seems suited to a modern-day circuit riding preacher.

Those with enough faith to tackle the Northern Tier for Christ would probably require strong and lasting support. The Lord can open up an employment opportunity anywhere; however, the pickings are real slim in these parts. A positive of this division is cheaper homes and land costs. For example, a median home around Plentywood goes for 45,000 compared to 143,000 (Bozeman), 136,000 (Missoula), and 133,00 (Hamilton). Meanwhile the median income in Plentywood (29,518) isn't far behind Hamilton (31,992). Also, the winters are not as bad as one might imagine thanks to occasional visits from warming "Chinook Winds."

There's no sugar-coating it. The Northeastern Tier is "Siberia South" or at least North Texas with a real nasty disposition. However, certainly there are a few independent Baptist marines out there itching for a new battlefront to storm.

The Eastern Plains
This division is the largest in area extending east of Highway 89 and south of Fort Peck Lake to the borders of the Dakotas. With the exception of Big Horn, the counties east of Billings are experiencing population losses like most of the other American Plains. However, some individual towns out there are growing, most notably Colstrip and Forsyth.

Some of the most tantalizing church planting opportunities under the Big Sky are to the west and south of Billings. They include the I-90 corridor towns of Big Timber and Columbus. These environs don't feature the spectacular scenery offered by Western Montana, but they're growing places in desperate need of evangelistic churches. Fifty miles or so south of Columbus is a plum opportunity in Red Lodge, a town which borders the beautiful Custer National Forest. The fact that Columbus and Red Lodge are within easy driving distance of Billings, Montana's largest city, should make them that much more attractive to prospective church planters.

There are so many forgotten towns on the Eastern Plains in need of churches. It's another area lending itself to the circuit-riding ministries which have almost disappeared across America since the early 1900's. Montana, as well as the Dakotas, Wyoming and the Nebraska plains all would benefit tremendously from some modern-day Sheffeys. Eastern Plains towns like Absarokee, Broadus, Circle, Ekalaka and Terry are a few of the miniscule map specs in magnanimous need of someone bringing the gospel to their people.

The folks of the Eastern Plains don't have as closed a society as is common of the Northern Tier. One would encounter the typical "why do we need another church here?" attitude from a populous holding strong allegiance to the ice-cold Protestant and Catholic churches that have been imbedded within the culture for generations. Even many of those locals whose only use for churches involves weddings and funerals possess such cultural loyalties. The work would be painfully slow in most, if not all, cases. It could require pastoring only 10 to 30 people for years, perhaps even for life in the smaller communities.

Those with a working knowledge of farming and ranching would have an advantage on the Eastern Plains. The people here respect those who know the value of hard work and have hands-on understanding of farm and ranch life. Relationships would be built by laboring side-by-side with the people and relating to the up's and down's inherent to their livelihoods.

Conclusion
There are many obstacles to overcome in order to faithfully fullfil God's calling to Montana. One of the main ones for most preachers coming here is pride relating to church size. This plays a huge factor in most every preacher's decision to leave here. It's hard to handle running 25 people on Sunday mornings after three years of hard labor. Without surrendering the matter to God, it can be even harder to endure such a fate after 5, 8 or 10 years.

It can also be hard on the ego to send reports back to sending and supporting churches that indicate few salvation decisions and little growth. Pastors and churches outside of the Rocky Mountain Northwest often don't understand and some lose patience due to their perception of meager results. It's somewhat akin to expecting a missionary to Pakistan to have conversion rates like a missionary to the Phillipines. My, how many a preacher here would love to see a Bible Belt or big city pastor critical of the slow growth here come up and give it a try for himself!

Discounting Great Falls churches which have the gigantic advantage of a large Air Force Base, a fundamental church running 200 or more here is a "Megachurch." It's literally comparable to a church running 1,000 or more in many other parts of the country. A congregation of 100 here is considered a large church. The vast majority of independent Baptist churches in Montana run under 100 in attendance, with most averaging less than 50 on Sunday mornings.

So, although miraculously you may be the first preacher in history to experience it, you're not going to be running 200 after three years in small-town Montana. In fact, you would be incredibly blessed to have a church of 50 by that time. The usual limited results and slow growth of churches in the Big Sky is part of the cost to be counted before deciding to come here. Home missionaries raising support should communicate this aspect of the ministry here to the sending and supporting pastors.

Finally, don't come unless God has truly called you. Some arrive called by adventure, emotional-euphoria, love of the outdoors, receiving praise and esteem back home, etc. None of those callings will enable a preacher to get the job done. Truly, even some who come armed with the call of God don't make it very long. Indeed, those of us who have stayed often struggle mightily to keep marching on. The wife also must be firmly committed to fulfilling God's calling. Several have left because their wives would no longer endure.

There's ample opportunity for church planting success under the Big Sky. We pray for laborers to come and hope that you are part of the answer to our prayers.