“Nowhere more than in America are Christians caught in the twentieth-century syndrome of size. Size will show success. If I am consecrated, there will necessarily be large quantities of people, dollars, etc. This is not so. Not only does God not say that size and spiritual power go together, but He even reverses this (especially in the teaching of Jesus) and tells us to be deliberately careful not to choose a place too big for us.”– Francis Schaeffer
In 2009 my family and I moved from a larger community in north Florida to a significantly smaller community in rural Montana to serve in the pastorate. This transition greatly impacted us in a number of ways. Geographically – we now live great distances from our entire family. Friendships – our two children were faced with the challenge of forming new friendships. Ministry – we moved from a church that was experiencing much growth to one where a struggling remnant of people were just trying to keep the doors open one more week. Cultural challenges – we moved from suburban life to a cow pasture. Our church is surrounded by cattle ranchers and I am no farmer or rancher!
How we adjusted
Adventure would be the word that best describes our first year in Montana. We prayed as a family that the Lord would open up doors for us to meet people and minister in the community. Within a few short months, this prayer was answered. I began coaching my son’s soccer team while my wife began teaching fitness classes at the local gym. Our daughter gained friends through involvement in our community theatre while our son jumped right into playing his favorite sport – soccer.
Within a short time, we were receiving invitations to attend rodeos, the local fiddler’s picnic, dinners with folks in the community, rafting trips down the Yellowstone River, and many hikes.
At church, our children handed out song books, collected the offering, and helped set-up and take-down sound equipment after the summer series of services held outside at a local campground.
During our first winter we determined we would not allow the cold weather to keep us from living, and believe me, that was a challenge!
Different setting – similar challenges
Many times when people think of the small western community they picture a trouble-free setting with little to no crime or substance abuse. Small towns surely consist of families who sit down each evening to share a meal together without distractions or family tension. Schools systems are conservative, beginning each day with prayer, and rarely facing the issues of a larger public school system. Churches are smaller, and thus less infiltrated with selfish, sinful people.
While no two rural communities are alike, I can assure you that the above images do not accurately represent the landscape of Pine Creek, Montana.
Our local newspaper prints a daily report of crimes committed within our city limits with the names of the offenders. It’s quite the list – a lot of broken people. Since living here, our community has experienced nearly two suicides a year. A large number of these have been middle/high school students. Drug and alcohol abuse is off-the-charts awful in our county. Our local school has never had a Bible club – my daughter hopes to launch the first one next school year but is still trying to secure a teacher willing to act as the “sponsor” for the club.
While the Lord has abundantly blessed Mountain Bible Church in so many ways, our church is far from the “model” assembly. Mankind by nature is hard-headed and hard-hearted. MBC likely has many of the same “issues” that a larger congregation has. I would argue they are only more amplified in a smaller setting!
