History

Outlines the history of the Church of Christ in Great Falls.

The Beginning Stages - 1948 to 1960

The first meeting of the church of Christ in Great Falls, Montana was held on May 9, 1948, in a room at the YMCA. There were five members present, namely: Brother and Sister Irby, Sister holland, and Brother and Sister Chitwood. Brother C. B. Middleton, the minister at Helena, conducted the services, which were held in the morning only. His only financial charge to us was his transportation here and back.

We faced some early struggles. On July 11, 1948, Brother and Sister Irby moved to Lewistown, Montana. Then on July 25, 1948, the second blow fell. Brother Middleton decided to return to Abilene, Texas, to finish his schooling and Sister Holland moved back to Arkansas.

Brother Middleton left us with the admonition that we "couldn't look back now." We didn't, but it wasn't easy. We held our last meeting in the YMCA on August 8, 1948. Brother Haywood of Helena, and the Chitwoods were the only people in attendance.

It was at this time that the Chitwoods wrote to around 100 different congregations for help. Through this effort $205.00 was contributed. Their home congregation in Indiana sent $190.00, the Eastside church in Phoenix, Arizona, $10.00, and the church in Susanville, California, $5.00.

After attending services in Helena for a while the Chitwoods again tried to find some members living in Great Falls. They ran an ad in the paper and the Audry Ives family answered. Also Brother James M. Tolle, who formerly preached for the church in Alhambra, California, had accepted a teaching assignment in Geyser, Montana. There was no place for him to worship so he wrote the Chitwoods telling them of his arrival and he agreed to preach for us in Great Falls.

On October 3, 1948, we again started holding services in the home of Brother and Sister Ives. Brother Tolle paid his own fare over here and back. In addition he wrote to various congregations and individuals for help and we received quite a bit of help financially through his efforts. On December 7, 1948, we ran another ad asking members to get in touch with us. This time the John Prater family answered. We then decided to get a more public meeting place and obtained the hostess room of the Bungalow Bakery. After that attendance increased regularly and on December 26, 1948, we had our first baptism.

Also in December, we purchased some lots on Central Avenue. The church bought three 25-foot lots and Brother Tolle bought one that would be made available to the church whenever we started to build. At the time we had only enough money in the treasury to buy the three lots that cost $150.00 each. Although the lots had increased in value when we were able to buy Brother Tolle’s, he let us have it at the original price. Brother Tolle continued preaching for us until school was out in May. He then left on a speaking tour of the south. In August of 1949, he visited with the Virginia Street church in Baytown, Texas, about the work here. They became very much interested and sent two elders, Brethren Herring and Staner, up here to get some first hand information. On their return they secured a minister, L. Q. Robinson, for us and sent him up here with full support. The Robinson family arrived in Great Falls, September 17, 1949. At that time we met only for Bible study and worship on the Lord’s Day morning. Very soon we added Sunday evening and mid-week services.

Our greatest need was for a meeting place. From the beginning the bulk of our contributions went into the building fund. The Baytown brethren contributed $3,000 to this fund. Several congregations and numerous individuals helped. Among ourselves we gave more than $4,000 above our regular contributions. An $11,000 loan was made. As the result of this financial sacrifice and of prayer and work we met for the first regular service in our church home, April 8, 1951. That was a day of rejoicing that we shall never forget.

There had been eighteen baptisms since the church began in Great Falls. We had now grown to forty-one (41) members. Because a large percentage of our members were in the Air Force we had an unusually large shifting of membership. About sixty were present for the first service in our new building. This was about our average attendance.

The church property was worth between $25,000 and $30,000 when finished. This included the four 25 foot lots with a 34 X 50 brick building with a complete basement. On the main floor we had the auditorium that would seat about 140 people, a baptistery, two classrooms and two rest rooms.

The completion of the building opened many doors for us! We planned a greatly enlarged program of personal work and Bible instruction. Several classes had already been added. The first gospel meeting ever to be conducted in Great Falls was scheduled to begin June 11, 1951. Brother S. C. Kinningham of Calgary, Canada, was the speaker. We are thankful for the bountiful blessings that have made possible the progress we have enjoyed. We have worked together in harmony and shall ever endeavor to keep the unit of the spirit in the bond of peace and to preach the gospel of Christ in its purity. We will continue to covet your prayers in this behalf.

On June 1, 1952, Brother L. Q. Robinson moved back to Texas leaving Great Falls without a preacher until Brother Ross Hinshaw was sent up here. On August 17 he preached his first sermon for the congregation in Great Falls. Baytown, Texas, continued supporting him as they had Brother Robinson.

In September 1953, Brother Hinshaw left the work here in Great Falls due to some difficulties between him and the brethren. As collections were well over one hundred dollars per Sunday, we decided to carry on alone until we were sure of obtaining a man whose desire was to see the work grow.

In April 25, 1954, Brother Tommy Coffee was hired as preacher for the church here, part-time. Brother Le Roy Hines came here October 5, 1954 to begin full time work in the ministry. Brother Coffee went to Cut Bank, Montana, to preach. Brother Hines moved in October 1956 to Spokane, Washington to work at Nora Avenue Congregation. Brother Coffee returned to preach full time for the congregation in Great Falls. In June 1960, Brother Coffee moved to Fort Collins, Colorado to preach for the Oak Street Church. From 1960 through 1969 the congregation was served by a number of preachers. Two of those were Brother Lockler and Brother Gordon.

back to top

Changes in Leadership - 1969 to 1994 (Part 2 of 3)

We moved into the building at 3400 Central Avenue on January 20, 1974. At that time we destroyed the old building by pushing it into its basement. The remains are now covered by the parking lot east of this building. This building was paid off in 1983. It was also during this time, approximately 1976, that the congregation traded their preacher’s house for the house at 3408 Central. The house at 3408 Central was eventually converted into the church’s office and some additional classroom space.

Gordon Naylor served as the evangelist form November 1, 1969 to March 1, 1993. During this time J. T. Lute joined Gordon in the work in August 1980. J. T. Lute served the congregation for two years and began an outreach to the deaf community. Brother Teddy Hensley followed him in the deaf ministry. His stay was fairly short, and the deaf ministry was discontinued at his departure. On March 1, 1993 Paul Helton began working with the church as the evangelist and served until August 1994. Scott Laird began his work as an evangelist in Great Falls in November 1994.

The first elders were appointed in Great Falls on March 7, 1976. The men appointed to serve at that time were Bob Smith and Milt Birmingham. In May 1981 three other men served with Bob Smith as elders, they were Clyde Owen, Dave Calvin, and Doug Clanin. Dave Seaman also served as one of the elders in the late 1980’s. For about two years the Great Falls church of Christ was without any elders until April 1992 when Jerry Merriman and Gordon Naylor began their service as shepherds for the Great Falls church of Christ. Bob Berry joined them on February 5, 1995.

In 1979 the average attendance was 159. During the next fifteen years that average grew to 203 in 1994. May the Lord cause his church to grow as the years go by.

back to top

Growing Pains - 1994 to 2000 (Part 3 of 3)

As I write this portion of our history in January 2001, it is obvious that there is a well-defined barrier in church growth called the 200 barrier. In the years from 1994 to 2000 the Great Falls Church of Christ came up against that barrier. During this period we saw 99 souls come to the Lord, as they were baptized into Christ and into His body. At that same time we were blessed with 115 baptized believers identifying with the body. We also saw 161 members move to other locations through transfers in the military or secular work and through the establishment of the Teton County Church of Christ in Choteau, Montana, during 1998. With regret we also acknowledge that a number of souls drifted from the Lord during this time and returned to the world.

The end result, concerning the growth in attendance, during this transition time is that the average attendance decreased to 194 in the year 2000. We have plateaued at the 200 barrier. The Great Falls Church of Christ is taking aim to break this barrier and reach even more souls with the good new of Christ.

Though our attendance may have stalled for these seven years we have not stopped growing in our relationship with the Lord and in a vision for what he can doe through us. Satan powerfully and deliberately attacked the church from 1998 through 2000. During these years we struggled as a body with the consequences of the sins of a couple of leaders in the church. With the help of God and godly leadership we were able to weather both major storms and grow in our love for one another and those who have sinned against us. Instead of Satan destroying us, God brought victory out of disaster. The lessons we learned about forgiveness, grace, repentance, restitution, and love are priceless even though they were hard and costly.

Some hard fought victories have come during the years of 1998 through 2000. Members in the Choteau area, with the blessings and help of the Great Falls Church of Christ, began to meet together in 1998 rather than continue to drive to Great Falls and meet with us. Thus the Teton County Church of Christ was established in 1998. They were averaging about 30 in attendance at the end of 2000 and have obtained land and a building to meet their needs as the body of Christ.

The body in Great Falls came to a realization of the need for an additional worker to break the 200 barrier and gave sacrificially to make a second worker a reality. The congregation from August 1999 through August 2000 employed Larry Elford; at the time Larry took a position with the Church of Christ in Del Rio, Texas. The congregation is now supporting Chris Crooks as an evangelist, while he completes his master’s degree through Harding University Graduate School of Religion. Scott Laird has continued to serve as an evangelist for the body from 1994 to present and Bob Berry, Jerry Merriman, and Gordon Naylor currently serve as shepherds of the body.

The Great Falls Church of Christ continues to serve a number of the smaller congregations in north central Montana. Gordon Naylor spearheads numerous trips to Havre and Chinook to preach for those two small congregations. A number of members make occasional trips up to Choteau to help with the assemblies at the Teton Church of Christ. These opportunities along with the local ministries of the congregation have proven to be great opportunities for Christians to grow and develop their gifts as they serve the Lord and His people.

The church continues to prepare for the future. In July 1997 the congregation, unanimously and by faith, purchased the house at 3412 Central Avenue with the goal of expansion. The loan for the house and some needed air conditioning upgrades for our building was $75,000. The Great Falls Church of Christ should pay this entire loan off if early 2001. The church is contemplating the possibility of breaking ground to expand our existing facilities sometime in 2001. May the Lord bless us so “that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of ours and every act prompted by our faith” (applied from II Thessalonians 1:11).

back to top