The Town without a Churchby Grace Wilson, Stevensville Lone Rock Bible Church officially began in September 1994, but a hardy group of believers had been meeting for about 20 years, offering vacation Bible school and AWANA under the direction of the Rocky Mountain Bible Mission and sponsorship of Lolo Community Church. David and Susan Price opened their home for services until the congregation outgrew their living room. Then Dave and Babe Brandon offered the back room of their Three-Mile Store for services. Outgrowing theses facilities, the group eventually moved to Lone Rock School. The group continued to grow although they were not a legal entity and often did not know who would be leading the music, teaching, and did not have a church office, phone or address. The church officially began in 1994 and Kevin Horton was the first pastor. After he left in 1997, Jim and Mary Carlson served as interim and became permanent that fall. Steve Lockrem officially joined the pastoral team this summer, and what a tremendous help and blessing he and his family are.  Most churches are located in or near a town, but Lone Rock is about ten miles from both Stevensville and Florence. Nothing is out here except the school where we meet and homes scattered around the open fields. People come from all backgrounds: Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal, Baptist, any denomination in between. And it works. We come together as one body in Christ to worship and serve the one true Lord. Spiritual growth is taking place in the lives of individuals.
The average attendance is now around 175 and we have long felt the need to have our own building. We are reminded often, by pastor and board, that we are not building a church, we are building a place where the church can meet and serve others. Several years ago two and a half acres of land were donated, and the group legally organized in order to proceed. We also decided to build as money was provided, without neglecting or cutting back on any present ministries. Giving to missions, international and local, has in fact increased from 10 to 25 percent of the general offering. Many, many hours were spent drawing building plans, developing blue prints, and submitting plans for our building permit. Final acceptance came this August, and a joyous groundbreaking soon followed. The well is in, excavation is underway, and water lines are in too. Meanwhile, we continue worship in the school gym. We’re a casual lot; we like blue jeans and cowboy boots. After all, this is rural Montana. We love to greet and visit; the teenagers and younger boys are learning to be cheerful servants as they help the men set up and take down folding chairs each Sunday. Baptisms are held in the Bitterroot River. The cold of winter and spring flooding interferes a bit, but they’re great, and they fit right in with our informal manner of doing things here at Lone Rock. Most of the seven Bible studies and extra activities are held in homes. It helps us get to know each other better, having so many homes open for God’s use—it just makes it harder to find us! The youth group hosts from 17 to 25 teens a week, the nursery has up to 14 children, and monthly men’s prayer breakfasts and ladies’ fellowship meetings offer outstanding opportunities to grow. Community outreach activities include a weekly nursing home ministry in Stevensville, state prison ministry, vacation Bible school averages over 100, and AWANA averages 95 each week. Many from church take active participation each summer at the Mission camps. |
