Planting a church in the middle of—nowhere? No—everyday life

To some, Kalispell, Montana, might feel like the middle of nowhere. When I was assigned to serve as a home missionary here, more than one person said that. And in some ways, I understand it. Kalispell sits in the far northwest corner of Montana, surrounded by mountains, forests, and long stretches of open space.

But one thing has become clear very quickly: there is no “middle of nowhere” where God has placed souls he loves. There are neighbors who need Christ, people who need love, and opportunities to speak the promises of God. Mission work does not happen only in faraway places or in formal church programs. It happens on a basketball court before sunrise, with the same guys I see week after week. It happens over coffee downtown. It happens when kids play together at the library or at the park. It happens around dinner tables, in hospital rooms, and in the slow, patient work of building friendships.

The more time we spend with people, the more opportunities God gives us to point them to Jesus, the rock-solid foundation they need.

We have seen that happen again and again in the first months of our mission. A pickup basketball game has led to conversations about Bible study. A cup of coffee downtown has turned into questions about Lutheranism. A simple meal after worship has become the place where people linger, ask questions, and slowly become more than visitors. Some people have come with very little Bible background. Others have been hurt by churches before. Others simply want a place where they can be known and hear the Word clearly. None of those conversations happened because of a complicated program. They happened because God placed people in front of us and gave us time with them.

I am learning that home mission work can be slower and more ordinary than many people imagine. It is not just worship launch services, signs, mailers, or big events. Much of it is learning names, showing up again, asking better questions, opening your home, and being ready when someone finally asks, “Could you explain the Bible to me?” I have learned that people rarely open up all at once. But after enough conversations, enough meals, and enough ordinary time together, questions start to come. Then come opportunities to share the extraordinary work of Christ.

What does your everyday life look like? I have a hunch that you eat food, need gasoline for your car, go to doctor’s appointments, or have a favorite restaurant. Next time you head out your door to run errands, go to work, or spend time with your family, look around. Whose name and face are unfamiliar to you? That is a soul for whom Christ died. God gives you the privilege of entering their world with the promises of his Word.

That is not only true in Kalispell. It is true wherever God has placed you.

You may not live in what others would call “the middle of nowhere.” But you do live in the middle of someone’s everyday life. Learn their name. Share your table. Ask the next question. Listen long enough to know their burdens. Invite them to hear the Word. God often opens doors to the gospel through the ordinary relationships right in front of us.

Because wherever sinners need forgiveness, wherever people need hope, wherever hearts are searching for something solid, there is mission work to do. And there is no foundation more solid than Jesus Christ.

Written by Joshua Schroeder, pastor at Foundation Lutheran Church in Kalispell, Montana.