Last week I mentioned that Kathy and I were asked to share the history of how Faith Bible Church began (for their 70th anniversary).  Then a month later,  we went to Three Lakes Community Bible Church (where I pastored for 37 years) to share in its 5oth anniversary celebration and relate how that church began. As we examine the history of the establishment of little local assemblies of believers it is always exciting to see God’s hand at work. After all, history is “HIS story”!

     Let me preface my comments with a couple Bible verses from the book of Proverbs: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (3:5,6); “The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps” (16:9).  As I share a few of the details of how God orchestrated in hearts and events to establish both Faith Bible Church and Three Lakes Community Bible Church,  you will see how the truths of these verses apply as God carries out His purposes.

     Have you ever looked back at how God has led in your life to bring you to the point where you are right now and ask the question, “What if?” How would your life have been different if certain things had not taken place, or you had made different decisions?   Well, let me do that as I look back at God’s establishing a couple little local churches in the northwest corner of Montana. 

     What if my grandparents had not each emigrated (legally!) from Norway to the United States in the mid 19th century? What if they had stayed in Norway?  What if my parents had not had several drought years in a row in North Dakota; would they have sold their little farm near Nekoma to move to Polson, Montana where I was born the next year (1946)?  What if, when my dad got sick, and my mom had to go back into teaching, she had been able to get a position in Polson? Would she ever have applied for a teaching job in Libby, where we moved in 1958?

     What if my wife’s family had remained in New Jersey and not come to Wilsall, Montana (in 1947) where her dad was invited to come and pastor the Wilsall Community Church? 

     What if Youth For Christ had not held a rally in Libby in early 1954? It was there the Auge family got saved and started a Bible study in their home. What if they had been content to just have a home Bible study? What if they had not decided to start a church and contact Clarence Kutz to see if he would be interested to come and be their pastor in 1955? That was the beginning of Faith Bible Church in Libby.

     What if, when my family moved to Libby, my mom had not had Sherry Auge in her 4th-grade class. Sherry’s folks, Lou and Nora Mae, invited our family to come hear their new Pastor. We did so in 1960 and were “hooked” on his great Bible teaching. AND, I also met and grew to love Pastor Kutz’s daughter, Kathy and we were married in the very first service upstairs at Faith Bible Church June 16, 1967. 

     What if, when I graduated from Montana State University in December 1968, and went on several interview trips (to IBM in Boulder, CO; ALCOA in Wenatchee, WA; General Electric in Milwaukee, WI; Hyster Company in Portland, OR), I had not taken the job for Hyster in Portland, where I had the opportunity to attend Basic Youth Conflict Seminar in November 1970 and gain assurance of salvation (with which I had been struggling)?  What if I had not had the privilege of seeing my boss, and his brother and our secretary trust Christ as Savior?  What if their many questions had not prompted me to start a Bible study at work and also a home Bible study?  What if Kathy and I, after much discussion and prayer, had not made the decision for me to resign at Hyster and go into full-time ministry?  The summer of 1973, we took our week vacation in Montana and while there interviewed Rocky Mountain Bible Mission at their summer camp and were invited to join the mission. (NOTE: what if American Sunday School Union in Pennsylvania had not sent  missionaries to western Montana in 1957 who established Rocky Mountain Bible Mission?) 

     We always had a desire to return to Montana to rear our family but didn’t know how God would work that out. I was also interested in Campus Crusade with whom I had been doing lay work in the Portland area. What ministry should we choose? Ironically, it was a Crusade worker that pointed out Psa. 37:4,5 to us: “Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He will do it.” The Crusade worker said, “If you are delighting in the LORD and trusting in Him, He will place His desires in your heart.”  We realized that our desire to return to Montana and minister was His desire, so I gave my notice at Hyster in March of 1974.  

     Since we had to raise support (which at the time I walked out the door at Hyster was at zero!), I asked our home church, Montavilla Baptist, if we could share about our upcoming ministry with RMBM. We were told we could have five minutes on a Sunday night!  What if the week before the given Sunday, our pastor had not gone to Helena, Montana for a pastors conference?  What if he had not been given a ride to and from the airport by Frank Jackson, Director of RMBM?  By the time our pastor got back to Portland he was very excited about RMBM’s ministry and called us to say, “You have the whole service!”  They took an offering for us which exactly paid for our U Haul truck rental!  

     What if when Pastor Kutz retired from pastoring FBC in 1970, he hadn’t joined RMBM? When we returned to Libby April 1, 1974, I began working for the mission as His understudy. One of his home Bible studies was in the mobile home of John and Lottie Ring near Troy, Montana. I taught the youth in a shop and Kathy and her mom had the children’s class in the kitchen or a bedroom. The group had grown to about 40 people, so one night in the spring of 1975 they decided to establish “Three Lakes Community Bible Church.”  They assembled a board and wrote up Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws (patterned after those of FBC). Lottie Ring’s folks donated property and work began on building the church. As forms were set for the foundation, Pastor Kutz, who had just been diagnosed with an aggressive Leukemia, passed away October 7, 1975.  So, “by default,” I became the pastor of a brand new church! I was excited and frightened. I knew I could never fill Pastor Kutz’s shoes. I was just a “recyled engineer!” I had to completely depend on the Lord, knowing that I was not adequate. My adequacy was in Him (II Cor. 3:5), but with Him, “we could do this!”  We all grew together, worked together, worshiped together, did life together and I remained there for 37 years, during which time we built Camp Elohim in 1978 and established Three Lakes Christian School in 1979. And–all glory goes to God for the great things HE has done, for it is all “HIS-story”!

Forever His,

Pastor Dave N