My Brother: Missionary to Eastern Montana and the Bakken Oil Field

Jordan, Mandy, Reagan, Judah, and Piper

My younger brother, Jordan, is the pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church in Sidney, Montana.  When most people think of Montana, they think of beautiful mountains, ski resorts, and wild trout streams.  But in reality, that is only one half of the state - the western half.  The eastern half of Montana is rolling prairies and badlands with many more cows than trees (or people for that matter).  It is a sparsely populated, desolate country, with long, cold winters.  To be certain, it has a beauty of its own, but few people appreciate it and fewer still choose to live there.  Which is why I respect my brother so much.

Jordan and his family have been in Sidney (far northeastern corner of Montana) since 2008.  Under Jordan's leadership, Fellowship Baptist has become one of the largest and healthiest SBC churches in Montana.  But more impressively, Fellowship has become a center for church planting in Montana and North Dakota.

Fellowship Baptist Church

As Baptist Press reported today (read the article here), the developing Bakken Oil Field near the Montana/North Dakota line has brought thousands of transient workers to Fellowship's back yard.  Fellowship has responded by ministering to these workers in numerous hands-on ways (food, hot showers, lodging, etc), and has led the way in reaching the Bakken, by planting three churches in the last two years in this region.  (A fact Baptist Press was apparently unaware of when they wrote the article.)

Please remember Jordan and Mandy in your prayers as they faithfully serve in eastern Montana - far away from the spotlight of man, but filling a crucial role in the Kingdom of God.