By Scott Laird, D.Min.
We have a practice among Montana preachers and their wives that we have cultivated for over twenty years. We find a Sunday night, Monday, and Tuesday morning after most of the snow has melted to get away and encourage one another. We call it “The Rising.” Our phrase to explain the title is, “As trout rise to feed and be nourished, so must those in ministry rise to find nourishment and encouragement.” We initially held our retreat close to a good fishing site along the Missouri River. Our locations have changed over the years, but the concept of “rising to find nourishment and encouragement” has continued.
None of the churches in Montana are “big” by many standards. Billings and Great Falls have congregations with about 200 in attendance. After that, there is one in the 120 range and the rest are at or below 100; most are below 40 members. Our sizes differ but the need for those in ministry to share life and encouragement is the same. I am not talking about us getting together to hear another lecture; instead, we gather to share our stories, discuss issues affecting us, and glean wisdom from one another. Questions arise like: Where are we in life’s journey: physically, emotionally, and spiritually? Where are our churches spiritually? How can we pray for each other? How can we support one another? I could go on, but you get the idea.
We supplement “The Rising” with several other events to strengthen the bonds of those in ministry. About once a quarter, many ministers travel to a church facility to share their lives and a meal. We have three youth rallies in the state that bring many of us together. Yellowstone Bible Camp is a connection point, as several of the ministers serve either as managers or speakers at one of the camps. We also have a state lectureship, a men’s retreat, and the West Yellowstone Winter Wonderland Rendezvous, which serve as touchpoints for ministers and wives.
I have served with the church in Great Falls, Montana, for about 32 years and it is my opinion that the Montana churches are generally healthier today than 30 years ago. It is not because I have been in Montana that we are healthier. Instead, we are standing on the shoulders of the ministers who came before us and began this culture of teamwork among those in ministry. We are just living out what others began.
If the ministers and wives in your area are not connecting with one another on a regular basis, please begin by praying for them to have opportunities to connect. Maybe sit down with your preacher and ask what they would like to experience with other ministers in the area. Listen. You may have some keys to bless them. You might be financially capable of setting something up for them. You might know someone who has an Airbnb that would be free or inexpensive as a place to meet. Your congregation might be able to help financially. (The larger churches in Montana, especially Billings and Great Falls, provide most of the financial resources for “The Rising.”) You will never know how God might use you to encourage the preachers and wives in your area unless you ask. At the very least, when you ask, you demonstrate that someone cares and that provides a blessing. If you would like more information on how to put something like “The Rising” together, please contact me at slaird@york.edu.
We all have a lot we can learn from one another. The ministers and their wives in every size of church need relationships where they can be transparent with people who “get” where they are coming from. My prayer for this blog is that it might get some of you who read this to actively work on blessing the preachers and wives in your area. When ministers and wives are healthy, the church is always blessed.
May the Lord bless us richly as we serve in the kingdom of God.
Scott Laird has over 40 years of full-time ministry while serving the Lord in Canada and Montana, serving at the Great Falls church of Christ for over 30 years. During his tenure in Great Falls, the church trained nine men and their wives in a two-year apprenticeship program, sent out over 850 Christians and their children across the United States and around the world, moved to a better ministry facility, witnessed over 400 baptisms, and equipped a number of new elders. Laird currently serves as the Co-Executive Director for the York Center for Ministry, is a HOPE Network Associate, an adjunct professor for Harding School of Theology, and participates on the boards of the Christian Chronicle, Yellowstone Bible Camp, and Yellowstone Bible Camp Foundation.