Sojourner #070: Reaching The Lost In The Last Best Place

“And he said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’” (Luke 10:2, ESV)

Reaching the Lost in the Last Best Place

Montana’s unofficial nickname is “The Last Best Place.” It is a land of breathtaking mountains, vast open skies, and a rugged independence that defines its people. It beckons the free-spirited, the individualist, the adventurer, the sportsman, the fisherman, and the cowboy to come. It embodies resistance to industrialization and change. It champions freedom and the frontier. But behind the postcard landscapes of snow-capped peaks and rolling valleys lies a sobering reality: in much of Montana, the Gospel is scarcely heard.

On a quiet Sunday morning, you might hear the rustle of the wind or the distant call of cattle, but in many towns, the gathered voices of the redeemed may be faint or even absent. The silence feels deafening, and the routine noise continues to ring through. 

Southwestern Montana is a mission field hiding in plain sight: it is beautiful to the eye, but barren in the soul. If the Gospel is to be heard here, it will not be because the soil is easy or the culture is receptive, but because the Lord of the harvest sends laborers into His field.

And the fields are ripe for the harvest. The religious picture of Montana is far less beautiful than its natural landscape. The statistics measuring religious affiliations in Montana “ranks Montana 47th-lowest in the nation for faith membership.” These statistics also fail to differentiate between those who are affiliated with groups that preach a false Gospel, such as Mormonism or Roman Catholicism, and churches that rightly preach the Gospel. In my home county, Madison County, less than one-third of the residents would even claim affiliation with any religion.

According to Pew Research, around 1% of Montanans affiliate with the Southern Baptist Convention, and less than 5% claim any Baptist affiliation whatsoever. Even fewer are part of a confessional, Bible-preaching church. Spiritual apathy is common. Alternative religions, from Mormonism to New Age mysticism to other cult movements, fill the void. Many residents are simply “nothing in particular” when it comes to belief.

These are not simply faceless statistics or cultural facts. Each of these numbers represent people who are apart from Christ, and therefore, “dead in their trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1), “having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12). The lost in The Last Best Place have the same need as all lost people, they need the salvation only possible by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. And this salvation will not come apart from the preaching of the Gospel (Romans 10:14-17). 

Montana’s culture is shaped by independence, self-reliance, and skepticism toward institutions. Gospel ministry, similarly, is often met with distrust and apathy. Many Montanans, in my experience, are not militantly anti-God. In fact, most Montanans, as secular conservatives, are very pro-God in the sense that they are okay with the idea of God, they just do not feel like they need Him. This betrays a lack of understanding of the nature of God, their sin, the Gospel, and the work of Christ. This is further reflected in the state of the church in Montana.

Churches, when they exist at all, are often sparsely attended, and many people have no gospel-preaching congregation within easy driving distance. (For example, there are many in our congregation who drive over 45 minutes to worship with us.) Churches here are often small and isolated. Long winters, long distances, and low population density make ministry slow and demanding. 

Yet, the work continues, not because the laborers are strong, but because the Lord is faithful. The same things God uses to build His church everywhere are the things God uses to build His church in Montana: the faithful preaching of the Word and the right administration of the ordinances. He is faithful to build His church by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

We do not rely on gimmicks or cultural fads to “attract” the lost. We rely on God’s sovereign grace, applied by the Spirit through the ordinary means of grace. The success of our labor does not hang on human ingenuity, but on the eternal decree of the Father, the finished work of the Son, and the effectual call of the Spirit.

If we judged by statistics, we might conclude that Montana is too hard, too cold, too resistant to the gospel. But Christ Himself has promised, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). His elect are here, though they do not yet know His name (John 10:16).

In Acts 18, when Paul entered Corinth, a city known for its idolatry and sin, the Lord told him, “I have many in this city who are my people” (Acts 18:10). The same is true in Montana. There are those appointed to eternal life (Acts 13:48) who have not yet heard the voice of the Shepherd, but they will by God’s grace.

This hope is not wishful thinking; it is a certainty grounded in the sovereignty of God. As the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith reminds us, “In God’s appointed and acceptable time, he is pleased to call effectually, by his Word and Spirit, those he has predestined to life. He calls them out of their natural state of sin and death to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ. He enlightens their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God. He takes away their heart of stone and gives them a heart of flesh. He renews their wills and by his almighty power turns them to good and effectually draws them to Jesus Christ. Yet he does all this in such a way that they come completely freely, since they are made willing by his grace."

In other words, our task is not to guess at the soil’s potential, but to faithfully sow the seed of the Word in faith, trusting God to give the growth. (1 Cor. 3:6-7) 

We trust the Lord of the Harvest to send more workers and encouragers to come alongside workers. We know that He will accomplish His perfect will in the Treasure State. So, how can you participate in this work? 

Just as the International Mission Board has said, you can pray, give, and go. 

Pray. Ask that the Lord would raise up and sustain faithful ministers in this region. Pray for boldness in preaching, endurance in hardship, and conversions that display the power of the Gospel. Pray that the Lord would send more laborers into this harvest (Matt. 9:37–38).

Give. Rural ministry is often underfunded and under-resourced. Financial partnership enables struggling churches to keep their doors open, pastors to remain in the field, and new works to be planted in unreached towns.

Go. The mission field is not only across oceans, it is across state lines. Short-term mission teams, pastoral interns, and long-term planters are needed. Come and help establish Gospel-preaching outposts. Consider whether the Lord might be calling you or your church to put down roots and establish partnerships here for the sake of the kingdom.

Montana may be “The Last Best Place,” but without the Gospel, it is a lost place. Christ is worthy to be worshiped in every valley, every ranch town, and every mountain community. His glory is worth the cost. The soil is hard, the winters are long, and the work is slow.

But the seed is good, and the Sower is sovereign. In His time, there will be a harvest. Until then, we labor, we pray, and we trust, knowing that God’s Word will not return void (Isa. 55:10–11). Will you join us in reaching the lost in the Last Best Place?

About the Author

Rev. Colt H. Hudson is pastor of Madison Valley Baptist Church in Ennis, Montana. He is devoted to preaching God’s Word and making Christ known across the rugged mission field of “The Last Best Place.” He studied at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is currently studying for his Ph.D. at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

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