Recent Happenings in the Montana Churches of God
New Ministry Journalism Team
During Church Reunion 2025, delegates from around our assembly of Montana churches gathered to hear testimonies, enjoy some great food and fellowship, hear critical messages from our pastors, and worship the Lord Jesus TOGETHER. It had been far too long since the MTVHOG Family had come together, just to get reacquainted and to hear about the ministry being done in each other's churches. During the meeting there was also great discussion about the way that we have worked together in previous decades. Pastor Rich Cloyed reminded us of the many ministry teams that once served the larger assembly. Youth ministry teams, leadership development and Christian education teams, church planting teams, among many others. Having strong ministry teams consisting of people from all of our congregations is to be our focus once again.
The first of these teams is our MTCHOG Journalism Team. Over and over again, people have said that they wished they knew all that was happening across the State. State events, activities, camps, retreats, needs, etc. People want to hear about the great work being done in our churches, and they want to be better informed. This new ministry team will work to accomplish these goals.
Leading the new Journalism Team will be Braden Heard from Columbia Falls, Montana. He and his wife Rae attend Active Word Ministries and are serving under the leadership of Pastor Frank Vargas. Braden is in the process of completing Leadership Focus which will allow him to gain Ministry Credentials through CHOG Anderson. I asked Braden for a short biography to introduce himself to all of you;
"Hey everyone! My name is Braden Heard and I I was born in Helena Montana. I was adopted in 2006 and spent most of my young life into my early to mid-20s struggling with drug addiction and alcoholism. In and out of treatment centers went through a couple different psych wards and tried to commit suicide a couple different times. Plain and simple, I was very lost and deceived. I went back to treatment in 2022 and realized what I was missing Jesus Christ! I got baptized a couple months later and gave my life to Christ and committed myself to following him. Shortly after that God called me in to ministry! Jumped right in! I got plugged in at Active Word Ministries looking for ways to not only serve our Lord but help serve our local church family!"
