Tell us about your family.
Jeremie Taber (13), loves basketball and music. Mason Taber (12), loves basketball, football, Legos, and music. Brandi and I are native Montanans, Jim (Laurel), Brandi (Hamilton). We met while in college at University of Montana through some mutual friends in Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. Our sons are from Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo. We adopted them in 2012 and were able to bring them home in March of 2016. We enjoy camping, playing basketball together, and taking family road trips.
Share your church planting story with us.
We planted Gracepoint Church in May of 2019 in Billings, MT. I felt a call from God to leave Emmanuel Baptist Church after 14 years. However, God did not tell me what He was calling us to for 8 months. After that time of prayer, fasting, counsel, and interviewing we didn’t feel called to another church, but rather to plant a new church in Billings. That call came by our hearts breaking for the lost in our own community and a desire to be strategic about reaching them with the gospel. We meet for worship in the cafeteria of Medicine Crow Middle School. We have a ton of young families which is exciting, but we really do have a solid multigenerational church as well.
What has been the most rewarding thing about planting a church in Billings, MT?
The most rewarding thing about planting in Montana is seeing a fresh excitement for spiritual things and a passion for the gospel. Montana is not known for being an expressive or excited people. Winters are hard here, so people tend to “plod along” with their lives. Seeing people come to know Christ and get excited about their relationship with Him is priceless. In addition, it has been a profound joy to see so many people come to know Christ since we have planted. Seeing them learn the gospel, open their heart to Him, surrender their lives and watch God work has been amazing. We have seen people transformed by the gospel in big ways and that continues to be our driving focus!
What has been one of the most challenging things about church planting?
Most Montanans don’t make decisions or change fast. They process their life at slower paces. That means discipleship can be a slow process. You must work hard to stay consistent with them in their spiritual journey. Leadership discovery and development is always a challenge here. It is rare to find someone who wants to lead in ministry or has any tools to do so. So, leadership training begins at a very elementary level; working to convince the person they have gifts that God has birthed in them to be used.
What is one of the most important things God has taught you while on this church planting journey?
God has taught me to be ruthlessly focused on the mission and not get distracted. Between structures, people, and the mountain of things we “can’t” do, I have learned we need to stay focused on what we can do, not what isn’t possible.
God continues to teach me that waiting on Him in prayer is the ministry. Stay faithful. Work as unto Him. But trust He loves Gracepoint more than I do and will meet our needs.
How can our MTSBC churches pray for you?
Please pray for my boys that they continue to walk with Jesus as middles schoolers.
Pray we as a church continue to share the gospel boldly in our community and not become focused inwardly. Pray that God provides a building for our church to use as a tool for making disciples and that He sustains us through another winter of portable church.
If you would like to support the Taber Family and Gracepoint Church in Billings, you may contact them at [email protected] or [email protected] or go to www.gracepointbillings.com.
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