Rants & Raves

Think of this page like graffiti wall just south of the California Street Bridge... it's your place to say whatever you want, good or bad, pro or con, whatever you want. Pretty much anything is fair game. And as comments pile up, older ones will get painted over from time to time.

So there you have it. The mic is yours. Tell us what's on your mind...

[NOTE: in the interest of getting the conversation started, we've posted in some older comments from original Missoula Project site. There's also plenty of fodder over in the comments on the Indy article.]

Our Mission

Here at All Souls Missoula, our mission flows from our Core Values:

Working to renew the city socially, culturally,
& spiritually.

We emphasize city, because we believe Jesus calls us to be radically others-oriented. The church does not exist simply to serve me; it exists to serve others, especially those on the outside. So we strive to love folks who don't share our convictions, to stand up for the poor and the oppressed, to be agents of mercy in a world of brokenness. We can't really love our neighbor if we don't also love the city in which our neighbors dwell.

We emphasize renewal, because we believe Missoula is glorious in many ways; at the same time, we believe it can still be better. So we strive to celebrate where Missoula shines, and to serve where Missoula still needs work. We focus our efforts on areas where God is already working, causing all sorts of people (even those who don't believe in him) to value the things that he values - love, beauty, justice, respect, dialogue, diversity. We labor as servants, not people who have it all figured out.

Finally, we emphasize socially, culturally, and spiritually because we believe humans are complex, multi-faceted beings - if all we offer are spiritual answers without caring for physical needs, we haven't really loved someone the way Jesus would. We believe true spiritual transformation inevitably impacts both culture and society. We desire to care about things that matter, regardless of the spheres in which they reside.

We have no grand illusions that we're going to succeed where other churches have failed. But this is the kind of church we desire to be, because we think this is the kind of God we serve. We would love to have your input on how we're doing.

Maps

All Souls Missoula doesn't have a church building (and we probably never will). We worship at the Missoula Children's Theatre (200 N. Adams) on Sundays @ 10 AM. And we meet in homes and public places throughout the rest of the week.

You can use this map to find common locations...

View Larger Map

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about All Souls Missoula. If you don't find what you're looking for, ask us about it.

• Q: Who are you guys, anyway? Good question. We're a team, actually: pastors Christian Cryder and Ryan Sutherland. Both of us grew up in Montana, became friends at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, graduated in 2006, and felt God's call to bring our families back out west to plant a church from scratch in Missoula, MT. Crazy, huh?
  
  
• Q: Why Missoula? It's tempting to link to pictures of huge trout, soaring vistas, with elk bugling in the distance (but we won't :-). The short answer is that we love this place, and the people who call it home. We desire to plant a church that connects with postmodern, de-churched, unbelievers, because these are the kinds of people we enjoy as friends. We have been very intentional about NOT planting a church that just recruits Christians from other churches.
  
  
• Q: Are you guys connected with a denomination? Yes, we are members of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), not because we think it's the perfect denomination, but because we think it's a great place to plant churches with a big view of grace and a love for people who don't share their convictions. The PCA is moving in a missional direction, and we like that.
  
  
• Q: What's your connection with the Missoula Project? That was us, up until May 2008. The Missoula Project described what we were early on: a grassroots effort to start a brand new church in Missoula by first creating a community of friends that included both believers and unbelievers. All Souls Missoula describes what we are becoming now - a blossoming community of faith for people in process.
  
  
• Q: What's this 'Sabbath Week' thing? On the first Sunday of the month, we hold a Sabbath Feast after the evening service - we all pitch in and share a meal together! It's a great way to reconnect over food with folks you might not see during the week!
  
  Then, in the week that follows we take a break - a sabbath - from all regularly scheduled events (community groups, explorers groups, etc). We do this to give people a chance to catch their breath, to keep the schedule from becoming a grind. We also want to give folks a chance to catch up with friends they might not normally have a chance to connect with. So feel free to use this week however you want - whether kicking back or reaching out!
  

Curious to know more? Help us out by asking your question...

Core Values

Let's face it: the fact that we want to start yet another church is not necessarily a good thing. After all, there are plenty of churches we'd probably all be better off without.

Perhaps what matters more is the kind of church we want to create, and why. And the best way to get at that (aside from a nice long conversation over a pint of Cold Smoke) just might be to look at the...

5 Things We Value Most

1. Truth - We are convinced that every person yearns deeply for clarity and purpose in life. We believe this clarity and purpose, which we name Truth, comes most visibly in the person of Jesus and the witness of the Christian Scriptures; this Truth is also the root of other qualities we prize: honesty, integrity, authenticity. We recognize the Truth of Jesus is difficult - for believers and unbelievers alike - and so we rely on varied perspectives and honest questioning to keep All Souls centered as we travel together toward a fuller understanding of Truth.
   
   
2. Beauty - We believe that our ability to discern beauty - so clearly present here in the last, best place - inevitably shapes our vision of peace, justice and redemption, both personally and for community. We think beauty should lead us to welcome diversity, to value dialogue, and to appreciate mystery. So we desire to live beautiful lives, to celebrate beauty wherever we find it, and to make Missoula a more beautiful place.
   
   
3. Community - We believe that people are meant for community, and that the truest community happens in relationships that are not contingent. So we strive to be a community of faith where you don't have to share our convictions about Jesus in order to be welcome as our friends. We embrace all sorts of people, not because they agree, but because they are human, created in God's image. We refuse to reject folks who think differently. We welcome outsiders and skeptics. And we invite you to join us, no matter where you are or where you may end up.
   
   
4. City - We believe Jesus calls us beyond ourselves to love our larger home, the City. We believe God is working redemptively in people, places and institutions all across Missoula, whether they recognize him or not. So we celebrate with the city in its triumphs; we serve the city where it is hurt and broken; and we seek out others who love the city because we still have much to learn.
   
   
5. Grace - We believe that Jesus' message is fundamentally one of grace, that Christianity is not a list of rules you need to keep to make God love you, but good news about what Jesus has done because of God's radical reconciling love for us. Our calling is to respond in faith - turning from our attempts at self-salvation, aligning ourselves with the redemptive work of God, trusting he will change both us and others. We believe real grace is transformative - through love, not guilt. If this is how God deals with us, this is how we should deal with others.
   

These are the values that shape us, that drive our mission. Of course, words will only take you so far. To truly understand All Souls Missoula - our strengths and weaknesses and our ongoing need for Jesus - you really need to check us out in person. So drop in, hang out, ask questions, watch us when we're not looking. When we say all are welcome, we mean it. We'd love to hear what you think.