Chapter II: Introduction: The Point of View

This book is a study of the work of Protestant city, town and country churches in four counties on the Range. It discusses the effect on the Church of the changing conditions in the Rocky Mountain States, and the task of the Church in ministering to the situation which exists to-day. This survey, therefore, does not attempt to deal directly with the spiritual effect of any church upon the life of individuals or groups. Such results are not measurable by the foot rule of statistics or by survey methods. It is possible, however, to weigh the concrete accomplishments of churches. These actual achievements are their fruits and "by their fruits ye shall know them."

The four counties studied in this book are Beaverhead in Montana, Sheridan in Wyoming, Union in New Mexico and Hughes in South Dakota. Many considerations entered into their choice. For one thing, it must be borne in mind that this book, while complete in itself, is also part of a larger whole. From among the one thousand county surveys completed or nearly completed by the Interchurch World Movement, twenty-six of those made in the nine most representative rural regions of America were selected for intensive study. In this way it was hoped to obtain a bird's-eye view of the religious situation as it exists in the more rural areas of the United States. All the counties selected were chosen with the idea that they were fair specimens of what was to be found throughout the area of which they are a part.

In selecting the counties an effort was made to discover those which were typical, not merely from a statistical viewpoint, but also from the social and religious problems they represented. For example, the four counties described in this pamphlet were chosen because they are representative of large sections throughout the Range area.

It is recognized that there are reasons why exception may be taken to the choice of counties. No area is completely typical of every situation. A careful study of these counties, however, leads to the conclusion that they are fair specimens of the region they are intended to represent.

All these studies have been made from the point of view of the Church, recognizing, however, that social and economic conditions affect its life. For instance, it is evident that various racial groups influence church life differently. Germans and Swedes usually favor liturgical denominations; the Scotch incline to the non-liturgical. Again, if there is economic pressure and heavy debt, the Church faces spiritual handicaps, and needs a peculiar type of ministry. Because of the importance of social and economic factors in the life of the Church the opening chapters of this book are occupied with a description of these factors. At first glance some of these facts may appear irrelevant, but upon closer observation they will be found to have a bearing upon the main theme--the problem of the Church.

Naturally the greatest amount of time and study has been devoted to the churches themselves; their history, equipment and finances; their members, services and church organizations; their Sunday schools, young people's societies and community programs, have all been carefully investigated and evaluated.

Intensive investigation has been limited to the distinctly rural areas and to those centers of population which have less than five thousand inhabitants. In the case of towns larger than this an effort has been made to measure the service of such towns to the surrounding countryside, but not to study each church and community in detail.

The material in this book presents a composite picture of the religious conditions within these four counties. Certain major problems, which were found with more or less frequency in all four counties, are discussed, and all available information from any of the counties has been utilized. The opening pages of the book, however, summarize the conditions within each county. While this method has obvious drawbacks it is felt that the advantages outweigh them, and that this treatment is the best suited to bring out the peculiar conditions existing throughout this area. The appendices present the methodology of the survey and the definitions employed. They also include in tabular form the major facts of each county as revealed by the investigation. These appendices are intended especially to meet the needs of church executives and students of sociology who desire to carry investigation further than is possible in the type of presentation used for the main portion of the book.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I THE RANGE COUNTRY 19

II ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL TENDENCIES 40

III WHAT OF THE CHURCH? 56

IV THE CHURCH DOLLAR 71

V TO MEASURE CHURCH EFFECTIVENESS 77

VI THE PREACHERS' GOINGS AND COMINGS 90

VII NEGRO AND INDIAN WORK 96

VIII NON-PROTESTANT WORK 98

IX SEEING IT WHOLE 102

APPENDICES

I METHODOLOGY AND DEFINITIONS 121

II TABLES 125

ILLUSTRATIONS, MAPS AND CHARTS

ILLUSTRATIONS

BIG HOLE RIVER, MONTANA _Frontispiece_

PAGE.

THE TOWN LOCK-UP 23

LONELINESS IN UNION COUNTY 25

AFTER SOME YEARS 25

TWO COMMUNITY CENTERS 27

A SPANISH-AMERICAN TYPE AND A TYPICAL ADOBE HOUSE
IN NEW MEXICO 31

WHERE MAIN STREET MIGHT HAVE RUN 33

A WYOMING RANCH 35

A MONTANA MINING CAMP 36

WHEN OIL IS FOUND 37

A FARM BUREAU DEMONSTRATION 41

A HOME DEMONSTRATION AGENT 42

A TRUCK FARM IN HUGHES COUNTY 44

FRUITS OF THE EARTH 45

UP-TO-DATE REAPING ON THE PLAINS 47

WISDOM IS JUSTIFIED 49

CAMPING IN SHERIDAN COUNTY 51

A FRONTIER CELEBRATION 53

A VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS 57

NO ROOM FOR BOTH 58

EPISCOPAL CHURCH AND PARISH HOUSE 64

A NEGLECTED OUTPOST OF CHRISTIANITY 75

NOT A STORE BUT A CHURCH 78

A CASE OF COOePERATION 80

HAPPY LITTLE PICNICKERS 85

A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL 85

PROGRAM OF A COMMUNITY RALLY 88

A PARSONAGE BUT NO CHURCH 94

AN OASIS IN THE DESERT 98

WATERING HER GARDEN 103

A COMMUNITY RENDEZVOUS 104

"MARY, CALL THE CATTLE HOME!" 106

WAITING AT THE CHURCH 107

HITTING THE TRAIL 108

THE FAMILY MANSION 110

A REAL COMMUNITY HOUSE 114

A CHURCH THAT SERVES THE COMMUNITY 115

MAPS

MONTANA AND WYOMING 20

SOUTH DAKOTA AND NEW MEXICO 22

CHURCH AND COMMUNITY MAP OF HUGHES COUNTY,
SOUTH DAKOTA 54-55

COMMUNITY MAP OF SHERIDAN COUNTY, WYOMING 59

MAP SHOWING CHURCHES AND PARISH BOUNDARIES OF
SHERIDAN COUNTY 59

CHURCH AND COMMUNITY MAP OF BEAVERHEAD COUNTY 60

MAP SHOWING CHURCHES AND PARISH BOUNDARIES OF
UNION COUNTY, NEW MEXICO 61

COMMUNITY MAP OF UNION COUNTY, NEW MEXICO 62

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCHES AND PARISHES, UNION
COUNTY, NEW MEXICO 99

CHARTS

I ANALYSIS OF PROTESTANT CHURCH MEMBERS 66

II CHURCHES GAINING IN MEMBERSHIP 67

III ACTIVE CHURCH MEMBERSHIP 69

IV CHURCHES WITH LESS THAN 50 MEMBERS 69

V RELATION OF SIZE OF CHURCH MEMBERSHIP TO GAIN 70

VI THE CHURCH DOLLAR 72

VII FREQUENCY OF CHURCH SERVICES 79

VIII NUMBER OF PASTORS DURING PAST TEN YEARS 91

IX RESIDENCE OF THE MINISTERS 93

THE CHURCH ON THE CHANGING FRONTIER