Pastor Steve Valentine
Pastor Steve Valentine founded Missoula Community Chapel in 1977, as an outreach ministry from Abbott Loop Community Church in Anchorage, Alaska. Under the leadership of Pastor and Apostle Dick Benjamin and his wife Carol, Steve and Kay Valentine were sent in 1977 with Bill and Angie Whorton and Bruce Donnelly to plant the work in Missoula.
The church began under the name of Missoula Community Chapel, the name was later changed to Clark Fork Christian Center in 1987. During the 25th Anniversary celebration of the church in 2002, we once again felt a name change was appropriate to reflect the character of the church. "Clark Fork City Church" was chosen for two reasons, the first being that many people did not associate the words "Christian Center" with a local church. People would drop by and ask, "What is this place?" Secondly, in recent years, the congregation has embraced a vision of reaching out to make Missoula a better place, following the biblical admonition that Christians are to be "salt", which is a preservative and "light", bringing hope and the love of Jesus to the lost and needy.
Steve served as the Senior Pastor of Clark Fork City Church for 29 ½ years. He went home to be with the Lord on November 3rd, 2006 after a year and a half battle with leukemia. Steve would often say he was in a win-win situation. If God healed him he could continue to serve the Lord and proclaim His good news. If he died, he would be with the Lord in Glory. Steve was right, he won! |
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