On Sunday, April 2, 2006, three men of the Hutterite Cascade Colony in Montana, who protested against the Hutterian religious system, were summarily censured and later excommunicated. What had brought this about?
These three believed, and later stated at various hearings (inquisitions), that in the Hutterite religious system, Jesus Christ had no authority and that what He says in His Word carried less weight than the elder’s traditions and the Zeitgeist. Where had these three found the courage and discernment to oppose the only religion, the only way of life they had ever known? For that we must go further into the past where we discover that they were not the only ones. In fact, there were numerous others in their midst and in different Hutterite colonies, both in the US and in Canada, who believed as they did. Five years earlier, upwards of forty souls had forsaken the Hutterite religious system, settled in the Lethbridge area of Alberta, Canada and established a church with the help of Gospel Hall brethren Joe Clark, Steve Kember, and their families. Also, while people were coming to Christ at Cascade Colony, Montana, other people were also being saved at nearby Fairhaven Colony.
I recall the night God saved me. As early as 10 years of age, I had a real fear that I and many around me were headed for hell. Now, a decade later at the age of 21, my conscience was sleeping, rarely disturbed by eternal things. It was then that a cousin of mine, recently saved and on his way to Bible college, traveling with another young believer, stopped in for two days. These new believers continually talked of Jesus for two days: His Person, His sufficiency, and salvation in His name. Cut to the heart, I remember a long sleepless night with the name of Jesus ringing in my ears. For the first time in my life I had heard that it is not religion, not form, not good works that makes one fit for heaven, but faith in Christ and His once-for-all sacrifice for our sins. It was then in 1981, that I trusted Christ and now desired to please Him. I decided to remain on the colony and joined the Hutterite system by becoming a baptized member in hope of reforming it.
Unbeknownst to anyone on the colony, a faithful Christian working in a nearby tractor repair shop, had prayed for over twenty years for Hutterites to come to faith in Christ. When Hutterite men would come into the shop to do business with him he marveled that these religious men did not know Christ and had no interest in spiritual things.
Meanwhile, Mennonite visitors who had moved into the area were frequently given tours of the colony. Invariably, the tour wound up in the schoolhouse or chapel where the Mennonites would sing beautiful gospel songs. The colony youth and young adults quickly learned and sang these songs (Hutterites sing a lot, for leisure, in church, in school, at work). Now, at work, the young people would sing these gospel songs rather than their normal country western songs.
Time moved on, I got married and we began to have children. When the oldest child was twelve, I sensed a crisis on the horizon. I was concerned that our children would fall into the same pitfalls of sin as I had in my youth. I prayed that God would prevent that. Being the children’s Bible and Sunday school teacher for the colony, I taught the gospel with no restrictions. Immersion in the Bible, good Christian literature, and occasional conversations with other Christians strengthened me in the continuing conviction that the Hutterite way was false.
On February 2, 2003, our family entertained a visitor from a nearby town. He was none other than the believer who had been praying for over twenty years for spiritual enlightenment among the Hutterite people. He had been asked to pay us a visit by my wife’s mother, who lived on a neighboring Hutterite colony and whose family had recently become acquainted with him. Over the next two years, he returned to visit us many times with his wife and children.
We enjoyed sweet fellowship with his family in our home as well as in my brother’s home. Our children, along with nieces, nephews, and cousins were often in attendance. Our friend’s approach was quite simple: “The Lord Jesus Christ is your authority, not the colony ministers. Christ Jesus is the mediator between God and man, not the colony ministers. God is pleased when His Son is thus honored.” In the course of time, our four children, ages 11 to 17, trusted Christ. Of course, they had heard the gospel many times from me, their father. However, now they heard that not only had Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, but that it is the Lord Jesus Christ from beginning to end! Many nieces, nephews, cousins, and several of my brothers and sisters soon became believers in Christ. It was an exciting but tense time. The Holy Spirit was working.
In early 2003, believers from Western Canada stopped by for a visit. They had lived on a Hutterite colony but had either broken away from the system or been excommunicated en masse. They visited us numerous times over the next two years until they were banned from doing so. They helped strengthen us in our faith. Many other believers also came to visit during these years. Some were sent by God; others were well-meaning but had their own motives. At different times, several assembly brethren came for an evening. One of the more memorable ones to visit was Jabe Nicholson.
By 2004, life on Cascade Colony became more tense. Believers began having their own Bible studies in the evening; first in the school, then in their homes. Of course, this did not go over well with the colony ministers and leaders. Though they were unsympathetic to our beliefs, they were rarely harsh. But finally, given the pressure applied by other colony ministers, the Hutterite bishop and his lieutenants decided to address the issue. They questioned a colleague and me about what we were teaching our students in Sunday School and Bible class. We stood our ground on the Gospel, proving that we were teaching nothing contrary to the Bible. We told them that they were supplanting the Bible with tradition. After much deliberation they warned us but allowed us to retain our teaching positions.
However, it was the beginning of the end. Many believers felt this had gone on long enough and on April 2, 2006, we decided to force the issue. Six weeks later, fifty Hutterite ministers from Montana, Alberta, and Saskatchewan came to Cascade Colony for an official inquiry. The gist of the inquiry was this: Do you believe in Christ or do you believe in the Hutterite colony? Well, that was the question. Many of the young believers gave beautiful testimonies. The ministers ridiculed and judged them as misled. They gave us a few weeks to think it over.
On July 12th, the whole group of ministers plus a score of others showed up for round two. This time the baptized believers and their wives, including my brother and I, were excommunicated. Happily, we were not banished from our homes. Our family continued to live on the Colony for another year and continued to meet in homes for fellowship, Bible study, and prayer. Some of the younger believers soon left. The excommunicated men found employment off the colony. One of our sons also left. When our second son stated that he was leaving, my wife and I knew it was time for us to leave and begin a new life.
In July 2007, we pulled out with our last load of household items to live in a rented farmhouse. Our oldest son, who had left earlier, came to live with us. Meanwhile, a couple of Gospel Hall families from McKeesport, PA (Joe and Penny Clark together with Dale and Becky Vitale), planted an assembly, “The Good News Center,” in Great Falls, Montana. We soon began to fellowship with them. In 2012, the assembly bought an abandoned school building in Sun River, Montana and changed the name to River Valley Fellowship, where we are today.