History of Libby Church of God:
In 1921, "Grandma" Decker began a Sunday school in a small two room house in South Libby. As the group increased in number, it was moved to the Fred Decker home. By 1923, it was apparent that a larger facility was needed to house the Sunday school. In April of that year (1923), Brother Amondson and Brother Emil Hahn came to Libby. A revival meeting was held in a borrowed church building; there were many conversions and some entire families were brought to salvation. The first "Church of God" building was constructed during the spring of 1923. This was a frame construction about 26' by 28' and the original cost was about $600 including doors and windows. It was without modern facilities (indoor plumbing?) and all furnishings were hand made.
The first Camp Meeting in the area was held in 1928 near the little Church building. Early Pastors of our Church included Pearl Lewis, Fred Decker, Emil Hahn, A.J. Stewart and William Debolt. The Church increased in attendance during these early days as a number of members moved to Libby from other congregations. In 1940, Brother and Sister Applegate moved to Libby where they remained as Pastors till 1950.
The 1950's brought a lot of changes in the local congregation. The present church building was built in 1952 under the leadership of Pastor Fred Hames who pastored the congregation from 1951 til 1953. The Lumber was obtained from the U. S. Forest Service through the old "Homestead Act", by which the church was granted ample logs to construct the entire building. The men of the church cut the timber and hauled the logs to the saw-mill. Other pastors in the 50's were Wesley and Dorothy Puller, and Leonard Walker.
Pastors through the "60's" were Irvan Bame and Frost Hatch. The "70’s" brought Dale Filmore, John Thomas, Robert Garlock, Wayne Cutshall with Gary Mize serving as his Associate Pastor. They were followed by Wayne Miller, who stayed from 1979 to 1981. Tom Howland served as pastor for the rest of the "80’s". In 1990 Gary Mize became Pastor and served until 2003. Ken Knight served from 2003 until 2005 when Cory Andersen became Pastor.
Current Pastor, Rich Cloyed, was installed as Pastor in the summer of 2012. The seeds that were sown by faithful people years ago have brought a bountiful harvest today. It is our prayer that those who come behind us will find us faithful.
In 1921, "Grandma" Decker began a Sunday school in a small two room house in South Libby. As the group increased in number, it was moved to the Fred Decker home. By 1923, it was apparent that a larger facility was needed to house the Sunday school. In April of that year (1923), Brother Amondson and Brother Emil Hahn came to Libby. A revival meeting was held in a borrowed church building; there were many conversions and some entire families were brought to salvation. The first "Church of God" building was constructed during the spring of 1923. This was a frame construction about 26' by 28' and the original cost was about $600 including doors and windows. It was without modern facilities (indoor plumbing?) and all furnishings were hand made.
The first Camp Meeting in the area was held in 1928 near the little Church building. Early Pastors of our Church included Pearl Lewis, Fred Decker, Emil Hahn, A.J. Stewart and William Debolt. The Church increased in attendance during these early days as a number of members moved to Libby from other congregations. In 1940, Brother and Sister Applegate moved to Libby where they remained as Pastors till 1950.
The 1950's brought a lot of changes in the local congregation. The present church building was built in 1952 under the leadership of Pastor Fred Hames who pastored the congregation from 1951 til 1953. The Lumber was obtained from the U. S. Forest Service through the old "Homestead Act", by which the church was granted ample logs to construct the entire building. The men of the church cut the timber and hauled the logs to the saw-mill. Other pastors in the 50's were Wesley and Dorothy Puller, and Leonard Walker.
Pastors through the "60's" were Irvan Bame and Frost Hatch. The "70’s" brought Dale Filmore, John Thomas, Robert Garlock, Wayne Cutshall with Gary Mize serving as his Associate Pastor. They were followed by Wayne Miller, who stayed from 1979 to 1981. Tom Howland served as pastor for the rest of the "80’s". In 1990 Gary Mize became Pastor and served until 2003. Ken Knight served from 2003 until 2005 when Cory Andersen became Pastor.
Current Pastor, Rich Cloyed, was installed as Pastor in the summer of 2012. The seeds that were sown by faithful people years ago have brought a bountiful harvest today. It is our prayer that those who come behind us will find us faithful.