A Sacred History Rooted in the Magic City
Just six years after the Battle of the Little Bighorn, the Rev. Benjamin Shuart arrived by horse and buggy in 1882 to a dusty tent city that would become Billings, Montana. Sent by the American Home Missionary Society of New York, Shuart came to establish a Congregational Church in the untamed frontier.
He was warned he would starve trying to build a church among gamblers and drunks. Undeterred, he gathered volunteers and raised a simple 600-square-foot wooden sanctuary in a single day. The story made national headlines, and the town earned its enduring nickname: The Magic City.
Julia Billings, wife of railroad executive Frederick Billings, pledged $10,000 to the fledgling congregation if it could demonstrate staying power. By 1883, a permanent wood and brick church rose at 310 North 27th Street — the very place where Billings First Congregational Church stands today.
From those humble beginnings, the church became a central and compassionate presence in the life of the city — sheltering the sick during the 1918 flu pandemic, hosting Billings’ first Meals on Wheels program and a missional daycare, and giving rise to Big Sky Hospice. In the 1950s, as membership surpassed 2,000, the sanctuary was rebuilt to meet the needs of a growing community.
Throughout its long history, First Church has been a steadfast voice for inclusion, justice, and mercy — from organizing Billings’ second Boy Scout troop in 1916 to standing against hate in 1992 during the “Not In Our Town” movement, which became a national model for community solidarity.
A Building That Holds Our Collective Story
The church’s architecture reflects its enduring legacy of adaptability and resilience. The 1927 “Parish House” wing, designed by the renowned Montana firm McIver & Cohagen, remains a pristine example of Colonial Revival architecture. Plans to rebuild the sanctuary
were delayed during the Great Depression, but in the 1950s, the firm of Orr Pickering created a Modernist sanctuary that harmonized beautifully with the older structure.
Together, they form a unique and cohesive whole — a physical expression of faith evolving through generations. The stained-glass Pioneer Window, based on a painting by J.K. Ralston, still casts its vibrant light across the sanctuary. The modern chancel echoes the proportions of the 1883 design, and the narthex rests upon the same foundation as the original church.
Our building stands not only as a piece of architectural heritage, but as a living vessel of community life — one that continues to evolve to meet the moral and spiritual needs of our time.
OUR COMMUNITY
Community (or "Missional") Groups are an essential part of our church, as they provide a place where deeper fellowship and better support for one another can take place. Considering that the early church worshipped in large settings - in the synagogues - as well as in homes, we unite together similarly in order to be in deeper fellowship with God and one another. God has reconciled us not only to Himself but also to each other. This "each other" is called His Church.
OUR MISSION
The mission of Zion is to glorify God by making disciples through the gospel of Jesus Christ. God’s mission and the mission of His Church are inseparably linked. If God’s mission is to be glorified through the redemption and reconciliation of a people, the Church’s mission must orient around the glory of God and seek to glorify Him through redemption and reconciliation
CITY LIFE PROJECT
We are currently involved in a new movement in our city called the "City Life Project". We are joining with other churches in the area with the common goal of spiritual renewal in Brooklyn. God influences the world through his people, and He gives to us so He can give through us. We would love for you to be a part of this city-wide initiative to help bring God's Kingdom here, now.
NEW TO ZION?
We are excited that you are interested in knowing more about Christ and this local body of believers. Look around the site, check out our ministries, watch a message, sign-up for a class, or jump in and serve with us. We are glad you are here.
The Resiliency Project
Historical & Sacred
For over 140 our church has been at the corner of 4th Avenue North and 27th Street since 1882.
Integral
Through acts and works of radical service, hospitality and justice, we are an integral part of this community. We are that sacred space and community, whose care and love, for neighbor and stranger, for the downcast and the oppressed, and for the wholeness of community, is without boundary.
We've wanted to be a place of such healing and transformation that people would be drawn to our city because a church and place like ours exists within it.
We've also worked really hard on being healthy. We've flattened out our leadership models, such that they are not vertical, but horizontal.
We've inserted ourselves in critical community conversations, not as a one off, but as committed partners in the hard, sometimes long, journey toward solutions.
Speak. Act. Serve.
We've made a name for ourselves, not in the masses of money we've stored up or how shiny we are, but in the way we speak and act and serve.
We've built, in marketing terms, a solid brand in our community and region. And, there are folks who, while are not members of the church, want to see the church flourish and sustain.
In a harsh world, it can seem like there is little justice or joy,; our church is a place of justice and joy. And we need that. Our community and world need it. Here, in Billings, our Indigenous siblings need that. And together, with the National Fund for Sacred Spaces, we can make that a reality for a long time to come.
