Leadership Team

"For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others."

— Romans 12:4-5

Rev. Lisa K. Harmon (she, her)

Senior Pastor

Thirty years in Billings has taught me that transformation happens when we show up fully: for our neighbors, our communities, and the work that calls us forward. Mine hasn't been such a linear career, but more of a beautiful tangle. From teaching high school to co-founding an award-winning gourmet cookie company with my sisters to leading downtown revitalization as Executive Director of the Downtown Billings Alliance, I've always believed in the power of bringing people together. My work creating Spare Change for Real Change and a city-wide Community Innovations Initiative reflects a simple conviction: everyone deserves dignity, safety, and belonging.

All of that work - the coalition-building, the advocacy, the belief in second chances—led me exactly where I needed to be. As Senior Pastor at Billings First Congregational Church, I'm the luckiest to work with a courageous and lovely congregation. I'm a 500-hour certified yoga instructor who teaches yoga at the church (free and open to the public!) and trauma-informed classes at the Montana Women's Prison. A proud advocate for 2SLGBTQI+ and Indigenous communities, I have the honor to work closely with tremendous leaders in our community.

When not at the church or living out my faith in the streets, I love spending time in my home and yard with my husband, Mike, our daughter, Bronte, and our son, William, his wife, Amanda, and their four children. I still love good cookies, small business, and believing that small acts of kindness can change the world.

Contact Rev. Lisa K. Harmon

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Marcus Frye (he, him)

Assistant Pastor

I grew up in Eastern Wyoming and spent lots of time camping, hunting, and fishing with my family and friends. While studying Sociology and Religious Studies at the University of Wyoming, I began to discern a call to ministry in the United Church of Christ. After graduating from the University of Wyoming, I completed a year-long service internship at Coral Gables Congregational UCC in Miami, working to serve housing-deprived members of the community with the Miami Rescue Mission. After the internship, I decided to officially pursue ordained ministry and was accepted as a Member in Discernment by the Rocky Mountain Conference of the UCC. I am currently enrolled at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities and moved to Billings in March 2022 with my husband, Nathan.

Contact our Assistant Pastor, Marcus Frye

For questions, pastoral care, or questions about our Youth Program, please enter your email and comments below:

Rev. Barbara Gulick (she, her)

Minister of Spiritual Direction

Barbara Gulick received a Diploma in the Art of Spiritual Direction from San Francisco Theological Seminary and was commissioned as a Minister of Spiritual Direction-at-Large in the United Church of Christ, both in 2008. In 2010, she was commissioned as Spiritual Director-in-Residence at Billings First Congregational United Church of Christ. She is now a member of First Church staff as Spiritual Director and a Member-in-Discernment (MID) for ordination to authorized ministry in the United Church of Christ. 


Barbara’s office hours at the church are Tuesday and Thursday mornings, 9:00 a.m. – 12 noon, and she is available for Spiritual Direction either in her church or home office by appointment. 


You can find her contact info below to schedule an appointment to see if spiritual direction is right for you. 

Morgan Satterfield (she, her)

Executive Administrative Assistant

Growing up, I never imagined I would one day be working in a church.  After being on staff for almost 6 years, it's hard to imagine doing anything else.

Working at Billings First Congregational Church is such a gift, not only because of the people I get to call colleagues, but because of the people we serve, community and congregation, on a daily basis. I love learning new things, and over the years I've learned that it's not that I can't do something; it's just that I don't know how to do it yet.  This job and call uses all my skill sets from administrative and audio/visual to marketing and outreach to management, and sometimes, they even let me use my carpentry and mechanical skills as well! Every day is different and full, and I wouldn't want it any other way. 

In my spare time, you can usually find me in my garage working on my car or pickup, riding my Harley, or trying to fix or build something or another! 

I'm also a mom to my son, Riley, whose personality is as big as his heart. He loves our church and its people, too. And they love him right back. Both he and I have learned that God intends for us all to live abundantly, in life and in community.

Contact Morgan in our Main Office

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Nathan Sonnenschein (he, him)

Accompanist & Historian

Nathan has served as the Choir Accompanist & Substitute Organist since 2022. He is grateful for the opportunity to learn from First Church's music director and choir, and for the privilege to play the church's 44-rank Holtkamp pipe organ. A lifelong believer in God's call to make a joyful noise, he has played piano/organ for various UCC and Lutheran churches since 2009.

Drawing from his experience as an academic librarian, Nathan maintains the church's Records Collection, which includes materials dating back to the church's founding. As the city's first faith community and the oldest congregation in the conference, First Church has many stories. Nathan seeks to draw these threads together to better understand the many interwoven aspects—both joyful and complicated—of the church's legacy.


Contact Nathan, our Church Historian

For questions about records, certificates, and more, please enter your email and questions below.

Steve Plaggemeyer (he, him)

Music Director


If you have any questions for any of our staff, feel free to reach out and email them or call our church office to speak with them. You can contact the church office at

Church Council


Karen Stainton

John Smillie

Dixie Yelvington

Tom Howard

Judith Burnam

Barbara Archer

Walt Gulick

Lisa Harmon

Marcus Frye


First Congregational United Church of Christ, Billings

406.245.6477 | info@billingsfirstchurch.org

310 North 27th Street, Billings, MT, 59101

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