ABHMS’ 15-year partnership with Montana’s Friendship House extends hope and support to underserved Billings community
VALLEY FORGE, PA (08/05/2024)—Friendship House of Christian Service (Friendship House) in Billings, Montana, started in 1957 as an outreach of the local American Baptist church, First Baptist Church of Billings, which came together with several other churches to try to do outreach to at-risk children in poverty. The impulse to found it came from a group of women attending a Bible study in a church building that overlooked a playground where many such children spent their free time.
Seeing that the children were hungry and neglected, the women found inspiration in Matthew 25:40: “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me.’” (NIV). The women brought out food to the children; the long journey of love and care in the name of Christ began.
Queuing up for something good to eat from Friendship Cafe, a food trailer operated by nonprofit Friendship House in Billings, Montana.
This year, American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) celebrates a 15-year partnership with this invaluable Christian outreach ministry. Over this period, ABHMS has awarded grants to Friendship House to assist children and teens in several ways, with an emphasis on providing food, scholarships and learning resources. The two latest grants, in 2021 and 2022, helped the nonprofit purchase fitness equipment and fresh foodstuffs, respectively.
Today, Friendship House is supported by more than 40 local churches, 25 community partners and 15 service clubs. Over the years, it has done many different things: “Everything from a food bank to a clothing pantry to a thrift store,” said its executive director, the Rev. Matt Lundgren.
The South Side neighborhood of Billings is underserved. “I believe it was the hand of God to say, ‘Hey, go to this neighborhood,’ because this neighborhood has continued to decline,” reflected Lundgren. “And we’re glad that we’re right in the middle of it all, offering the hope of the Gospel.” The community Friendship House serves is 33 percent Native American, 33 percent Hispanic and 33 percent a mix of Pacific Islander, Asian, Black and white. Although predominantly Christian, Friendship House clients include Muslims, Jews and agnostics.
The ministry offers five programs created in response to a community survey that identified the needs of South Side residents: a preschool, an after-school program, a teen program, adult education and mental health counseling. The preschool, for children aged 2-5, currently enrolls 40 and emphasizes school readiness for the older children in that age group. A highly structured after-school program runs all year. Designed to help children academically and emotionally, 160 from local elementary schools currently attend and receive homework assistance, tutoring, mentoring, Bible lessons, food, clothing and school supplies. In the summer, Temple Hills, an American Baptist Bible camp, welcomes children who receive scholarships from American Baptist Churches USA.
The teen program is focused on social- and job-skill development. Teens run a restaurant through which they learn gardening to produce food, cooking and sales. They have a food trailer to reach customers across Billings, and they also sell fresh vegetables. Income generated by the business funds scholarships that participating teens can use for scholarships toward trade school education, college, or music lessons.
Adult education (ages 20+) addresses life skills. Classes offered include parenting, grandparenting, cooking and exercise classes. In addition, there is also financial and tax education, and job hunting support.
Friendship House also provides recovery programs, including Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, and mental health counseling. This area of service has grown considerably since the pandemic. Beginning with a single therapist, the organization now employs a physician, three nurse practitioners, three addiction counselors and four case managers.
Next year, Friendship House will begin offering daycare for infants to age 3. “We’re trying to serve the whole family from birth all the way. Our oldest participant is 103,” added Lundgren with pride.
“We can do this because we are the body of Christ and we want to care for the lost, the vulnerable. So, we found funding. We sought solutions. We hired people in faith,” said Lundgren. “And now, because we’re able to bill Medicaid, Medicare, and seek reimbursement from tribal insurance (Montana has a large concentration of Native Americans, and Billings is the hub for Native folks,) we can thrive. And so, we’re able to seek some funding sources to pay the bills.”
Donations and grants are vital to the survival of Friendship House. The organization receives no city or county funding, just a small amount in childcare scholarships from the state of Montana and a federal subsidy through the Child and Adult Care Food Program towards children’s meals, which are just a drop in a sea of need. The continuing partnership of ABHMS and Friendship House is crucial to helping the ministry and its constituents flourish.
Through your support of ABHMS, we can assist Friendship House, and numerous other organizations, in doing their vital, desperately needed work in communities across the United States. For more information or to give, visit abhms.org.
By Rev. Dr. Anna Piela, senior writer at ABHMS and associate editor of The Christian Citizen
