In 1958, Trinity Baptist Church of Missoula planted a
mission church in Bozeman. The first services were held on July 27, 1958
and 11 people attended services. The first pastor was John Hamilton from
Colorado. The group met in several different locations. On January 19, 1959
the group formally constituted into College Heights Baptist Church and met
mostly in the pastor's home until August 1963. Pastor Hamilton also started
the first B.S.U. at Montana State University, which was the first one in
Montana. In July 1963, Miss Marguerite Kirk donated a one acre parcel of
land and the church bought an additional two and half acres of land
adjoining this one acre parcel. This land was located on the western edge
of Bozeman and at this time the church was incorporated as Kirkwood Baptist
Church.
Kirkwood Baptist
Church continued to meet in borrowed buildings and grow. A building fund
was started and in April 1966, a loan was secured to build a building. On
May 1, 1966 a ground- breaking ceremony was held for the church. This
building was used until the new fellowship hall was constructed and with
the church growth, both of these buildings were full. In February 1985 a
building committee was formed and plans were made to construct a new
building. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on September 14, 1986 and work
began the next day on the new building we currently use as a sanctuary. The
building was built with a loan arranged by the Home Mission Board, sale of
the church pastorate and pledges from the members. The building was
completed in March 1987. There were 132 present for Sunday School and the 250-seat sanctuary was filled almost to
capacity. Several people were baptized on the first Sunday and a dedication
ceremony was held on Sunday, April 26, 1987. The church building was
completely paid off in 2002 leaving the church with virtually no debt.
