The area was changing rapidly. This area of Montana is rapidly becoming like Aspen, Colorado, a home or second home for folks who can afford to live anywhere. With fax machines and the Internet, people run international businesses out of their homes. For an area that has traditionally been a ranching community, the culture shock could not be much greater. With the rapid influx of new residents comes a clash of values-not just in the church, but in the community.
Newcomers expect the amenities of suburbia.
Old-timers complain that people move here to escape the city but bring the city's problems with them. The schools are struggling to keep up with enrollment. When we came to Belgrade, they had just built an addition on the middle school. Now they're building again. We're in a country setting, but of our one hundred and twenty families, less than ten make their living from agriculture.