OUR STORY
Canvas Church had its beginnings in 1915, when James Rasmussen first traveled from North Dakota. Conducting revival meetings throughout the Flathead Valley, Rasmussen saw God’s hand at work in drawing people to faith in Jesus. In 1926, a building was purchased in Somers, and relocated to the corner of 4th Street and 2nd Avenue West in Kalispell. The church officially affiliated with the Assemblies of God denomination on June 11, 1929, with Alfred Scratch becoming the first pastor on August 15, 1929.
In 1966, property on Buffalo Hill was purchased for a new church building, and construction was completed in 1972. Continued church growth called for a larger venue, and property on Summit Ridge Drive was purchased in 1984.
The current facility has been expanded and remodeled in 2002, adding the student auditorium, the west lobby, and more classrooms, and again in 2016, adding the main lobby to foster connection and relationships.
In July of 2012, God called Kevin and Tiffany Geer as lead pastors, and through their leadership and vision, the church has enjoyed a season of incredible growth. In 2014, the church was rebranded, and reintroduced to the Flathead Valley as Canvas Church, with updated facilities and new ministries.
In the fall of 2017, Canvas School of Ministry was launched through the Northwest Partnership Program at Northwest University. These students get fully accredited AA or BA degrees through NU, while also getting hands-on ministry training and experience at Canvas Church.
In order to reach as many people as possible with the message of God’s love through Jesus, Canvas Church opened a campus in CutBank in the fall of 2017. The following year, our campus in Columbia Falls opened, and a new campus in Billings launched in September, 2020.
Canvas Church is committed to following God’s activity by creating opportunities for people to experience God in life-changing ways in the Flathead Valley, throughout Montana, and to the ends of the earth!
WHO WE ARE
CORE VALUES
Creating opportunities to experience God in a life-changing way.
PURPOSE
CONNECT
We will connect people to God and each other.
EQUIP
We will equip people to do the ministry.
GO
We will send people out to live life on mission.
CORE VALUES
BIBLICAL AUTHORITY
God’s word is the foundation.
REAL RELATIONSHIPS
Doing life together by being who we are.
WE CHURCH
Empowering people to become the Church.
MISSIONAL GROWTH
Equipping people to become the Church.
CREATIVE CULTURE
Communicating Jesus in a way that relates to today.
FAMILY MINDED
Encouraging and developing healthy families.
RELENTLESS COMPASSION
A never-ending commitment to serve our communities and world in tangible ways
INTENTIONALLY FOCUSED
Everything we do is on purpose.
ESSENTIAL DOCTRINE
About God
We believe there is one God who is the Creator and the Ruler of the universe (Genesis 1:1). He eternally exists in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).
About Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, in His virgin birth (Matthew 1:23), His sinless life (Hebrews 4:15; 7:26), His atoning death on the cross (1 Corinthians 15:3), His resurrection on the third day (John 11:25; 1 Corinthians 15:4), His exaltation to the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 1:3), and that He will return again to reign as Lord of lords (Acts 1:11; 1 Timothy 6:13-16).
About the Holy Spirit
We believe in the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit that empowers each Christian to live a Godly life (Romans 8:11). The body of each believer is a “temple” in which the Holy Spirit is present (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Therefore, every believer must cultivate a life of being filled with the Spirit, which is both an initial
and an ongoing experience for Christians (Ephesians 5:18). The Holy Spirit provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, guidance in doing what is right, and spiritual gifts to edify the church.
About the Bible
We believe that the entire Bible is the inspired, infallible and inerrant Word of God and that men were moved by the Spirit to write the books of Scripture (2 Peter 1:20-21). The words of the Bible are the primary source for teaching and equipping Christians for a life of righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
About Humanity
We believe that human beings were created in the image of God to have fellowship with Him (Genesis 1:26), but became alienated from that relationship through sinful disobedience (Genesis 3). As a result, humanity is totally incapable of coming back into a right relationship with God by one’s own effort (Romans 5:12-19).
About Salvation
We believe that the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross solely provides for the forgiveness of sins (Mark 10:45). Therefore, salvation is received only when a person places his faith in the death and resurrection of Christ as the sufficient payment for one’s acknowledged sin (Acts 2:38). This salvation is not earned but is a gift available by the grace of God alone (Ephesians 2:8-9).
About the Christian Life
We believe that for every Christian the old way of living for oneself is in the past and the new way of living for Christ is for the present and for the future (2 Corinthians 5:17). By obedience to the Scriptures and daily yielding to the Spirit we will mature and become conformed to the image of Christ, which should be exhibited by love for God and for one’s neighbor (Matthew 22:37-39).
About the Church
We believe that the church is the body of Christ, of which Jesus is the Head (Col. 1:18). The purpose of the church is to gather believers to glorify God by being a powerful witness for Jesus Christ in a lost world (Matt. 28:18-20). God wants to edify and build up His church, this is why the Holy Spirit gives a variety of spiritual gifts to believers such as; encouragement, serving, teaching, healing, prophecy,
etc. (Romans 12, I Cor. 12,) We practice two ordinances in the church instituted by Christ Himself: water baptism (Luke 3:21-22) and Holy Communion (Luke 22:14-20).
About Healing
We believe that Christ’s power to heal, evident in the Gospels, is available to all believers today through his atoning sacrifice (Isaiah 53:4-5). The church is to lay hands on the sick, anoint them with oil, and pray faithfully for their recovery (James 5:14-15).
About the Second Coming
We believe that Christians who have died will be reunited with those still alive at the second coming of Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 4:16-17). This event will be followed by the millennial reign of Christ (Rev. 20:1-6), a final judgment (Rev. 20:11-15), and the appearance of a new heaven and a new earth (Rev. 21-22)
