Meeting the Pastor at Little White Church and Saco Methodist

For the past six months, members of Little White Church (LWC) in Malta and Saco Methodist Church (SMC) have been led by a new pastor for the first time in 28 years.

On November 20, 2021, LWC and SMC welcomed Pastor Steve Anderson, his wife of 15 years Leslie Anderson, and their 14-year-old son Ehren, from Bergholz, Ohio.

Pastor Steve now stands at the pulpit where former Pastor Kent Gordon had preached for 28 years with his wife Sue Gordon alongside. The Gordons still attend services at LWC.

"Pastor Kent and his wife Sue have been a tremendous blessing to us," Pastor Anderson said. "They have been really kind and taken us around and shown us different things."

Pastoring multiple churches at once is not new to the Anderson family. In Bergholz, Pastor Steve led three churches associated with the United Methodist Church. He led the congregations for seven years.

Prior to becoming a pastor, Anderson worked as an automotive technician for Chrysler Jeep and Dodge.

And before moving to Malta, Anderson took on another job outside of the church walls.

"I took a break for a while to see where the Lord was going to lead me next, and I worked in a sawmill as an operator at that time," Anderson said. "Where we lived, the timber industry was a big thing."

Anderson was born and raised in Houston, Texas, and graduated from Round Rock High School, just north of Austin, Texas.

"My father was in the commercial construction industry, so we moved from time to time," Anderson said. "He was building a big convention center outside of Austin and that's where I ended up graduating high school."

After high school, Anderson worked in construction prior to working in the automotive industry.

He and Leslie married in 2006. Around a year after, in 2007, he earned his bachelor's degree in theology from Liberty University, an Evangelical College based out of Lynchburg, Va.

He shared his first opinion of Malta when he came to guest speak at both LWC and Saco Methodist last October.

"We liked it up here a lot," Pastor Steve said. "We like the people. We like the small-town atmosphere, and we like Montana because it is so vast and open."

The family drove from Bergholz to Malta for his guest speaking appearance and made the road trip again for their move to Phillips County a month later.

Most of the trip from Ohio to Montana features many towns along the way, but it was the more remote part of the trip that the family enjoyed.

"As soon as you hit Fargo in North Dakota, it changes," Pastor Anderson said. "We are used to living in a small, rural town. I got kind of spoiled by that. It's more laid back and quiet. That's why we like it here so much."

He said that everyone has made it feel like home.

"We have an absolutely wonderful and loving congregation," Pastor Anderson said. "They are the most warmest, kindest, and sweetest people. They make everyone feel welcome that comes through the door."

Pastor Anderson was asked what some of the topics he has spoken about in recent weeks.

"We have been talking about following Christ closely and examining ourselves and where we stand with him," Pastor Anderson said. "Finding our strength, our hope, and comfort in him, especially in the uncertain time that we are living in right now."

Service at Saco Methodist is every Sunday at 9 a.m. And service at Little White Church is every Sunday at 11 a.m. Little White Church also has Sunday School at 10 a.m.