About

Meet The Team

Lead Pastor – Ben Burdick

Ben & Carolea Burdick met in YWAM and were married a few years later. After 8
years of hoping and praying for children, God healed Carolea and they now have
5 grown kids and 3 grandchildren.
 
Ben graduated with an aviation degree from LeTourneau University in 1991 and
spent 8.5 years in the Air Force as a communications officer. However, in 2001,
the Burdicks changed course and put down roots in Northwest Montana while
Ben taught for an on-line Christian school and served as an assistant pastor. In
2005, God called them to attend Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry in
Redding, California. After graduating in 2007, Ben joined the staff of Bethel
Valparaiso in Northwest Indiana as an associate pastor and five years later, with
Carolea’s help, planted MountainSong Church in Bigfork, Montana.
In 2022, Ben was asked to help Purpose Church while they were between
pastors. For the next 3 years, Ben pastored both MountainSong and Purpose
Church until they merged in 2025.
Ben loves fitness, hiking, hunting, camping, writing books and spending time with
his family.

Our Beliefs

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In 1893, four years after Montana was admitted into the union, First Baptist
Church of Kalispell was born. For well-over 100 years the church served as a
beacon of love and hope to the people of Flathead Valley. However, this changed

in 2012 when the church fell into a steep decline due to the combined effects of
the Great Recession and the schemes of a dishonest pastor. But when God
called Mary Todd to step through the doors in 2015, the church began a dramatic
turnaround—changing its name to Purpose Church.
Separately, in 2012, the Lord called Ben & Carolea Burdick to plant a Spirit-filled
church in Bigfork known as MountainSong Church. The fledgling church thrived,
then survived, then thrived again—meeting in various locations in Bigfork before
eventually moving to the Flathead High School auditorium in Kalispell.
In 2022, after a series of God-incidents, MountainSong began meeting one
Sunday a month with Purpose Church at the same time Mary Todd resigned the
pastorate to run for Congress. Intending to provide temporary support, Ben
stepped in to help shoulder the pastoral load, yet later that year accepted the
offer to be Purpose Church’s new senior pastor. For 3 years, Ben pastored both
churches until they merged—becoming Presence Church on Easter Sunday,
2025.

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