THE BAGLEY BRIEF
October 19, 2026
Dear Fellow-workers in Ministry,
The month of October marks two years of the Bagley family living in Montpelier, ID. November 8 will be the two-year anniversary of Hope Bible Church. The month of November will mark three years of our family living in Bear Lake valley (remember, we lived in Garden City, UT for almost a year). It’s incredible to look back at the evidence of God’s faithfulness since we arrived in this valley. One major facet of His faithfulness is the army of people He has raised up to pray for us and support us as we trust God to establish a church in the north end of the valley. Thank you again for faithfully standing with us in this church-planting endeavor.
Allow me to highlight some of what God has been doing since our last update went out on July 3. July 6-10, we held our first Vacation Bible School outreach at Hope Bible Church. We asked you to pray for an average of twenty-five children each day. On the first day, we ended up with twenty-five children! We were overjoyed to see the children God brought. Throughout the week, we ended up with twenty-nine different children and an average of twenty-three kids per day. We were so proud of our own people as we had an average of fourteen volunteers serving the kids each day. Only seven of those children attend our church regularly, so we were able to connect with many new families from our area.
Since the VBS, we started up our weekly children’s ministry in September and three new families who attended VBS are now coming to our Hope Kids ministry. We’ve been having twenty-six children come to our weekly meetings! Every week we get to share the Gospel with these children. Please pray for the seed of the Gospel to be planted and to grow in their hearts. This has been one of the most exciting children’s ministries we’ve ever been part of.
On August 19, our extended family all gathered in Preston, ID for my father’s Memorial Service. We stayed together at an Air B&B for a few days, and it was a special time of ministering to each other and reflecting on the legacy my Dad left our family. The service itself was an encouraging time as my mother and each of us kids shared a part of my Dad’s “story.” The church was packed with people, and many unbelievers were able to hear how the Gospel has impacted our family. Thanks to many of you who made the trip to support our family.
We resumed all our weekly ministries in September after taking a summer break. In addition to the Hope Kids ministry, we host a weekly Adult Bible Study in our home where I’m currently teaching a study on First Thessalonians. We’ve been averaging twenty-one people each week and this group has really become the “core group” of Hope Bible Church. It is such a blessing to gather in our living room and study God’s Word and pray together. We are growing in love for each other and for the Lord.
Laura and I have added something new to our weekly schedule. We are now leading the weekly Junior High/Senior High Youth Group. The reason for that addition to the schedule is two-fold. First, during the summer we learned that our co-workers, Amos and Emily Stott and their daughter Rosie, are going to be moving back to Emily’s hometown in Michigan.
This was certainly bittersweet news for us and for our church family. We knew from the beginning that Amos and Emily’s tenure with us would be temporary. We prayed that God might grant us two years of serving with them and God graciously gave us two and a half years! Their presence has been invaluable in the initial stages of Hope Bible Church. They have led the Youth Ministry from the start and that allowed Laura and I to focus on many other areas in the first two years. Now, we are preparing for the farewell Sunday for the Stotts, which will be this coming Sunday, October 25. Pray for them and their transition to life and ministry in Michigan. Pray for us as we now seek to fill their roles with our local people.
Once we learned of their plans to return to Michigan, Laura and I felt strongly that we were supposed to step in and lead the youth group. I have always loved youth ministry and have been involved with it in some way in every church I’ve pastored. Since we have two daughters in the group, it makes it even more special for us. Our daughter, Joy, serves along with us as one of the leaders. Since September, God has brought along an average of ten teens each night and interacting with them certainly helps to keep us young!
We continue to minister at our local Assisted Living Center and the Skilled Nursing Facility. Each place has brought special bridge-building opportunities and gospel conversations. Our children continue to develop their musical abilities, and they are a wonderful help in these ministries.
September 21-23, I had the privilege of speaking at a Bible Conference near Pullman, WA, sponsored by the Inland Northwest Regional of IFCA International. There were around twenty-one pastors and wives and a good group of local lay people who attended. I traveled there and back with two former students of mine who are now fellow workers with me in Bear Lake Valley. Pastor Charlie Endicott from the Village Church in Garden City, UT and Orrin Arnoldt, our co-worker at Hope Bible Church, joined me for the conference. We were all greatly encouraged to meet so many faithful servants of God who labor in small town churches in Idaho and Washington. I was particularly blessed to see firsthand the fruit of several graduates from Frontier School of the Bible who serve in that region.
The first Sunday of October brought tremendous encouragement as we held our second baptism service at Hope Bible. I had the privilege of baptizing a father, mother and their two children. What a blessing to see God bring an entire family to Himself and introduce them to His grace! We held the baptism in our back yard and used a horse tank. Sixty-three people stood around this family to support them in their commitment to follow Christ. What a special day!
One of the hard realities of church-planting is seeing people attend the church, get saved, begin to grow… and then move away! Since starting the church we’ve watched twenty-two faithful people move to other locations. That’s a lot for a brand-new church in our region. But the Lord gives and the Lord takes away according to His all-wise plan. By His grace, He keeps bringing in new people. The first Sunday of October was a new record for our church with seventy-six people in attendance. Our seating capacity is for eighty-six people!
We continue to pray that God will supply a larger building to meet in when the time is right. We have our eyes on a particular building that we mentioned in an earlier update. Pray with us that the price will continue to drop and that God will continue to provide for our building fund according to His will.
Most of you reading this update understand that with great open doors for the Gospel, there is also great opposition. We can testify that this biblical principle remains at work today. In light of this, we are grateful for your prayers. Pray that God will grant us special wisdom, sustaining strength and sensitive shepherding skills as we work with people and try to help them see the wonder of God’s grace.
We continue to pray for all of you. We cannot serve here without you and your help. God is doing a special work in this our region, and you are being used of Him to make a difference. Thank you for the sacrifices you make on our behalf. Keep serving faithfully in your region for the glory of God!
With Much Gratitude,
Bill, for Laura, Joy, Cherish, Delight, Will and Comfort
Address: 355 N. 2nd St., Montpelier, ID 83254
E-mail: bagleybunch5@gmail.com
