Pastor Paul had a very aggressive and fast-growing
walnut-size cancerous tumor removed from his pancreas on
January 2, 2026. The surgeon said that if he had not had a ‘gallstone incident’ recently where they had to remove his gall bladder, they would never have found the beginning stages of pancreatic cancer until it was out of control and too late. We all know that wasn’t just ‘lucky’ as the surgeon said, but was directly from our God of miracles.

He is still in the hospital in Kalispell. Right now (4:00 pm on Tuesday, January 6, 2026) after doing a CT scan yesterday to rule out blood clots in his lungs because the doctors say he isn’t getting as much oxygen as he should be, he found out he has some fluid in his lungs they need to deal with. He had a rough night dealing with pain and high blood pressure. But during the day today some of the tubes and wires that caused so much discomfort were removed and we’re all expecting and praying for a good night of rest tonight. Please pray for his blood pressure to be back to normal and for good rest.

Please continue to pray for Pastor Paul for speedy recovery, no complications and diminishing pain from the surgery. And please pray strength and encouragement for both him and his wife, Joy.

Pastor Paul is taking a few weeks off while he is recovering so please don’t bother him or Joy by calling or texting them (they have plenty on their plate right now). Instead, we will keep any updates or changes posted here so you are able to know what is going on or you may text or call Steve Allen at 406-465-2881 for updates. Or, if you’d like, you may send cards to the church address, 6145 N. Montana Ave. Helena, MT 59602 and we will make sure they get to the McElroys.

Thank you for your prayers! They make a huge difference! They kept Joy alive a few years back and now they will do the same for our Pastor Paul.