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.

After lots of battling with pain, low oxygen, high blood pressure, etc., PASTOR PAUL WAS DISCHARGED from the hospital in Kalispell on Friday, January 9th but the doctors requested that he and Joy stay more nights at a motel in Kalispell which they did. They needed the rest! They returned home on Monday, January 12th but recovery has been slow an painful.

(Saturday, January 24, 2026; 11:00 am) Pastor Paul says he is miserable with abdominal pain much of the time and having a hard time with the slow recovery. During the surgery, the doctor removed several lymph nodes which were sent to the lab for testing. The results came back showing some cancer cells in some of the lymph nodes so he has an appointment with an oncologist in Bozeman on Thursday, January 29th to discuss the possibility of future chemo or radiation. He did NOT expect that result so the enemy is working overtime on his mind.

Pastor Paul anticipated being back on his feet in no time so when the doctors told him recovery for the surgery he had could normally take between 8 and 12 weeks, is is very hard on him.

Please pray (in faith and expect) for his recovery to speed up, for a diminishing of pain from the surgery and for God’s perfect will in his future. And please pray strength and encouragement for both him and his wife, Joy.

While Pastor Paul is taking some time off to recovery 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 and know what to pray for. You may also 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.