KIEF Liberty Baptist Church is special for a number of reasons, said the Rev. Luis Coca Sr., but most of all because of its people.

Like many rural communities, Kief has lost population over the last few decades, but Coca said the church itself is growing.

“Kief, population of 5, and a congregation of 40 to 50,” said Coca, describing the church. “(They come) because of the love they show one another and the fellowship,” said Coca. “That church really does love one another.”

Coca, who is starting his ninth year as pastor of the church, and his wife, Jan, drive 120 miles round trip to preside over services at the church on Sundays. Jan Coca runs the “Kid Korner” for kids during the regular church service. She tells a story with a biblical moral or principle to the children of the church. After Kid Korner, the children are dismissed to attend church for children during the Sunday service. Church services are held at 10 a.m. on Sunday.

Other church members come from the surrounding rural areas, including Drake, Anamoose and Butte.

“We have a couple that come from as far away as Towner,” said Coca.

When he first started out as pastor at the church, there were about 12 people regularly attending church services. Now the congregation ranges from 35 to about 50 people each Sunday.

Coca said the church runs a vacation Bible school for children. It also runs Wednesday night Bible studies during the winter months. Ladies in the church have a Bible study once a month on a Thursday night. The church also supports several ministries, including Camp Bentley, a camp for the American Baptist Church. They support a Russian ministry in Ukraine, a ministry that serves women in prison and a safe house for women who are caught up in sex trafficking, among others. The church also helps support a mission in India.

“There’s not much we’re not involved in,” said Coca. “We’re an active church,” said Coca. “We’re like a jewel in the prairie if you ask me.”

The church members also believe in being active in the local community. They do joint activities with St. Paul Lutheran Church in Butte. On the weekend of July 11 and 12 the two churches held a kickball game and a community picnic. They’ve also brought in different musical groups to perform at different events.

“We are very proud of our ministries here,” said Coca. “For a small church in the American Baptist Churches in the Dakotas, we give more to overseas missions than our larger churches. We believe in the Great Commission as stated in Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV2011) ‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’ ” We also believe that love is a verb: a verb is an action word. Therefore, we are called to love others. John 13:34-35 (NIV2011) “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.'”

The church building itself was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. It was the first Russian Baptist church built on the continent. Many of Kief’s original settlers came from Ukraine to the United States, some to escape religious persecution. The church was built in 1902 and included Late Gothic Revival architecture.