Tucked in Joliet, Montana, a Victorian-style church built in 1909 is about to take on a new purpose. Joliet Christian Church — a building listed on the National Register of Historic Places — has been handed over to Yellowstone Classical Christian Academy (YCCA), which will open its doors as a new school next fall.
A Building With a Story to Tell
Walk into the balcony of Joliet Christian Church and you’ll find original pews dating back to when the church was first built in the early 1900s. Over the years, though, membership dwindled. Today the congregation is down to just seven or eight people. Rather than let the building’s story end there, the congregation decided to give it new life by donating it to YCCA.
For the family who has worshiped there for decades, the moment is bittersweet but hopeful. As one longtime member put it, watching the building transform is “kind of like the phoenix from the ashes” — a chance to see the ministries that started within those walls continue on in a new form.
The recent deed transfer made it official. As board members received the keys, the weight of the moment was clear: this building holds “over a hundred years’ worth of people coming to this church,” and the current congregation wanted to honor that history rather than see it fade.
What Students Will Learn
YCCA will operate under a classical curriculum model, an approach used by many faith-based schools across the country. Students will study Latin and classic literature, with coursework built around three core skills: grammar, logic, and rhetoric.
The philosophy behind it goes beyond academics. As the school’s leadership explains, the goal isn’t just to prepare students for jobs — it’s to help them become people who can think independently and contribute meaningfully to their communities: “We believe everyone has the potential to be able to think and to discern on their own. We’re not just raising workers, we’re raising people that can think and be great members of their community.”
That emphasis on thinking — not just memorizing — is exactly what’s drawing families in. Danielle Hall, who currently homeschools her second-grade daughter, plans to enroll her at YCCA. For her family, faith and the classical model go hand in hand: “The Christian aspect is probably the main focus for our family, along with the classical.” She points to the rhetorical side of the curriculum as especially valuable, noting that it “teaches these kids more of how to think and problem solve, rather than what to think and problem solve.”
Music, Rooted in the Room Itself
Virginia Steen-Reins has taught music for almost 50 years, and she’ll bring that experience to YCCA as a key part of the school’s daily curriculum. Music holds a central place in classical education, and students can expect to sing every day.
Fittingly, Steen-Reins is already giving her first lessons on the church’s original piano — the same instrument that has been in the building since the church first started. The setting only adds to the experience. As she describes it, the acoustics in the room are so beautiful that “it all goes together.”
A New Chapter, Still Connected to Its Roots
YCCA expects to welcome around 30 students initially, spanning kindergarten through fourth grade, with interest already growing among families throughout Carbon County.
The rhythm of church life will continue alongside the rhythm of school life — Wednesdays will remain chapel days, keeping the building rooted in both prayer and education. It’s a building starting its next chapter while staying connected to everything that came before it: over a century of a small congregation’s faith, now making room for a new generation of students to learn, sing, and grow within the same walls.
Story based on reporting by David J., MTN News (KTVQ).
