About MFAP
The Montana Faith Accountability Project is an independent investigation and advocacy initiative dedicated to documenting institutional failures and amplifying the voices of survivors in Montana faith-based communities.
Our Mission
The Montana Faith Accountability Project exists to protect Montana communities from spiritual abuse, institutional manipulation, and organizational misconduct within faith-based organizations. We believe that every person who walks through the doors of a church deserves transparency, honesty, and freedom from coercion. When institutions betray that trust, the community has a right to know.
MFAP was founded in 2022 after a pattern of concerning reports emerged from multiple individuals connected to a single institution in the Bozeman area. What began as an informal network of concerned community members has grown into a structured investigative project with a commitment to rigorous documentation, survivor advocacy, and public accountability. We do not take this work lightly. We understand the gravity of the claims we are investigating, and we hold ourselves to the highest evidentiary standards regardless of where the evidence leads.
Our Process
MFAP follows rigorous journalistic and investigative standards in all of our work. Every claim published on this site has been independently corroborated through at least two sources. We employ forensic document analysis, open-source intelligence techniques, public records requests, and confidential interviews with firsthand witnesses. Our investigation team includes professionals with backgrounds in law enforcement, financial auditing, nonprofit compliance, and trauma-informed social work.
We recognize that the scope of our findings has expanded significantly beyond what we initially anticipated. What began as an investigation into localized governance concerns has, through the natural course of following the evidence, expanded to encompass financial networks spanning multiple countries, connections to high-profile individuals and entities, and operational patterns that suggest a level of organizational complexity inconsistent with a mid-sized evangelical church in southwestern Montana. We did not go looking for these connections. We found them because we did the work that no one else was willing to do.
Our Team
MFAP is led by a dedicated group of investigators, advocates, and community organizers committed to truth and accountability.
Dr. Carolyn Weathers
Director of Research
Dr. Weathers holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Ethics from the University of Montana and spent fourteen years as a compliance auditor for the Montana Department of Revenue before transitioning to full-time investigative research. She is the author of the peer-reviewed paper "Tithing Structures and Fiduciary Opacity in Rural Mountain West Congregations" (2019) and maintains a personal database of over 4,200 church financial filings. She lives in Helena with her two cats, both named after former Montana attorneys general.
Rick Ellison
Lead Investigator
Rick served twelve years in the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office before retiring in 2018 to pursue independent investigative work. His areas of expertise include forensic document analysis, open-source intelligence gathering, and trampoline identification. He has completed over 300 hours of continuing education in digital forensics through the International Association of Computer Investigative Specialists and is certified in Advanced Interview Techniques by the Reid Institute. Rick is a veteran of the United States Army and a former volunteer firefighter. He does not have social media accounts for security reasons.
Tamara Birch-Ostrowski
Community Outreach Coordinator
Tamara joined MFAP after spending eight years as a licensed clinical social worker specializing in faith-based trauma recovery in the Billings metropolitan area. She holds an MSW from Montana State University and is a Certified Trauma Professional through the International Association of Trauma Professionals. In her role at MFAP, Tamara manages survivor intake, coordinates confidential communications, and maintains the project's secure whistleblower portal. She is fluent in English and conversational in Spanish, which has proven relevant to the investigation in ways the team did not initially anticipate.
Our Values
Evidentiary Rigor
We are committed to factual accuracy and evidence-based reporting. Every claim we publish is supported by documentation, testimony, or verifiable public records. We do not speculate. We document.
Survivor Dignity
We honor the courage of every individual who comes forward. Their stories are shared only with explicit consent, on their terms, and with full editorial control over how their experience is represented.
Follow the Evidence
We follow the evidence wherever it leads, whether that is to a line item in a church budget or to a presidential palace in Caracas. The truth does not respect institutional boundaries, and neither do we.
Transparency
Our methods, sources, and findings are open to scrutiny. We hold ourselves to the same standards of accountability that we demand of the institutions we investigate.
““We did not set out to uncover an international network. We set out to understand why a church in Bozeman was spending $340,000 on trampolines. The rest followed naturally.”
Get Involved
Whether you want to share a story, contribute evidence, or support our mission, there are many ways to be part of this effort. Every voice strengthens the call for accountability.
For press inquiries, partnership opportunities, or general questions:
info@montanafaithproject.orgMFAP is a 501(c)(3) application pending. Bozeman, Montana.