Monty Beasley Burnham

Monty was born to F. Gilbert and Frances Beasley Burnham in St. Joseph, MO. He grew up with an older brother, “Buzz,” and a younger brother, Jim. Both beloved brothers preceded Monty in death.

As a pre-teen and foul-mouthed boy, Monty attended a tent revival in town. He learned from a traveling evangelist that God loved him and wanted a relationship with him! He began listening to Billy Graham’s weekly radio broadcasts every Sunday. A few years later, a Young Life staffer named Bill Starr was in town visiting his family. The Starrs were neighbors to the Burnhams, and Bill started shooting hoops with Monty. It was from Bill that Monty began learning he could walk with Jesus every day. He began studying the Bible every morning. He was “pumped!” He wanted to share the great news: Jesus Christ came to forgive all our wrongs, to make us acceptable to God and loved by God forever.

Monty became president of his senior class in high school, but he didn’t know of one other Christian at the school. He graduated and followed Bill Starr to Whitworth College in Spokane, WA. While a student at Whitworth, Monty got involved with Young Life, which exists to introduce adolescents to Jesus Christ and help them grow in their faith.

The summer after his sophomore year of college, Monty decided to invite high school students back home in MO to a get-together so he could tell them about God’s love and invite them to Young Life’s Frontier Ranch in CO. The invitation went to 150 kids; to Monty’s dismay, only 80 showed up. That gathering resulted in Monty taking a busload of kids to Frontier Ranch. On their return, Young Life Kansas City quickly recruited Dr. Charlie and Kay Bascom as staff to move to St. Joseph, to shepherd the new believers who returned on the bus. Kay Bascom, now ninety-five and widowed, both wept and rejoiced at the news of Monty’s passing.

Monty greeted life with enthusiasm, and he was a lifelong learner. He transferred to Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL, and walked closely with mentors from The Navigators and Young Life. Preparing for Christian ministry, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in history from Wheaton College (‘59). In 1960, Monty married Elizabeth “Betsy” Dean and they moved to Pasadena, CA, for him to attend Fuller Theological Seminary and earn a Master of Divinity (‘64). In 1964, Monty and Betsy moved to Sacramento, CA, where he became Young Life’s Area Director. It was there that they had two beautiful daughters, Suzanne and Marybeth. Once Young Life was established in Sacramento and Davis, CA, Monty was assigned in 1970 as Area Director of Young Life for southern California in the Foothills, with office in Pasadena. Monty was also hired as the Young Life Training Director for Fuller Theological Seminary for a short time.

After 9 years on Young Life staff, Monty resigned in 1973 to return to Fuller, where he earned a Doctor of Ministry (‘74). He then became ordained as a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA). For 30 years, Monty answered calls to pastor congregations in California, Massachusetts, New York, and North Carolina. In every town where he pastored, he sought out Young Life leaders to encourage them and strengthen their ministry in any way he could.

While in Massachusetts in 1982, Monty’s wife Betsy died and he was left to parent his two teenage daughters. Two years later, Monty married Wendy M. Jayne. He was then called to Parkminster Presbyterian Church in Rochester, NY, where Monty developed a Young Life-Church partnership.

In 1996, Monty was called as pastor to Newland Presbyterian Church, in Newland, NC. Not long after moving to the High Country, Wendy heard that students at Appalachian State University were trying to start a Young Life chapter at Watauga High School in Boone, NC, and they were looking for support. Alongside his pastoral duties, Monty began working tirelessly to help build a foundation for Young Life in Watauga and Avery counties.

Monty retired from the PCUSA pastorate in 2005. Not long after he retired, Monty and Wendy were asked to join Executive Ministries, then a division of Campus Crusade for Christ, where God used them to share the Gospel with influential executives.

Monty was a visionary who brought energy into everything he did, especially to new initiatives. He was a mobilizer and a foundation-builder. He helped organize Billy Graham evangelistic events in Boston and Rochester, and a Franklin Graham Festival in Boone. He started book studies, men’s groups, and ecumenical pastors’ prayer fellowships in various cities, some of which are still active today. He helped found Christ the King Anglican Fellowship in Boone, NC.

When Monty set things up, they worked. He was a mentor to many and spent his life pouring into people. He loved to listen to young people’s life visions and encourage them to aim higher and reach further with a heart for Christ. As a shepherd, he loved and cared for people. Like a sheepdog, he wasn’t afraid to nip at heels – always out of love. Monty loved to introduce people to each other, to connect them with each other. He kept in touch with friends from every era of his life, people from high school, college, and every Young Life area and church in which he served.

Monty lived a full life. One might think it might have been enough! But at 88, it seemed God wasn’t finished with Monty. He wanted to bless him and Wendy one more time. One summer day in 2025, when Monty and Wendy were reading on their back porch, they heard singing, laughing, and preaching through their abundant trees. Where through the woods might there be a church or camp with so many people having so much fun? They had no idea that some of the happiest moments in their lives were ahead. Monty was about to turn 88 when they discovered Victory Baptist Church and Pastor Ethan Greene, who was worshipping with a vibrant group of people who had purchased 81 acres of land on which to build a camp and retreat center called Mt. Victory. Monty and Ethan’s hearts united in praying for the love and light of Christ to penetrate the darkness of our culture here, in the United States, and in the world. Monty had one more chance to encourage young people, to help them think through and fulfill their vision to advance the Kingdom of God. He and Wendy fell in love with the people and their vision at Mt. Victory Baptist Church, and that is where Monty left his last impressions. The congregation accorded him the honor of having his body laid to rest at their new cemetery, the first man to be buried there.

Monty was a force multiplier, always looking for leverage points in people’s lives where they could be lifted up and encouraged to grow. In these ways, Monty exercised the gifts and passions given him by God. He will be greatly missed by many whose lives he touched.

In his own words, Monty “discarded his body” on August 21, 2026. At that moment, his spirit and soul took up residence in the place Jesus promised to those who trust in Him for their salvation. For seventy-six of Monty’s eighty-eight years, he loved God and accepted Christ’s atonement for his sins. He is now with his Lord in the Father’s eternal home.

He is survived by his wife, Wendy; daughters Suzanne Burnham of Ithaca, NY, and Marybeth Romero of Wilkes-Barre, PA; three sisters-in-law, five grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 PM on September 12, 2026, at Victory Baptist Church (507 Mill Timber Creek Road, Newland, NC 28657).

In lieu of flowers, donations in honor of Monty’s life may be made to Victory Baptist Church or Ratio Christi. These organizations reflect Monty’s desire to share Christ with adolescents and to confront culture with the Kingdom of Christ.

Victory Baptist Church, memo: Mount Victory Camp. PO Box 884, Newland, NC 28657. Ratio Christi, memo: Appalachian State, Boone, NC, Chapter. PO Box 10937, Merrillville, IN 46411- 0937.

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