In mid 1989, I began working on a job for Martin Marietta in Denver that required me to spend a great deal of time in residence at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena. That October, Dede and I rented an apartment on Montrose Avenue to facilitate spending alternating periods of six weeks at JPL and two weeks in Denver. On a Sunday in December we decided it was time to checkout a local church and thought we might as well pick out one within walking distance.

For our first visit we ventured a whole block down from our apartment to the cute little Montrose Church. Dede and I walked into the auditorium and got our first look at the congregation gathered for the single morning service, and our first thought was, “Run!” There in the front few pews was the total gathering of about two dozen people. Needless to say, visitors stood out like a sore thumb, so there was no hope of blending into the woodwork. The whole group immediately gave us a very warm welcome and we felt much better. I should mention that without the very young pastor and his family, the average age of the congregation was probably a minimum of 65 years old!

The service was nice for a very small church and the music was what you might expect. At the end of the service we made our way to the back - overwhelmed again by the friendly people. When we finally reached the exit, we were met by Pastor Dave and family, where the first words were, “What are you doing for lunch?” We ended up at Acapulco Mexican Restaurant for a nice meal and great fellowship that cemented a bond with the Roberts and Montrose Church that is still strong more than 16 years later. Ah, but what changes would come!

As I look back at that first Sunday I am awed and amazed at what I know now about some of the amazing things behind the scenes. I realized later that some six months before we arrived, those faithful few at Montrose Church made an incredibly bold move to save a church from probably dying! An aging congregation had the foresight and courage to realize they were at a point where they could choose one of two paths: 1) take the easy route and continue to move along with no big change and probably watch the church die, or 2) call a young pastor that might be able to breathe life into the church at the cost of great change that would be painful to those who personally would be happier with “my church.” Thank God they had the courage to make the latter choice, and the rest is history!

I also later learned that the early founders kept this church going through the tough times by taking out mortgages on their own homes. Some literally paid the church bills directly from their personal accounts. This is the legacy that we can look back in wonder as we see where God has led us today. I can’t help but think about that quote from Hebrews 12:1, “... we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses ... let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”