Hi, I am Monte Johnston, the pastor. I know that looking for a new church can be daunting with all of the unknowns. You have many questions like: What is their worship style like? Will the people there accept me? Will there be a place for a family like mine? What is the pastor like? Let me try to remove at least that last "unknown" and tell you a bit about myself.
I was born and raised in Colorado Springs, and I still miss the mountains, the skiing, and the dry, cool climate. I went to college at the University of Colorado in Boulder and loved the diverse atmosphere of the place. I got heavily involved in the college ministry of the First Presbyterian Church in Boulder. They provided a place for us college students and loved us. So much so that on any given week 300 or so college students would gather to sing and hear about God. I knew that I wanted to help pass on that Spirit to other churches.
I went to seminary at Princeton Theological Seminary (not least because it was a lot closer to my girlfriend, and now wife, than Colorado was). I learned even more of the amazing love and grace that God has for each of us. His presence in our lives gives us such purpose, meaning and direction. It is such great news that we, Christians, have to share!
I served eight years as the associate pastor in Washington NC, where I tried to communicate this message to everybody from little kids, to teenagers, and on up. I have such a passion for all people to grow in knowledge and love of God. There is nothing as exciting for me than to see another person grasp in a new way what God has done for them in Christ. In my own spiritual life I have grown the most when I was a member of a small group bible study, where we studied together, prayed together and shared each others burdens.
In June of 2007 I finally finished my Doctor of Ministry. In it I studied the ways that our culture, specifically the consumer culture in which we are immersed, makes it difficult for us to receive from Go d all that he has for us, and to be the kind of followers that Jesus calls us to be.
Now I am trying to get people to call me Reverend Doctor Johnston, but I have yet to see any evidence that it is catching on.
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