Advent is a church plant that was born in the hearts of leaders at Wellspring Church in Englewood, CO in 2010.  Rob Paris had been serving as an Associate Pastor there for eight years, and he sensed a call from God to start a new church in the Baker neighborhood of Denver.  With Wellspring's full blessing and support, they sent Rob with a team of fifty people to start Advent in February of 2011. 

For several years, Advent grew slowly but steadily in depth and numbers at our first home within Mi Casa Resource Center at 3rd and Acoma.  We had opportunities to make significant connections with residents of the neighborhood, and we were able to provide ministry experience to several interns from Denver Seminary.  Many of the people who were instrumental to Advent's beginning moved away from Denver for various reasons, but we eventually developed a stable sense of family within a transient culture.  

From the beginning, Advent has been comprised of people from a variety of church backgrounds drawn together by the good news of God's grace.  A passion for spiritual formation, community, mission and worship has permeated our identity from the earliest days. 

In late 2015, we learned that Mi Casa would be selling their building to developers and not renewing our lease.  By that time, several Advent families had moved into Baker and our congregation was deeply invested in the neighborhood.  We searched for another building to rent or purchase nearby, but were ultimately forced to look elsewhere.  

In the summer of 2016, we bought our current home at 678 King Street in Villa Park and relocated there.  We are grateful for our beautiful building, but many of us still miss the relationships that we enjoyed in Baker.  There are a few Adventers who've relocated to the Villa Park area, and we actively pray that God will show us what it means to be good neighbors in this new context.  Moving to our new building increased our numbers and enabled us to hire another full-time pastor as well as a worship leader and children’s ministry coordinator. We have also been intentional to encourage both clergy and lay leaders to serve in a variety of roles.  

It seems that just as we were settled and thriving, our founding pastor was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer at the end of 2017.  Rob endured surgery, chemotherapy, and other treatments for seventeen months, all the while affirming his trust in God's goodness. Thankfully, God supplied Advent with many gifted and generous people who were able to fill in gaps where needed throughout Rob's illness, and the congregation grew closer together during this difficult time.  On May 31st, 2019, Rob died at home while surrounded by family. He is dearly missed! 

Through the spring and summer of 2019, we looked far and wide for the right person to succeed Rob as our lead pastor.  We asked God to send us someone with a deep love for God and for people, a passion for living out the gospel in an Anglican context, and the ability to lead us with grace into the future.  Long story short, God provided. Our vestry called Jordan Kologe to serve as our lead pastor in July of 2019, and we were delighted when Jordan and his family embraced the call.

The current chapter of Advent’s story is one of lingering grief over our losses mixed with enduring gratitude for God’s provision and hope in God’s promise to restore all things. We continue to grow closer to the Lord and to one another as we seek to share in the life of God by redefining and reorienting everything around the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and our door remains open to anyone who’d like to join us!