Subruban Broomfield

The community of Broomfield was designed to be a residential area with no downtown and no real business district.  It was housing only with a target population made up of commuters who worked in Boulder or northern Denver.  Dwight Eisenhower and a group of investors actually purchased the land, drew up the street structure, and built the first few homes.  Early adopters were proud of their water meter number that started with home #1 and went up.  Low numbers were a sign of an adventurous spirit.

Rev. Jim Calhoun (my DS at the time) suggested that Sue and I consider moving from Longs Peak UMC to the Broomfield community.  By this time the two congregations were about the same size.  Longs Peak had been growing and Broomfield had been on a moderate decline.

Years earlier we made a commitment to the United Methodist process and to the office of the Bishop.  We said, if the Bishop calls we will assume that God is at work and we will say yes.  So we did.  We said yes to an introduction with the Broomfield Church. 

They were in pain at the time.  Lots of turmoil and confusion seemed to be the order of the day.  But they said yes, and we arrived November 1, 1993.    From that date until Advent of 1996, it was a daily struggle.  The first three years had more than their fair share of sifting and sorting.  Then, at a very low moment just before Christmas 1996, a group of folks in the church began to recognize the level of pain and the toll it was taking on the system.  They gathered in the lower level youth room for a surprise prayer session.  They invited me in, laid hands on me, and prayed for the church.

God used that moment (and it was quite a moment) to flip a spiritual switch in my heart and in the life of the Broomfield congregation.  From that day forward it was onward and upward with the fastest growth curve in the Annual Conference.  We moved from 350 in worship to 1000 in six years.  A new children's wing (the Judy Davis Children's Center), a full size gym, and a new sanctuary unfolded during those days of the Holy Spirit.  Global Hope was born, mission ministry touched many lives, the Walk to Emmaus became central, and spiritual leaders began to surface at every level.

The church became a center for teaching and sharing ministry ideas.  It was a place of encouragement and hope for many who were searching for strategies that could turn around stale ministries.  The days were good, but after nine years God had new things in store.  We said goodbye to a wonderful group of people and headed south.  We would never be the same.