Colorado Student Ministry

So it seems that we are privy to a little secret out here in the rugged wilderness of Colorado when it comes to the national landscape of youth ministry in our organization. If the bible belt is the center of the wardrobe that makes up the UPC, then the Mile High City is somewhere near the top button on the collar. But even taking into consideration that perceived sense of distance and isolation there are some guys here that are simply some of the greatest youth ministers and workers in our movement. Take for instance Michael Burton, youth pastor at House of Worship in Denver. This cat is an artistic genius, a tireless worker, and deeply intellectual. Aside from his usual ramblings about algorithms or constant inside geek jokes with his similarly brainy engineer wife, Mr. Burton is about as down to earth and passionate about the things of the kingdom of God and student ministry as anyone can be. Add to this, the dude has a scary good portfolio of graphic design work that rivals ANYTHING I’ve seen floating out there in youth ministry. To put it simply, Michael Burton is the SWISS Army knife of Colorado Youth Ministry. Add to that, there is another guy out here in the tundra of the Rocky Mountains whose name should be on the lips of any youth committee considering a speaker for their event…Charles Beaver. I’ve been to a ton of youth camps, conventions and trainings and have heard about as many youth speakers as one person could. In addition, I’ve been to Dare 2 Share, Youth Specialties and Acquire the Fire…just a few student events outside of the UPC and Charles Beaver could be the keynote speaker at anyone of these. The guy is flat out the best youth speaker no one has heard of.
So why is it that such talented pros like these guys, (and I haven’t even mentioned others like Tony Bohrer and Thomas Gibson) aren’t more prominent on the national landscape? I’m not sure; perhaps it’s because of the geographic distance from the Midwestern and Southern hotbed of Pentecostal influence. But one thing I do know is that as long as I have a voice, I’ll champion the amazing student ministry work that is being done in our little corner of the country by a group of the most tireless and dedicated youth workers I know of, and maybe our little secret will no longer remain a secret