Two buildings on 32nd Avenue
Applewood Baptist Church sits on West 32nd Avenue in Wheat Ridge, a few minutes west of Denver. The campus is split across two buildings separated by the road: the Main Building on one side, recognizable by its steeple and home to the Worship Center, the Children's Center, and the Senior Adult classes, and the Education Building across the street, where most adult and student Community Groups meet. Guest parking is on the side with the Main Building, and first-time guests are invited to stop at the welcome table in the lobby for a small gift.
The church identifies as Southern Baptist, acknowledging the Baptist Faith and Message as its doctrinal statement, and describes itself in one sentence on the front of its website: "We preach Christ crucified." Sunday services are held at 9:30AM and 11AM, with a calendar that runs from cradle to grave, from an Awana club for two-year-olds to a long-running Bible Explorers class for members in their eighties.
Sundays at 9:30 and 11
The two Sunday worship services are identical. Each lasts about an hour. Music is led by a full band and vocal teams, mixing modern hymns and contemporary songs with the older hymns of church history. The mix is intentionally not concert-style. "We mix the sound to help foster an environment where worshippers can clearly hear the music, but also feel comfortable singing along," the church explains. Preaching is described as exegetical and verse-by-verse, drawn from the Bible text by text. The current series, "Hebrews: Jesus Is Greater," has been working through Hebrews for more than thirty sermons.
Services are livestreamed at 9:30AM and 11AM and remain available on demand afterward. Past sermons can be opened with audio and downloadable notes; the recent Hebrews messages are preached mostly by Dr. Derek Jones with occasional Sundays led by Dr. David Kotter, Brad Herman Sr., Joel Mathew, and guest speakers.
Children from newborns through fifth grade have a place of their own. The Children's Center opens for both worship hours, and families are checked in through a secure system by team members who walk them to their classrooms. Students in sixth through twelfth grades meet at 9:30AM on the second floor of the Education Building, beginning together before breaking into age- and gender-specific small groups.
Community Groups in three Sunday blocks
Around the two worship services, Applewood runs Community Groups at three time slots - 8:15AM, 9:30AM, and 11AM - on Sundays and throughout the week. The classes are the church's main small-group connection point and range across students, college and career, young adults, adults, senior adults, men's, women's, and special needs groups. The group finder lists more than two dozen specific classes, with names that often reflect the leaders rather than the topic.
Several Sunday morning classes meet in the Education Building across from the main campus: Beams | Bates (a 15-25 person inductive study at 9:30AM in E-101), D. Paschall | Schleske (mostly retirees meeting in E-102), Davis | Seldomridge (a 30s-40s group in E-104), and R. Paschall (a multi-generational class using Lifeway's "Explore the Bible" in E-201). The Bornhoft group meets at 11AM in the Main Building's Room M-206, alternating Old and New Testament study with prayer, sharing, and the occasional gathering at someone's home.
For early risers, the Early Light community group led by Connie Gay meets at 8:15AM in the South Assembly of the main campus, working verse by verse through Philippians. The Women's Class taught by Kintzel and Kuntz meets at 9:30AM in the Fellowship Hall downstairs (LL-125). The Bible Explorers, led by Pastor Leonard and Candy Van Dyke, has been meeting on Sunday mornings for about thirty years and gathers in rooms LL-102-108 of the main campus.
College, young adults, and special needs
The College and Career group, branded C2, is for 18- to 24-year-olds and meets at 9:30AM on Sundays with a separate community event on Thursday evenings at 6PM. The class maintains its own Instagram at @c2atapplewood.
Young adults are served by David and Rachel Kotter, who direct that ministry and preach occasionally in the main services. A community group for adults with special needs is included in the rotation, and an evening Family Estrangement Support Group meets monthly on Sunday afternoons in the Fellowship Hall for those experiencing the pain of broken family relationships.
Children from cradle through fifth grade
Applewood runs two parallel children's ministries. AppleSeeds is the preschool program for the youngest children, with Sunday School at 9:30AM and an Extended Session teaching and play time during the 11AM service. The preschool ministry supervisors are Jackie McBride and Lisa Bates. AppleKids is the program for older children through fifth grade, partnering with parents to build what the church calls "the center of godly influence." Lisa Bates serves as Interim Children's Ministry Director and Tasha Simmons as Children's Ministry Supervisor.
Awana is offered for kids from age two through sixth grade and meets Wednesdays at 6:15PM. The program is overseen by Awana Commander Bob Kuntz and is described as a partnership between the church and parents to develop spiritually strong children who follow Jesus Christ.
Each summer the church runs a VBS Day Camp on the Applewood campus for ages six through twelve, running 9AM to 4PM daily with optional extended hours. Volunteers sign up through a separate interest form.
Middle School and High School CREW
The Student Ministry, directed by Seth Anderson, is built around the word CREW - Christ, Relationship, Encouragement, Witness - with the goal of helping students "believe, belong, and become."
Middle School CREW meets Tuesday nights from 6:30 to 8PM in the Gym on the Applewood campus and is open to sixth through eighth graders. A typical night includes music, interactive team games, biblical and relatable messages, small group conversations, and prayer. High School CREW meets Friday nights from 7 to 8:30PM on the top floor of the Education Building and is open to ninth through twelfth graders. High schoolers also have a Sunday morning gathering from 9:30 to 10:45AM for a deeper dive into the Bible. Both groups keep the same C-R-E-W emphasis as their framework.
Men's ministry and Rad Dads
Men's ministry is anchored by Pastor Brad Herman Sr. and offers multiple weekly touchpoints. The Guys' Gathering meets Sunday mornings at Applewood and is led by Curt Golike and Steve Winkelman, with a focus on mentoring men across generations. The Men's Bible Study meets Tuesday evenings on campus and is led by Cleve Carpenter and Tim Bartshe, teaching a scriptural model for men to lead in their marriages, homes, churches, and communities.
Two monthly breakfasts keep the men connected. The 3G's Men's Breakfast meets on Saturday mornings with coffee, bacon, and fellowship for $3, and the Men's War Room Breakfast meets Tuesday mornings from 6:30 to 7:30AM for encouragement, time in the Word, prayer, and accountability. Rad Dads is an eight-week cohort that meets every other week and equips fathers to lead their families by God's design.
Women's ministry across the week
Women's ministry is directed by Tammy Sadler, with Cathy Campbell serving as Women's Ministry Resident. Bible studies for women run year-round in Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer sessions, with a special Advent study before Christmas. Studies are offered in the morning at 9AM and in the evening at 6:30PM to fit different schedules, and meet in the AppleSeeds Sunday-morning hour and the evening Women's Bible Study.
Recent study offerings have included Anchored: The Life and Letters of the Apostle Peter, Elizabeth: Dealing with Disappointment, Daniel: Living Out a Biblical Worldview, and Flourishing in Motherhood: Identity in Christ in the Unseen Moments of Parenting. The Sadler | Zott community group meets Sunday mornings in the Education Building's Room 205 for women's Bible study and fellowship. Vetos Women's is a newer group meeting on Wednesday evenings in Golden.
Women also gather for Women's Pickleball in the Applewood gym, with sessions on Monday mornings and evenings, and Tuesday mornings and evenings for the Women's Bible Study. Equipment is available and the gym is open with multiple courts.
Discipleship, D1, and Bible studies
Discipleship is one of Applewood's five stated values. The Discipleship Ministry is led by Pastor Rich Bornhoft with Joel Mathew as Director of Discipleship and Community Groups. The signature offering is D1 Biblical Foundation, a 17-week systematic class with childcare for birth through fifth grade that walks students through the Bible's core doctrines and equips them to disciple others. D1 runs periodically on Monday evenings and is free.
Alongside D1, the church runs Financial Peace University, a nine-week Dave Ramsey course on biblical money principles, and the 12-week "Love Like You Mean It" marriage class from Family Life, which is video-based with discussion and costs $15-$30 per person.
Worship Arts team
The Worship Arts team is led by Ben Young. Corporate worship at Applewood is described as Christ-focused, God-honoring, theological, celebratory, and uplifting, with music that reflects a multi-generational fellowship through contemporary worship songs and historic hymns. The team includes vocal teams, a band, and a tech crew, and rehearses on Wednesdays with vocal practice at 6:30PM and full worship team rehearsal at 7:30PM.
Missions, the gym, and community life
Missions is coordinated by Bob Kuntz. Applewood partners with Eagle Lake Camps for summer camp opportunities. Men gather for Men's Basketball on Monday evenings in the gym, with multiple courts running for guys ages 18 and older.
Among the recurring rhythms are Women on Mission, meeting the first Thursday of each month at 9:30AM to hear what God is doing through ministries supported by Applewood and to assemble health kits for those experiencing homelessness and craft kits for missionary VBS programs. The Homeschool Support Group meets on the second Thursday of each month from 9 to 11AM in the Fellowship Hall with childcare provided.
Care: Stephen Ministry, GriefShare, and Compassionate Connections
The Care and Prayer ministry reaches members through three main programs. Stephen Ministry trains lay people from the congregation to provide confidential, one-to-one Christian care to individuals experiencing difficulties such as loneliness, spiritual crisis, unemployment, relocation, birth or miscarriage, loss of a loved one, marriage difficulties, hospitalization, and chronic illness.
GriefShare is a 13-week support group for those grieving the loss of a loved one through death or divorce, led by Brenda Fletcher, with a special Surviving the Holidays event before Thanksgiving and childcare provided. Compassionate Connections is the homebound ministry, in which volunteers visit members who cannot regularly attend, share fellowship, and administer the Lord's Supper.
What we believe
Applewood Baptist Church teaches that the Holy Bible is the inerrant, inspired Word of God, written by men divinely inspired, a perfect treasure of divine instruction, totally true and trustworthy, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is the focus of divine revelation.
The church affirms one true and living God, eternally existing as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, distinct in person but undivided in nature and being. God the Father reigns over His universe with providential care. God the Son, Jesus Christ, was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and provided redemption through His substitutionary death on the cross. God the Holy Spirit is fully divine, exalts Christ, convicts of sin and righteousness, and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.
Human beings are the special creation of God in His own image, male and female. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race, but every person of every race possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love. Salvation involves the redemption of the whole person and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, including regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification.
What we value
Applewood names five core values. Authentic Relationships puts relationships at the heart of Christianity, both with God and with other believers, lived out in loving community. Biblical Authority holds the Bible as God's Word, the only infallible, inspired, inerrant authority for life and ministry. Intentional Discipleship commits the church to reaching the lost, raising up believers in God's Word, and reproducing leaders, in fulfillment of the Great Commission. Dependent Prayer expresses the church's conviction that believers have direct access to the Father through prayer, submitting to His will and interceding for others. Everyday Worship sees worship as a lifestyle of praising and honoring God in everything, with each person using their gifts to represent Christ in their neighborhood and workplace.
Membership, baptism, and getting connected
Membership classes are offered quarterly during the 11AM service with brunch and childcare provided. The class covers what Applewood believes God is up to in the world, what He is doing at Applewood, and gets to know each prospective member's story. Prospective members can text BELONG to 720.613.6169 to learn more. The church's online giving is handled through TouchPoint, and members can access their account through the church's website.
Leadership
The pastoral staff is led by Dr. Derek Jones as Lead Pastor/Elder. The elder team includes Rich Bornhoft (Discipleship and Education), Brad Herman Sr. (Men's Ministry and Pastoral Care), Al Simmons (Administrative Pastor), and Leonard Van Dyke (Counseling and Pastoral Care). Mary Van Horn serves as Director of Connection and Assimilation. Joel Mathew directs Discipleship and Community Groups, Seth Anderson directs Student Ministries, David and Rachel Kotter direct Young Adults, Lisa Bates leads Children's Ministry, Tammy Sadler leads Women's Ministry, Bob Kuntz coordinates Missions, and Ben Young leads the Worship Arts team.
The church can be reached at (303) 232-9575, with services held Sundays at 9:30AM and 11AM at 11200 West 32nd Avenue in Wheat Ridge. Giving is available online, and sermons and the live stream are available through the church's website.