On the Eastern Ridgeline of Castle Rock
Faith Lutheran Church sits at 303 North Ridge Road, on the eastern ridgeline overlooking the Town of Castle Rock in Douglas County, Colorado. It is a congregation of the Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ, commonly known as LCMC, and it has called that ridge home since the late 1980s. The church's reach, however, extends well beyond its sanctuary walls. Saturday mornings bring neighbors in need of groceries. Sunday mornings fill the pews with families who return for a worship service that includes Holy Communion every week. Weekdays belong to a preschool that has been a presence in the community for nearly thirty years and to a steady rhythm of Bible studies, small groups, quilting bees, and youth gatherings.
What Faith Lutheran is best known for, in the words of its own people, is being a "big tent" kind of church. The congregation welcomes people of every background and at every stage of their faith journey. Its mission statement, drawn from the Great Commandment and the Great Commission, is simple: Loving God, Loving Each Other, Serving Our Community.
Sunday Mornings: Communion, Teaching, and Coffee
Worship at Faith Lutheran takes place every Sunday at 9:00 AM, with Holy Communion celebrated at every service. The congregation made the decision to share Communion weekly in its earliest days and has continued that practice ever since. Music in the service blends traditional hymns and modern songs, and worshipers are free to raise their hands in praise or simply worship in their own way. Teaching is rooted in Scripture and seeks to connect the Bible to everyday life.
For visitors, the church keeps things intentionally low-key. Dress is casual - jeans are welcome, and the only dress code is to wear something. A free cup of coffee is available in the fellowship hall before the service. No one will be singled out publicly, asked to give, or put on the spot to speak. First-time guests are encouraged to simply say, "This is my first time," and someone will help them find their way.
After worship, the morning continues with Christian education for every age:
- Children's Sunday School runs from 10:15 to 11:00 AM for children in grades 1 through 5, meeting in the basement common area. Registration opens in the fall, and the children begin the morning in worship with their families before heading downstairs after the Children's Sermon.
- Adult Forum meets at 10:30 AM with no preparation required.
- Nursery care is available during worship for children from infancy through age 5, and nursery staff remain on site during the Adult Forum so parents can attend.
Worship services are livestreamed on Vimeo for those unable to attend in person.
What to Expect on Your First Visit
Faith Lutheran describes itself as a family. "Church is not a building we go to, but a family we belong to," the congregation writes, and that sense of welcome shows up in the practical details. The dress code is comfortable clothes. Background-checked volunteers run the children's and nursery ministries. Guests are not asked to put anything in the offering plate. People who have just walked in the door are greeted by name and pointed toward coffee, the sanctuary, or the children's classrooms.
The church is intentional about not making visitors feel out of place. Many of the people in the pews are themselves fairly new, so regulars don't always know who is a first-time guest - and newcomers are invited to simply say so. Whether someone has tattoos, political views, or a complicated past, the church's posture is the same: "regardless of your story, we believe you belong."
From a Suburban Idea to a LCMC Congregation
The Faith Lutheran story begins in 1976, when a handful of members of Holy Trinity Church (LCA) in Littleton moved south into the open countryside of Douglas County and began dreaming of a Lutheran church within a half-hour drive. They gathered for Sunday afternoon worship at St. Philip in the Field Episcopal Church on Perry Park Highway, sharing coffee, potlucks, and supply preachers with their hosts.
By 1982, the American Lutheran Church saw a need for a Lutheran congregation in Castle Rock, and the group agreed to join that venture. Rev. Dwight Stensgaard, then serving at Grace Lutheran in Englewood, accepted the call as Mission Developer. On September 11, 1983, the first official service was held at the Castle Rock Senior Center at Third and Anderson. The congregation received its charter from the ALC in 1984, purchased a parsonage, formed a building committee, and broke ground on a permanent home at 303 Ridge Road. The first building phase was finished in 1987 - the same location Faith Lutheran still occupies today.
In 1988, the ALC, the Lutheran Church in America, and the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches merged to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and Faith Lutheran became an ELCA congregation. Growth continued through the 1990s. A new sanctuary addition was completed in 1993, and in 1996 the church launched a preschool program that began in a member's home before moving into finished educational space beneath the sanctuary a year later. Rev. Michael Knauff accepted the call as Senior Pastor in the fall of 1997, and the preschool grew from fifteen students to multiple classrooms serving 120 children by the year 2000.
By 2009, however, the congregation's relationship with the ELCA had reached a crossroads. After a lengthy discernment process over what members described as the denomination's drift from a traditional interpretation of Scripture, the congregation voted to leave the ELCA and join the newly formed Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ. That relationship with LCMC has continued to this day.
The 2010s brought further change. The preschool grew to a maximum of 151 students, new international mission partnerships were launched in Guatemala and Ethiopia, and the church weathered the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic along with the rest of the country. After a year-long call process that began in 2022, Pastor Denton L. Bennet, Jr. was installed as Lead Pastor on June 1, 2023, with Pastor Jennifer Bennet joining the staff that September to help lead the post-pandemic rebuilding. Today the church is in an interim season, with Dawn Spies serving as Intentional Interim Pastor and the staff and congregation working to carry the mission forward.
Faith Lutheran Preschool: A Ministry That Has Outgrown Every Space
Faith Lutheran Preschool has been part of the church's ministry since 1995 and is open to families of any denomination. The preschool operates as a non-profit outreach of the church, licensed by the State of Colorado Office of Early Childhood and rated a Level 3 by Colorado Shines. All teachers are qualified by the state to teach early childhood education, and the staff participates in ongoing professional development.
Classes serve children from age two-and-a-half through five, with morning and afternoon options:
- Twos-and-a-Half to Threes meets Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday mornings, with a focus on social and emotional development - sharing, taking turns, and learning through purposeful play.
- Threes offers Monday/Wednesday mornings, Tuesday/Thursday mornings, Tuesday/Thursday afternoons, and an optional Friday morning class.
- Fours runs Monday/Wednesday/Friday mornings and afternoons, or Tuesday/Thursday mornings, with pre-reading, math, science, and creativity woven into a thematic curriculum.
- Junior Kindergarten is for five-year-olds who miss the kindergarten cut-off or need more preparation, meeting Monday through Thursday afternoons.
Each classroom enjoys weekly Spanish, music, and chapel enrichment. An optional Lunch Bunch extends the day with extra outdoor time and time to eat together. Tuition runs from $245 per month for the youngest classes to $345 per month for Junior Kindergarten, with a small one-time supply fee and drop-in Lunch Bunch available for $20 a day.
The preschool is led by Director Jean Whisman, who has been on staff since 2012, along with a team of fifteen lead teachers, assistants, and substitutes. Tours are available by appointment through the preschool office at 303-688-3532.
Kids, Students, and Confirmation
Faith Lutheran's ministry to children and youth runs in step with parents. Every volunteer who works with children has passed a background check and been trained in safety and security protocols. The church frames the ministry as a partnership with families rather than a substitute for them.
For the youngest children, the nursery serves ages zero to five during worship and during the Adult Forum that follows. For grades 1 through 5, Children's Sunday School meets Sunday mornings at 10:15 with interactive lessons, Bible verses, songs, games, and crafts.
Middle school students gather for Confirmation on Sunday mornings at 10:30. Confirmation at Faith Lutheran is a two-year journey through the Bible, the Creed, and the harder questions of faith. Students participate in a Mentor Ministry during Lent and, in the summer of their eighth-grade year, take part in the Affirmation of Baptism worship. Fall and spring retreats at YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park or Winter Park have become a tradition. On the weeks when Confirmation is not meeting, a middle school Sunday school class works slowly through a book of the Bible together.
High school students meet for FLY - Faith Lutheran's youth ministry - on most Sundays from 11:15 AM to 1:00 PM. FLY centers on three pillars drawn from Acts: eating together, praying together, and celebrating together. Summer activities include trips to Elitch Gardens, hiking, tennis, and pickleball.
The Saturday Food Pantry and InTouch Ministry
Every Saturday from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM, Faith Lutheran opens its doors to neighbors in need of food. The food pantry provides a week's worth of groceries to families who register in advance, with first-come, first-served walk-ups welcome when supplies allow. Volunteers assemble the boxes on Friday afternoons at The Gathering Place, the church's fellowship space.
The pantry is paired with the church's InTouch Ministry, which follows up with recipients to pray for their needs and connect them with other community resources - help with housing, counseling, employment, or behavioral health. The pantry and InTouch together are one of the most visible ways Faith Lutheran lives out its mission to serve its community.
Small Groups and Bible Studies
Faith Lutheran takes seriously the saying, often attributed to Andy Stanley, that "life change happens in circles, not in rows." The church runs a steady calendar of small groups that meet throughout the week, in homes, in the church library, and over Zoom.
- Women on the Rise meets every Monday at 6:00 PM and centers on Bible study, mutual encouragement, and bearing one another's burdens.
- Monday Night Men's Bible Study meets Mondays at 6:00 PM and works through topical and biblical studies.
- Sarah Circle gathers on the first and third Wednesday of each month at 9:30 AM. Open to women of all ages, the group uses workbooks and study guides to dig into Scripture.
- Thursday Night Bible Study meets at 6:30 PM in the church library or on Zoom, walking through the Bible verse by verse.
- R.E.A.L. Women of Faith meets every Friday at 9:30 AM in the FLC conference room, studying one book of the Bible at a time.
- "Piece Makers" Quilters meet Thursday mornings at 8:30 AM.
The church also hosts the Castle Rock Band, a music ministry that gathers Monday evenings, and periodic Senior Luncheons and Conscious Discipline parenting seminars through the preschool.
Outreach: Local, National, and International
Serving the community is the third leg of Faith Lutheran's mission stool, and the church pursues that call on three fronts.
Locally, in addition to the food pantry, Faith Lutheran supports Sox Place, a Denver shelter for street youth and young adults; the Help and Hope Center, a Douglas and Elbert County agency that serves people facing economic crisis; and Catholic Charities of Central Colorado, whose Castle Rock office provides ESL classes, counseling, family immigration services, and case management. Members collect clothing and toiletries for Sox Place in a narthex bin and volunteer at Help and Hope's Treasures Thrift Store.
Nationally, the church partners with three organizations dedicated to fighting human trafficking: Restore Innocence, which provides holistic aftercare for survivors; Love2Hope, which works to raise awareness and connect communities to the fight against trafficking; and BridgeHope, which uses technology to combat exploitation and support survivors.
Internationally, Faith Lutheran supports Tarkanfi Sustainable Development, an indigenous Ethiopian NGO that focuses on women's empowerment, girls' education, clean water, and public health; the Guatemala Mission; and Shared Hope International, a Christian organization working to prevent sex trafficking and restore victims in India, Nepal, Jamaica, and the United States.
What Faith Lutheran Believes
The congregation summarizes its beliefs plainly: God is real, all-powerful, and Triune - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He created everything and everyone. Every person has sinned and needs Jesus, who died for our sins, rose again, and is coming back. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. Heaven and hell are real, as are angels and demons. The Holy Spirit lives in every believer, giving power for living and service. The Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God and the supreme authority for faith and life.
The church practices two sacraments. Baptism is understood as the means by which God adopts believers as His children, and the church affirms the baptism of both infants and adults. Communion is celebrated every Sunday, with the church teaching that Jesus is truly present in the bread and wine as He promised, and that the meal is an occasion to bring sin to Him, receive forgiveness, and be renewed.
Leadership and the Road Ahead
Faith Lutheran is currently shepherded by Dawn Spies, who is serving as Intentional Interim Pastor. Jean Whisman has led the preschool since 2012. The church is governed by a Church Council that includes a President, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and leaders for Stewardship, Worship and Music, Outreach, Community, and Spiritual Growth. Day-to-day operations are supported by an Administrative Assistant, Financial Secretary, and Recording Secretary.
From its beginnings as a small group worshiping at an Episcopal church on Perry Park Highway, to its current ministries on the Castle Rock ridgeline, Faith Lutheran has been marked by the same posture its leaders describe today: a family that extends grace, mercy, and forgiveness to everyone, imperfect and broken people who are coming to know Jesus and serving others together.