A Friendly Church on East 128th Avenue
Good Shepherd United Methodist Church sits on the east side of Thornton at 3960 East 128th Avenue, with its parking lot wrapping around the building on the east and south sides. From its earliest days the congregation has been known as a friendly church, a place where people of all ages and walks of life find an inclusive, accepting atmosphere. Its stated purpose is to celebrate God's message in worship and daily life, engage the community through active and relevant service, and equip the congregation for spiritual growth with a particular emphasis on young people. The church opens its doors with a broad welcome: all are welcome whatever your age, gender, race, marital status, sexual orientation, address, physical ability, native land or language, economic reality, or job status.
Two Sunday Worship Services, One Congregation
Sunday mornings at Good Shepherd center on two distinct services that share the same building and the same family. A contemporary service begins at 9:00 am, followed at 10:30 am by a traditional service. Adult Sunday School meets during the first hour at 9:00 am, while Children's Sunday School and the Youth Group Service both meet during the second hour at 10:30 am. Both worship services are livestreamed on YouTube, and past services are archived on the same channel for those who cannot attend in person.
Pastor Emily Kintzel
Reverend Emily Kintzel was appointed to Good Shepherd effective July 1, 2025. A Colorado native who grew up in The United Methodist Church, she taught elementary school for ten years before answering her call to ordained ministry. While teaching, she began work as Youth Director at Longs Peak United Methodist Church in Longmont, where she served for eleven years. She earned her Master of Divinity from Iliff School of Theology in June of 2016, completing her final year as the pastor of Evans United Methodist Church. She went on to serve Lyons Community Church from 2016 to 2020 and Niwot United Methodist Church from 2020 to 2025 before arriving at Good Shepherd. Pastor Emily has a heart for mission and for connecting with the community in real and authentic ways, and looks forward to supporting the congregation's current ministries while exploring new ones together.
Music That Rings Through the Building
Music fills the sanctuary at Good Shepherd through three distinct ensembles. The Praise Team, led by Meghan Gress, supports the contemporary service, while the Chancel Choir, directed by Dr. Emily Alley, sings for the traditional service. Good Shepherd's handbell ministry began in the year 2000 with three octaves of bells and has grown to five octaves under the direction of Cora Lou Baker. Two groups play: Jubilation Bells, the large choir, and Ringtones, a small four-player ensemble. The handbell choirs play once a month for both worship services, with rehearsals on Thursday evenings - Ringtones at 6:00 pm and Jubilation Bells at 7:00 pm. An Audio/Visual Team, led by Scott Varvir, learns the software, hardware, and sound equipment that carry services both in the room and online.
Christian Education for Every Age
The church sees Christian education as central to cultivating the next generation of Christ's disciples and helping anyone who wants to deepen their understanding of the Bible. Children's Ministry meets every Sunday at 10:30 am and serves children from age three through high school. Through children's Bibles, story time, crafts, and games, the program aims to help every child know they are loved by God and to grow in faith. Natalie Higgins directs the children's program.
Adult Sunday School gathers every Sunday from 9:00 to 10:00 am for a time of meditating on the Bible together, sharing testimonies, and seeking the truth and grace of God that manifests in daily life. Don Clark facilitates and Kathy Bollfrass coordinates a Zoom option. The Youth Group, directed by Debbie Anaya Pacetti, is open to young people ages eleven to eighteen. Conversations focus on living for God through prayer, positive actions, Bible study, and service projects in the community, with an emphasis on Wesleyan philosophies. The youth elect their own officers and lead service projects together.
Two ongoing small groups round out the educational offerings. The Ruth Circle Bible Study, an extension of United Women in Faith, meets every Thursday at 1:00 pm and welcomes any woman interested in Bible study; current leaders are Marge Cederlund, Donna Newby, and Kathy Bollfrass. The Church Book Club meets about every six weeks, with members choosing the books and meeting times. The club is open to anyone who loves to read and discuss, and is led by Connie Andersion.
A Web of Outreach Across Adams County
Outreach is woven into the identity of Good Shepherd, with ministries that reach into the neighborhood, the wider community, and the world.
The congregation participates in Kairos Outside Prison Ministry of Denver, an international Christian organization serving women with an incarcerated loved one or who have been incarcerated themselves. Good Shepherd offers a free two-and-a-half-day retreat in October and May, led by Colleen Campbell and Cindy Hendricks. The Benevolent Mission, led by Pastor Emily Kintzel and life coach Linda Graham, works with individuals in need to set goals, connect with additional resources, and provide up to $250 in bill assistance three times in a twelve-month period. The mission also contributes financially to Food for Hope each November and December.
Food for Hope, led by Ronda Stringer with Hervey Smith delivering the contributions, is a monthly collection of a food item that supplies snacks, weekend food bags, and school food banks in seven Adams County schools. A Community Garden, led by Jim Green, produces fresh fruit and vegetables throughout the seasons that are donated to local food banks, and local residents can request a plot of their own. Once a year, volunteers from Good Shepherd join Brothers Redevelopment and the city of Thornton for Paint-A-Thon, painting the home of a qualifying senior or disabled neighbor in the Thornton area; Hervey Smith coordinates the church's participation. Each year from mid-November into early December, the Christmas Stocking and Star Tree program, run for more than twenty years in partnership with the Thornton Police Department, collects gifts for children in Thornton.
The Inclusion and Belonging Team, led by Debbie Pacetti, works to live out the church's welcoming statement, believing that God has named each person Beloved, the Spirit gives gifts for the common good, and Christ calls the whole church to work for justice.
Church Groups that Build Fellowship
A wide range of groups keeps the congregation connected beyond Sunday morning. United Women in Faith is a community of women whose purpose is to know God and experience freedom as whole persons through Jesus Christ, to develop a creative supportive fellowship, and to expand concepts of mission through participation in the global ministries of the church. Monthly general meetings and various circle meetings are open to women of any age; meetings are held on the third Saturday of each month from 12:00 to 2:00 pm, with Kathy Bollfrass, Colleen Campbell, Maxine Seyforth, and Karen Bueno as ministry leaders.
United Methodist Men gathers on the third Saturday of each month at 8:00 am, engaging and empowering men within the church to grow spiritually, serve their communities, and support the mission of the church. Current leaders are Pete Finnie, Al Campbell, Hervey Smith, and Jim Irwin.
The Worture Team combines the Worship Committee and the Nurture Committee. It supports the pastor in preparing and implementing special services such as Monthly Communion, Blue Christmas, Good Friday, Back-to-Blessings, World Communion Sunday, Thanksgiving Sunday, and Christmas Eve, and changes the altar paraments, cross drape, wall banners, and flower arrangements according to the liturgical calendar. The team also sends goody boxes to college students from the congregation, prepares special-occasion give-away bags for Christmas, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Back-to-School Blessings, and Thanksgiving Blessings, and creates Welcome Bags and Little Visitor Bags presented to those attending services. Karen Zulauf and Kathy Lamerand lead the Worture Team. Flock of Friends is another listed group within the church life.
Care Through Prayer and Stephen Ministry
Good Shepherd's Prayer Ministry, led by Kathy Bollfrass, consists of roughly a dozen people who record and share prayer requests submitted through the prayer box, email, or phone calls. Some members pray from home on their own schedule, while others meet in person at the church every Thursday from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. All prayer requests are kept confidential. Stephen Ministry, led by Debbie Anaya-Pacetti, is the congregation's lay caring ministry, walking alongside people going through crisis with prayer, care, and support.
Annual Rhythms and the Wider Community
Beyond the weekly schedule, the church hosts a Fall Festival and Craft Fair each autumn, with family activities, entertainment, vendors, and a food truck. The Rocky Mountain Pride Band visits the building for a popular concert, open to all. A monthly newsletter keeps the congregation informed, and a weekly eBlast carries announcements about events, sermons, and community outreach. Two Bible discussion opportunities run on a regular cadence: the Bible Discussion Group meets on the second through fourth Tuesdays of each month from 1:00 to 2:30 pm, and the Geri-Actives Group gathers retirees on the first Tuesday of each month from 1:00 to 3:00 pm. A Ministry Board, created at the beginning of 2024, oversees the organization and administration of the church's ministry life.
Visiting Good Shepherd
The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 8:30 am to 12:00 pm and can be reached at 303-457-9267 or shepherdchurch@qwestoffice.net. The building sits at 3960 East 128th Avenue in Thornton, Colorado, with ample parking surrounding it on the east and south sides. Both Sunday services and past services are available on the church's YouTube channel, and online giving is available through the church's giving page. The Worture Team prepares Welcome Bags and Little Visitor Bags for those attending services, so newcomers arriving at either the contemporary 9:00 am service or the traditional 10:30 am service will find a friendly welcome waiting.