Grace Chapel sits along South Valley Highway in Englewood, at the seam where south metro-Denver meets the Tech Center corridor. The campus - once the Leo Payne Auto Plaza - is now home to a non-denominational evangelical church whose mission is simply stated: Leading people to find and follow Jesus. On any given Sunday, more than a thousand people from across the south Denver area gather for worship at 9 and 11 AM, then scatter into classrooms, small groups, kitchens, and mission projects for the rest of the week.
Where to Find Grace Chapel
The address is 8505 S Valley Highway, Englewood, Colorado 80112, near the intersection of C-470 and I-25. From I-25, drivers exit at County Line Road and head east; the road curves south and meets S Valley Highway at a light. A right turn there puts the church a quarter mile up the road on the right. From C-470, the route runs north on Quebec to County Line Road, then under I-25 and on to the same light. Visitors coming from Lincoln Avenue turn north on Havana, west on the South Meridian loop, then left on South Jamaica, crossing under C-470 as the road becomes S Valley Highway. The campus includes a main Worship Center, a Worship & Kids Building on the north end, the Students Building, the Community 500 Building, McKibben Chapel, and several smaller portables used for groups.
Sunday Mornings at 9 and 11
Two identical Sunday services give families a choice of hour. Worship is contemporary and led by a full band, with congregational singing followed by expository preaching - Bible teaching that walks through books of the text verse by verse. Senior Pastor Josh Weidmann calls this commitment to Scripture one of the defining marks of the church. Services are also livestreamed for those at home or traveling.
Children are a priority from the parking lot. The GCKids Check-In table sits in the Upper Lobby, where each child receives a nametag with a security code and each parent receives a matching pickup tag. Programming runs at both services for nursery through fifth grade.
- Nursery (birth to 2 1/2 years): Infant, Young Mover, and Toddler classes with age-appropriate Bible stories, songs, crafts, and play.
- Preschool and Elementary (2 1/2 years through third grade): GCKids Way uses The Gospel Project curriculum alongside worship, games, and hands-on activities.
- The Lodge (fourth and fifth grade): Preteens have their own space for large-group teaching and small-group discussion.
For middle and high schoolers, GC Students meets at 9 AM in the Students Building Youth Room and again on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:15 PM. Director Carson Hyre and his team focus on teaching Scripture, investing personally in students, and equipping them to make other disciples.
How a Car Dealership Became a Church
Grace Chapel's story began in 1979, when Paul and Char Barnes moved back to Denver after Paul graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary. Their first service drew thirty people to a middle school in Cherry Creek; over the winter the congregation moved into the chapel rooms of a local mortuary, with viewing rooms turned into classrooms.
By 1983 the church had saved enough to buy three acres at Arapahoe and Colorado and build its first home, with sixty founding families moving in. Growth pushed the congregation into a second-floor addition by 1987, and eventually into Isaac Newton Middle School for Sunday worship while the building doubled as classroom space. In 1992 the church purchased eighteen acres near Park Meadows, then - when a better opportunity surfaced - sold that land and bought the empty Leo Payne Auto Plaza after two years of negotiations with General Motors. The deal closed in December 1994. Two years of remodeling followed, and in October 1995 the church worshipped for the first time in its current home, holding services in the Fellowship Hall and Chapel.
The Worship Center was finished in December 1997, allowing the schedule to consolidate from three Sunday services down to two. By 2000 more than one thousand families called Grace Chapel home, and a fourth service aimed at the next generation was launched under the name Elevation. A long-range plan called Impact '05 guided the next chapter. Eight adjoining acres were purchased, and a vision-and-strategy process began in 2004 under the leadership of Pastor Paul Barnes, the Elders, and staff.
After twenty-eight years as Senior Pastor, Paul Barnes resigned in December 2006. The Elder Board called John Zivojinovic, who served from 2007 until August 2014, when he stepped away to pursue an opportunity in education. After an extensive search, the Board issued a Call to Josh Weidmann, who accepted and began his ministry on May 31, 2015.
Beliefs That Shape Everything
The doctrinal foundation of Grace Chapel is summarized in a Doctrinal Statement, a set of Church Bylaws, and a series of position papers covering divorce and remarriage, marriage, singleness and sexuality, hell and eternal punishment, financial stewardship, baptism, church membership, and men and women in church leadership. Together they form the teaching backbone of the church.
Five lifelong values, or "fingerprints," run beneath every ministry:
- Christ's Supremacy - exalting Christ as Lord by worshipping Him in spirit and truth.
- Biblical Authority - teaching the Word of God without apology.
- Pray Continually - depending on prayer and the Holy Spirit's leading in every matter.
- Jesus-Centered Community - fostering grace-filled environments for authentic fellowship.
- Gospel Living - advancing the Gospel locally and globally through word and action.
Baptism at Grace Chapel is by immersion, a public symbol of a believer's death to the old life and resurrection to the new. Communion is observed as a time of self-examination and remembrance of Christ's sacrifice. Child Dedication is offered for parents who pledge to raise their child in a Christian home and for the church to surround that family in prayer and biblical community.
Leadership: Elders, Pastors, and Ministry Directors
Jesus Christ is described as the Head of the Church and the ultimate authority. Under Christ, the Elders and Deacons shepherd Grace Chapel's daily life. The pastoral and ministry staff, overseen by the Senior Pastor, lead the individual ministry areas to which God has called them.
The current Elders are Senior Pastor Josh Weidmann, Ray Shoaff, Josh Kirk, Mark Voss, Dick Chiappini, Brian Moe, and Tom McGee. The pastoral team includes Associate Pastor Steven Sardisco, Discipleship Pastor Josh Kirk, Kids Pastor Jamie Tressen, Student Ministries Director Carson Hyre with associate Jacob Peyton, GCKids Associate Brittany Enriquez, Nursery & Childcare Director Pam Willecke, Women's Director Kate Flora (with Courtenay Atwell joining as incoming Women's Director), Singles/Young Adults/College Pastor Steve Whitlock, Worship Leader Carrie Robertson, Program Director Joey Rothman, and Steve Puleo, who directs The Hope of Denver Biblical Counseling Center.
Adults: Sunday Communities and Life Groups
Two rhythms anchor adult discipleship. Sunday Adult Communities meet during one of the service hours and then attend the opposite service together. Current classes include 2nd Half (retirees seeking to leave a legacy), Household of Faith (couples navigating the empty-nest years), Legacy (men and women nearing or enjoying retirement), Growing in Faith (mostly retired singles and couples), and Going Deeper (a multigenerational, verse-by-verse study). Each group is led by lay teachers who rotate through the year.
Home Life Groups meet weekly or every other week in homes across Aurora, Castle Rock, Centennial, Highlands Ranch, Littleton, and Parker. They are designed to make the church small - a place to know and be known, study the Bible together, pray, and share life.
Men and Women
Men's ministry at Grace Chapel is structured around three aims: know God, be like Jesus, and do His will. Weekly Bible studies include the Men of Valor group (Tuesdays at 6 PM in Portable 801), the Younger Men's Study (Wednesdays at 6:30 AM in the Student Ministries Lobby for men 40 and under), the John Stokely Group (Wednesdays at 6:30 AM in Community 500 Room 511, ages 60+), Breadhead's Bible Study (Wednesdays at 6 AM at Panera Bread in Aspen Grove), and the Men's 6:33 Group (Thursdays at 6:33 AM in Community 500 Room 511).
Women's ministry, under the heading "We Are Better Together," centers on a major Tuesday Bible study called Tuesdays in the Word. The current verse-by-verse study walks through Romans over thirty lessons, taught by Pastor Josh Kirk. A morning session meets from 9:30 to 11 AM, and a combined men's and women's evening session runs from 6:15 to 8:15 PM. Childcare is available. Audio recordings of each week's lesson are posted online so participants can revisit the material or catch up if they miss.
Singles, Young Adults, and College
The Mix is Grace Chapel's singles community, meeting at 9 AM on Sundays upstairs in the Student Ministry Building. Singles and married couples study Scripture together and socialize outside of class.
Young Adults (ages 18 to 35) gather on Tuesday nights in the Youth & Young Adults Building. The evening begins with doors opening at 6 PM, moves into big group teaching at 6:30, small groups at 6:45, discussion at 7, prayer at 8, and social time at 8:30. BBQs, camping trips, frisbee, volleyball, and flag football fill the calendar between studies. The College group joins Young Adults on Tuesday nights during the summer.
Young Marrieds - couples in their 20s and 30s - meet on Sunday evenings at 5:30 PM in McKibben Chapel for practical Bible teaching, discussion, and fellowship.
Spanish Ministry
Grace Chapel's Servicio en Español meets on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month at 10:40 AM in the Student Room for a time of worship in music, study of God's Word, and fellowship. A midweek Servicio Entre Semana gathers on Thursdays at 7 PM. The ministry welcomes Spanish speakers as well as anyone learning the language.
Missions: Locally and Around the World
Mission work at Grace Chapel extends in every direction. Locally, the church maintains long-term partnerships with inner-city ministries in Denver and Douglas County that serve the poor, homeless, and refugees. Globally, the church supports work in five regions:
- Malawi - ministry among homeless youth in Blantyre.
- West Africa - more than twenty years of partnership in Benin, Burkina Faso, and Niger, focused on community development around a local church: a church building, a solar-powered well, schools, and a clinic.
- North Africa - long-term presence in a Muslim-majority area with very few believers, focusing on rural relationships, school visits, and community projects.
- Asia - teaching English as a second language, discipleship, and training national believers.
- Middle East - ongoing partnership in Lebanon, working amid economic crisis and political instability.
Hope of Denver: Biblical Counseling
On the Grace Chapel campus, The Hope of Denver Biblical Counseling Center offers free, short-term, goal-based biblical counseling. Run by Director Steve Puleo and a team of Gospel-centered, professionally licensed counselors, the center exists to care for hurting people without judgment. Anyone can request care through the church's Care Form.
Membership, Communion, and Baptism
Becoming a member begins with the Belong Membership Matters Class, where Pastor Josh Weidmann shares in depth about the mission, values, and expectations of membership. Members adopt a Church Member Covenant - a statement of shared commitments to holy living, unity, generosity, regular participation, prayer, and ongoing witness. Communion is observed regularly, and baptisms are scheduled throughout the year for believers who wish to make a public declaration of faith.
Getting Connected
Visitors and regular attenders alike can fill out a Connect Card online to be guided into a community group, ministry team, or next step. Serving opportunities range from greeting and parking teams to GCKids teaching, worship and tech, student ministry, security and medical teams, and women's ministry hospitality. Most volunteer roles are filled by people who serve twice a month with a partner.
Giving and Facilities
Grace Chapel supports its ministry through online giving via the Touchpoint database, the Grace Chapel app, in-person giving boxes in the lower lobby of the Worship Center, US mail, gifts of appreciated stock, qualified charitable distributions from traditional IRAs, and donor-advised funds. The campus is also available for weddings, funerals, and outside events through a Facility Request process, subject to the Grace Chapel Facility Use Policy. Memorial services for church members and attenders can be scheduled with the assistance of a pastoral staff member.
Care in Every Season
A dedicated team of pastors, staff, and volunteers responds to needs across the congregation. Prayer requests can be submitted online and are prayed over during services and throughout the week. A Pastor on Call can be reached at any time for emergencies by calling the church office. The Hope of Denver counseling center provides professional help for those navigating personal struggles, and the wider care network includes support for grief, illness, and crisis.
From a converted mortuary in 1979 to a former auto plaza in 1995, Grace Chapel has grown into one of the largest non-denominational churches in the south Denver area. Its identity, however, has stayed remarkably consistent: a community of believers committed to expository preaching, to raising up the next generation, and to carrying the Gospel of Jesus Christ into Englewood, into Denver, and into some of the hardest places on earth.