The Bridge Church at Bear Creek is located in south Lakewood next door to Bear Creek High School and across the sports field from Bear Creek K-8. The church was born out of a merging of an older Presbyterian church and a young Evangelical church plant. Together their unifying aim was to “make much of Jesus and grow disciples!” How this mission was activated in the new church is seen through their efforts to equip their members for connection, friendship and community service. 

Most churches have a mission statement that says something like the Bridge so what makes them special? From the get-go church leaders rethought how their building could be used. If they were going to “make much of Jesus” surely that meant that their facility should be used daily! They asked; “how could their facility and programs really serve their neighbors everyday year round?” These dreams and discussions led to a “Community First Focused” approach to facility and ministry use. 

The Front Porch Coffee Shop is how most people in the neighborhood get to know the church. The old sanctuary was converted into a community space with tables, soft chairs and art. Baristas work with professional equipment to offer coffee, tea and food to over 100 patrons daily! Outside, the lawn was converted into a patio with tables and chairs and it has become THE community meeting place! “Church” can be intimidating, but it’s not off-putting to walk into a coffee shop! 

As students from local schools started spending time at the Front Porch, church staff and ministry leaders thought through ways to make connections with them. This led to the transformation of the church basement into the Underground Teen Center! The center offers a supervised safe place for teens to hang out and connect, and hundreds spend time there daily during the school year! 

When a church focuses on serving and loving their local neighborhood, every ministry, program and message will be filtered through the lens of this goal! This summer, Bridge youth Minister Scott Hunter developed a neighborhood soccer camp for 75 students ranging from K – 8^th grade. The goal of the camp (pun intended) was to serve and connect to their community and the Bridge used their staff, facility and expertise to accomplish this in the soccer camp! 

Community First Focus is the aim of influence for Lakewood Connects and the Bridge at Bear Creek is making this dream a reality in Lakewood, Colorado! This is what the goal of the church should be and we are excited to partner with faith leaders like those at the Bridge to make much of Jesus!