Our Story
Beginnings
Aspen Grove took root when Scott Wenig, a professor at Denver Seminary, began a conversation around the Scripture in the fall of 2003. One of Scott’s passions is to see people connect to God in real ways, and that’s exactly what happened. In a short time, a remarkable group had gathered and outgrown the living room in which they were meeting. God was on the move drawing people into his work, and giving them vision for his plans in Littleton. On January 22, 2004, Aspen Grove was born and held its first service with the space provided by South Fellowship.
Clarifying Vision
Like any community, the first years were about definition. What are we about? Where are we going? How are we going to get there? These were the questions that the leadership tackled as God drew people to his work at Aspen Grove. What resulted was a simple vision driven by a deep passion. Aspen Grove was a community built around welcoming people who were far from perfect, and believed that all our lives would be better with time spent in the presence of God. The surprise came when we were convinced that God would use imperfect people to do his perfect work. Thus, our community was set in motion to come as we are, to be transformed, in order to change the world.
Go & Do
This vision is why we exist. It shapes us and challenges us to want more out of life than comfort, success and money. We want to be part of something bigger than ourselves. We aspire to be a community that brings the reality of heaven to the harsh realities of this world. Therefore, we are by definition, a missional church. Our belief is that our transformation, and the world’s, occurs when we practice faith in Jesus, not just learn about it. We are a “go and do” church, not a “come and see” church. At every turn, we encourage each other to take the next step of faith together.
New Questions
In many ways, our story is just unfolding. We have been awakened to the fact that the justice, grace, and love expressed in the Scriptures is not what is expressed on earth. As a result, we are caught up with new questions about how we, as a community that follows Jesus, can change the world. How might we express the heart of God to immigrants seeking a better life in America? How will we show the grace of God to those who have been imprisoned for crimes committed against us? How will we befriend those whose home is on the street? In what ways can we bring hope to the slum dogs in India who live on less than a dollar a day? What can we do to demonstrate the kingdom of God come to those living in Africa without clean water?
These are our questions now. They drive us, and how we answer them will be the measure of success as God writes the next chapter in our story. As a result, we were convinced in 2010, that we could no longer do church at Denver Seminary. We needed a home. We needed a place to practice our faith together in the context of our greater community of Littleton. The realization hit us that we were living a safe life by learning a great deal about God and his heart for the world, without the accountability to apply it. Therefore, we moved out of Denver Seminary on July 3rd, 2011. Our day of “In Dependence” on the Lord. God led us into the South Park Shopping Center neighborhood to join the conversation others were having in Littleton to intersect the secular with the sacred.
How will you be a part of the next chapter in our story?