About Us
Meet Our Pastor
In 1998, Pastor Brian helped plant Fellowship Bible Church-Nashville and served there in various capacities until being called to Ascent Church in 2017. Since 2017, he has served Ascent first as the Executive Pastor, as Interim Lead Pastor during a leadership transition and was commissioned as the permanent Lead Pastor in April, 2020. We recently asked him a few questions:
How did you and Heidi meet?
I was attending a worship conference in Nashville in 2001 and met some great people. One of the guys I met was a worship pastor at our sister church – Fellowship Bible Church in Northwest Arkansas. One day at the conference, he told me, “Brian, I know the woman you need to marry. Her name is Heidi. She’s beautiful, creative, extremely talented and you guys would make a great couple. And plus, she’s working on her PhD, so she’s really smart.” After a few emails, phone calls and long-distance visits, I proposed and we were married later that year!
What’s something unique about you and Heidi?
When we went to meet with the faculty of Denver Seminary where I was beginning their Doctorate program, they found out Heidi has a PhD and hired her to teach in my program. Heidi’s one of my professors! (And I recently got an A in her class, so thankfully, she showed me great mercy in grading my papers…)
What’s it like to have four boys?
Never a dull moment! We like to play hard and make a lot of noise. All four of my boys are unique and gifted in various ways. I sometimes wish we were able to make a girl, but apparently God intended Heidi to be unfairly outnumbered.
What are some of your favorite books?
For theology, God’s Greater Glory by Dr. Bruce Ware is probably my favorite. I also love The Pleasures of God by John Piper and Systematic Theology by Dr. Wayne Grudem. Non-fiction – Endurance by Alfred Lansing about Ernest Shackleton’s great Antarctica adventure. Fiction, I love the Brad Thor (Scot Harvath) series. Anything related to foreign intelligence, CIA, politics, espionage, etc.
Favorite sports teams?
America’s Team, the Green Bay Packers, of course! And I love the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers.
Meet Our Team
Dr. Mark Hopkins
Mark Hopkins, who joined Fuller Theological Seminary in 2001, is senior associate professor of Leadership. He has taught at both Pepperdine University and Fuller. Besides academia, Hopkins has pastored churches in a small handful of states in the US for near 20 years and has been on church-planting teams in Russia in the mid-1900s, including directing a plant in St. Petersburg. Presently he serves as Pastor of Ministries at The Ascent Church in beautiful Monument, Colorado. Finally, he says “I am very happily married for almost 50 years to Ann, my covenant partner and friend! We have two married children and seven fabulous grandchildren, ages 3-19!”
How did you and your wife meet?
We met in 1967 in Houston, Texas where we lived across the street from one another for one year. She was 12; I was 14.
What are some of your favorite books?
Besides the Bible, I have enjoyed reading in the field of Church and Missions (my academic focus). Currently, I am enjoying reading a lot of adolescent science fiction with our grandchildren. My favorite by far has been The Wingfeather Saga, a four-book series written by Andrew Peterson. Though targeted at young readers, a number of my friends have enjoyed it as well! We have just begun The Bark of the Bog Owl, by Jonathan Rogers (book one of three in The Wilderking Trilogy). A lot of good life lessons in this one!
What are your favorite things to do?
I enjoy fly fishing when I get a chance … it’s been a while (too long!).
What do you see God doing at the Ascent that is especially exciting to you?
The Ascent Church is (1) growing in its love for God, (2) growing in developing disciples (apprentices of Jesus), and (3) growing numerically. There is a sense of warm, hospitable unity in our midst. All of this is a gift from God.
Dr. Jason Schott
Jason Schott (ThD) has been at Ascent Church since 2018 where he has served as a lay elder, director of base camps and men’s ministry prior to taking his current position. He served 25 years in the Air Force as a fighter pilot and test pilot and commanded numerous organizations. He and the love of his life, Emily, have two grown children and a beloved daughter-in-law.
Emily and I met in Boston while I was in graduate school and she was working at a chiropractic office. We say that I came into the office with a pain in the neck…and left with one for the rest of my life (ha ha). It was love at first sight.
What are your favorite things to do?
What do you see God doing at the Ascent that is especially exciting to you?
Joel Gheen
Joel Gheen was the lead teaching elder at Alethia Christian Church in Colorado Springs for 7 years. After many years in institutional finance, he is thrilled to be able to focus on pastoral ministry! Joel has an Economics degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a MBA from the University of Maryland. He is working on completing a Master’s in Divinity at Denver Seminary. We recently asked him a few questions:
How did you and Rachel meet?
This is a fun question because we met at Lewis-Palmer Middle School right next to the Ascent Church, and we actually used to attend student youth group at the Ascent Church (then “Tri-Lakes Chapel”) back when we were students! We met in 8th grade on the first day of school when I was the new kid in band class and Rachel was the cute flute player who was nice to me. I liked her all through high school, but we didn’t date each other until college after we both graduated from Lewis-Palmer High School (back before there was a Palmer Ridge High School). Rachel and I have four kids and we celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary last summer.
Tell us about your kids.
I have a girl, then two boys, then another girl. They are a lot of fun and keep us plenty busy between music, sports, and activities. They all love being part of The Ascent Church’s Kids Ministry and Student Ministry. They have attended Monument Academy schools and are moving into the great District 38 high schools. It’s fun to see them starting to have some of the same experiences in some of the same places as Rachel and I had as when we attended high school back when Monument was a much smaller town!
What are some of your favorite books?
I love books that make me a little uncomfortable or show me new ways of thinking. I’ve really appreciated The Lord by Romano Guardini, and I often return to The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. Imagine the God of Heaven by John Burke is a book I often recommend to people. I also do a lot of reading in ancient material including the Apocryphal materials, Dead Sea Scroll material like the Book of Enoch, and other ancient texts like the Enuma Elish, the Ba’al Cycles, Atrahasis, and others because it’s important to understand the context of the cultures where Biblical teaching and events were taking place. Of course, these days I’m frequently referencing commentaries and texts by Denver Seminary faculty like Blomberg, Matthewson and Hess. Since I love to run, I read books on running and endurance sports; Run Elite by Andrew Snow is a good one, and Matt Fitzgerald’s material is quite helpful. For fiction pleasure reading, I enjoy science fiction and similar “what if” scenarios. I recently devoured Red Rising by Pierce Brown and I was very impressed with that debut novel. I also enjoy good thrillers including some of Stephen King’s work, especially his short stories.
Favorite sports teams?
Most of my sports attention is focused on helping coach the local track and cross-country teams! I ran on Lewis-Palmer’s state championship XC team back in the day, and it’s a blast to help carry on the tradition of running excellence among students in Monument, including Monument Academy and Palmer Ridge. We have a disproportionate number of gifted endurance athletes in this district and it’s a true honor to work with them… not to mention it helps keep me in good shape!
Tech Director
Contact Isaac Adkison
Ascent Kids Assistant
Contact Annette Becker
Ascent Kids Assistant
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Executive Assistant to the Lead Pastor
Contact Kara Mallory
Student Pastor
Contact Jonathan Martin
Women's Ministy Director & Communications Director
Contact Dr. Heidi Petak
Worship Pastor
Contact Mark Tedder
Ascent Kids Director
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Adult Ministries Coordinator
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Media Coordinator
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Office Manager
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Elder Emeritus
Adult Ministries Coordinator
Pastor of Discipleship and Missions
Executive Pastor
Pastor of Ministries
Lead Pastor
Interim Elder
Our Mission
Our Vision
Our Beliefs
STATEMENT OF FAITH
God: The Trinity
We believe and teach that there is one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Genesis 1:1, 26; Matthew 28:19; John 1:1-3, 4:24; Acts 5:3-4; Romans 1:20; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:5-6)
Jesus Christ
We believe and teach that Jesus Christ has eternally existed as God the Son, the 2nd Person of the Trinity, as a man was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and is both fully God and fully man. (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; Romans 9:5; Titus 2:13; John 1:1-4)
The Bible
We believe and teach that the Bible is the completely inspired Word of God, without error in its original manuscripts. The Bible is our supreme and final authority in faith and life. (Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:18, 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Peter 1:20-21)
Man and Sin
We believe and teach that man was created in the image of God, that he sinned in Adam and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death which is separation from God, and that all human beings are born with a sinful nature, guilty sinners in thought, word and deed. (Genesis 1:26-27; 3:1-24; Romans 3:25, 5:12-18; 1 John 1:8)
The Gospel
We believe and teach that the Lord Jesus died for our sins according to the Scriptures as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice; that He bodily arose victorious from the grave on the third day, and that all who believe in Him alone are justified for salvation on the basis of His shed blood. (Matthew 20:28, 28:6; John 3:16, 36; Romans 3:24-26, 5:1, 10:9; 1 Corinthians 15:3, 14; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 1:7; 1 John 2:2)
Salvation
We believe and teach that the Gospel affirms all who come by grace alone through faith alone to accept the Lord Jesus Christ are born again of the Holy Spirit and thereby become children of God forever. (John 1:12-13, 3:3-5; Ephesians 2:8-9; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23)
Christ’s Imminent Return
We believe and teach the personal and imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
The Life of Faith in Christ
We believe and teach that while without faith it is impossible to please God, the possession of faith does not ensure health or prosperity (Luke 9:22-27; 2 Corinthians 11:23-31, 12:7-10; Philippians 1:29-30; 2 Timothy 3:8-12; Hebrews 11:6, 32-40), but rather will necessarily involve suffering (Romans 5:1-5; Philippians 1:29) and trouble in life (John 16:33).
Bodily Resurrection
We believe and teach the bodily resurrection of the just and unjust, the everlasting joy of the saved in heaven, and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost in hell. (Matthew 25:31-46; John 5:28-29; 1 Corinthians 15:12-57; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 20:4-6, 11-15)
Baptism and Filling of the Holy Spirit
We believe and teach that all Christians are baptized with the Holy Spirit and permanently indwelt by Him at the point of salvation. The filling of the Holy Spirit is meant to be a continuous experience for the believer through submission to His controlling authority and power. (John 14:16, 15:5; Romans 6:3-5, 8:9-11; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 5:15-21)
The Church & Spiritual Gifts
We believe and teach that the body of Christ, the church, is composed of interdependent members who are born again, each having received spiritual gifts from the Holy Spirit which are to be exercised for the building up and edification of the whole body. No one gift is given to all believers nor indicates regeneration, filling, or baptism with the Holy Spirit. (Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 2:14-20, 4:4-16)
APPLICATIONS AND PRACTICES
Baptism and communion are the two ordinances Jesus Christ gave to His Church before He ascended to the Father, and are significant ways that we identify with Christ.
Baptism by Immersion
We practice baptism by immersion as a symbol of new life for the believer. It is an outward expression of an inward reality and a proclamation of the assurance of salvation in Christ. Through baptism we publicly acknowledge both our faith in Christ and our commitment to follow His teachings and example. As a church, we recognize previous baptism experiences. (Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22, John 1:29-34, Acts 2:37-38, Ephesians 4:4-6, Matthew 28:19-20
Communion
We regularly observe communion as a community of believers to remember what Christ did on the cross for the forgiveness of the sins of all people. We celebrate communion as a living memorial of His redemptive death and as a reminder of present fellowship with Christ and His body. (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:28-47, 8:36-40, 10:47, 18:8; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29)(Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-24, Luke 22:14-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
Biblical Sexuality, Gender and Biblical Marriage
We affirm each person as an image of God and welcome all people to worship and participate in the life of the church. We hold that intimate sexual expression is intended, by God, to be between one man and one woman in the life-long, monogamous, covenanted commitment traditionally called marriage. Intimate sexual expression outside of marriage goes against God’s will. (Genesis 2:24-25; Exodus 20:14-17, 22:19; Leviticus 18:22-23, 20:13-16; Matthew 19:4-6 & 9, Romans 1:18-31; I Corinthians 6:9-10 & 15-20; I Timothy 1:8-11; Jude 7) We hold that God created the human race male and female. Intentionally adopting a gender other than one’s birth-gender is outside of God’s will. (Genesis 1:27, Deuteronomy 22:5). Those who seek marriage through Ascent, including the use of Ascent buildings or resources, and/or officiating by Ascent pastors, must seek to pursue behavior consistent with the above beliefs.
Biblical Interpretation
As believers, the words of God in Scripture are our ultimate authority in faith and practice. We recognize that believers can, in good faith, have differences in biblical interpretation on matters that are not essential to salvation through Christ. The Holy Spirit is our guide as we study Scripture and pray about matters of biblical interpretation, and every believer is personally and ultimately accountable to God. For these and other practices of Ascent, the Board of Elders holds final authority and interprets Scripture as they are led by the Holy Spirit. (2 Timothy 3:16-17, Hebrews 4:12, 2 Peter 1:19-21, 1 Corinthians 2:9-13, 1 Thessalonians 2:13)