Leadership Team
Meet our Pastoral Leaders, Ministry Staff, and Elders
Lead Pastor, Brian Petak, his wife Heidi,
and their four boys: Josiah, Jonathan, Joshua & Justin
Pastoral Leaders
Brian Petak, Lead Pastor (bpetak@theascentchurch.com)
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.
Dr. Mark Hopkins, Pastor of Ministries (mhopkins@theascentchurch.com)
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.
Joel Gheen, Pastor of Discipleship and Missions (jgheen@theascentchurch.com)
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!
Dr. Jason Schott, Executive Pastor (jschott@theascentchurch.com)
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.
How did you and your wife meet?
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.
Ministry Staff
Isaac Adkison, Tech Director (worshiptech@theascentchurch.com)
Annette Becker, Ascent Kids Assistant (abecker@theascentchurch.com)
Joel Gheen, Pastor of Discipleship and Missions (jgheen@theascentchurch.com)
Dr. Mark Hopkins, Pastor of Ministries (mhopkins@theascentchurch.com)Coleen Jeffcoat, Ascent Kids Assistant (cjeffcoat@theascentchurch.com)
Anne Jones, Office Manager (ajones@theascentchurch.com)
Kara Mallory, Executive Assistant to the Lead Pastor (kara@theascentchurch.com)Jonathan Martin, Student Pastor (jmartin@theascentchurch.com)
Dr. Heidi Petak, Women’s Ministry and Communications Director (hpetak@theascentchurch.com)
Landon Brown, Media Coordinator (lbrown@theascentchurch.com)
Dr. Jason Schott, Executive Pastor (jschott@theascentchurch.com)Ezra Snyder, Men’s Ministry Director (ezra@theascentchurch.com)
Mark Tedder, Worship Pastor (mtedder@theascentchurch.com)
Fran Thompson, Ascent Kids Director (fthompson@theascentchurch.com)
Paul Zigan, Adult Ministries Coordinator (pzigan@theascentchurch.com)
Elders
Paul Zigan
Chris Farrow
Randy McLelland
Joel Gheen
Dr. Jason Schott
Dr. Mark Hopkins
Brian Petak, Lead Pastor (bpetak@theascentchurch.com)
Dr. Michael McKinney, Elder Emeritus
Randy McLelland, Chairman (elders@theascentchurch.com)
Deacons
Bob Bowker
Lisa Bowker
Sarah Milner
Aaron Keller
Randy Wood
Missy Gamble, Chairman (deacons@theascentchurch.com)
Jennifer Gray
Kevin Gray