OUR VISION
WE
BELIEVE
GOD
WANTS
ALL
PEOPLE
TO KNOW AND FOLLOW JESUS.
DEEPENING OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST
It’s all about Jesus! That’s what it is to be a Christian! A relationship with Jesus that is real changes a person from the inside out. We believe that a daily walk with Jesus Christ is essential for every person, as well as weekly gatherings with the people of God for encouragement, teaching, and friendship.
DEVELOPING RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS
God did not make us to live this life alone. In fact, it’s IMPOSSIBLE to truly follow all of Jesus’ teachings if we aren’t living in community with others. We strive to connect with others through gathered weekly worship, small groups (Growth Groups) and serving together on a team with others of like passions and gifting.
DEPLOYING OUR GIFTS OF SERVICE
As we serve others, we truly become like Jesus. We are called to be a visible demonstration of God’s love and grace towards us, and what better way than by serving others. We believe that every person is gifted with the heart and ability to serve others in meaningful ways, and it’s our responsibility as a church to come alongside each person and help them fulfill their calling to serve.
DISCOVERING OUR CALLING
We have a mission, and that is to help the whole world know and follow Jesus! Jesus called this “making disciples.” We are to be intentional that as we daily follow Jesus and as we connect with and serve others, that the ultimate goal is to invite others to join us on the path of following Jesus. This vision not only applies to our local context, but also globally, and that’s why we encourage generous support of international missionaries. For a list of missionaries we support, click here.
THE BIBLE
The Bible is God’s Word and is the basis of all we believe and practice. It is without error in the original manuscripts and is our sole authority.
JESUS
Jesus, as God, sacrificed Himself in our place to satisfy God’s judgement against our sins. He rose from the dead to prove He is God and to provide victory over sin. All who come to Jesus in true faith are forgiven of their sins, made right with God, and follow Him with their lives.
THE HOLY SPIRIT
As God, the Holy Spirit lives within every true follower of Jesus and enables them to live powerful lives of obedience to Jesus.
SALVATION
People are made right with God and forgiven of their sins when they exercise true faith in Jesus, that only by His death on the cross our sins are forgiven, and that there is nothing we can do to save ourselves.
THE CHURCH
A church is a group of people gathered together to know and follow Jesus. The Church is not a building or a program, but a people who live for the glory of God.
GOD
There is one true God, existing in the 3 Persons of the Trinity – Father, Son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit. God is the Creator of all things, is perfectly good and just, and loves all people.
​
OUR LEADERSHIP
Ken Wood
SENIOR PASTOR
Ken and his wife Amy met in the Youth Group at this church back in 1991. Ken graduated from Southwestern College (now Arizona Christian University) and served as youth pastor at churches in Phoenix, AZ and Leander, TX. He moved back to Pueblo in 2005 to be the Youth Pastor at Temple Baptist. In 2010, Ken was appointed as the Sr. Pastor, and has been pursuing a vision to see our church be the visible demonstration of God’s Love and Grace ever since.
Ken enjoys spending time on his mountain bike, being in the mountains, and literally anything with his family, even trips to the grocery store.
Kyle Bernstein
WORSHIP LEADER
Kyle is a Pueblo native, a graduate of Centennial High School, and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science and Health Promotion from CSU-Pueblo. Kyle came to Temple in April of 2013 as part-time Worship Pastor. Things got even better in 2014, as he married his wife Blayke that summer! Kyle and Blayke both work for Pueblo City Schools with elementary students who have Autism.
Kyle has a passion for genuine worship and helping others to connect with God through music. Following that, he also is passionate about the Colorado Avalanche and the Green Bay Packers. They also have two dogs named Maverick and Goose.
Deanna
Nezvensky
CHILDREN'S MINISTRY
Deanna's profile coming soon!
Barbara Gonzales
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
Barbara joined our Church Staff in August 2016. Barbara and her husband, John, moved to Pueblo “officially” in April 2014 from Broomfield, CO to be near their oldest son and his family. Prior to moving to Pueblo, they lived in Panama where John worked for 5 years. John and Barbara have three adult children – Christopher, Jeremy, Valerie, two beautiful daughter-in-laws, and eleven grandchildren. Barbara has served on staff as an administrative assistant at a large Baptist church in Denver as well as in various other ministries.
Barbara and John enjoy spending time together hiking, biking, fishing, camping, skiing.
Chris Gonzales
STUDENT MINISTRY
Chris joined our team in 2019. He and his wife, Stephanie, have been serving together in ministry since they met in high school. Chris served on staff as Director of Student Ministries, Recreation, and Small Groups at a local church for seven years before they helped in the planting of City Church Pueblo. They have six children – elementary through high school ages.
Chris works as an electrician and Stephanie is a homeschool mom and virtual marketing consultant. Their family enjoys playing sports, camping, and having guests in their home.
Erinbeth
Cermak
MINISTRY
COORDINATOR
Erinbeth, a Pueblo native and alumna of County High School, raised her two daughters with Pueblo traditions. Now, she takes pleasure in passing on these traditions to her grandchildren. Erinbeth has been a member of The Avenue since 2013; as the Ministry Coordinator she is responsible for ensuring everyone who wants to find a place is well-informed about what is happening here. Her aim is for everyone to deepen their connection with Jesus through engagement and community involvement. When she's not busy with her role, Erinbeth adores spending time with her family, savoring a cup of coffee, getting crafty with sewing and cozying up to Christmas movies.
OUR ELDER BOARD
The Elder Board at the Avenue provides oversight and leadership to all aspects of our ministry. Their role is outlined in the Bible in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. Our Elder Board is:
Ken Wood
Chester Hodges
Jim Roberts
Jeremy Thomas
Chris Gonzales
OUR DEACONS
The Deacon Ministry of The Avenue Church functions to assist the Elders in leading the church primarily in personal care and discipleship of it's members.
Brian Thomas
Chance Rodriquez
John Gonzales
Graham Hoch
David Story
OUR TRUSTEES
The Trustee Board at the Avenue oversees the physical property of the church. These individuals maintain and improve our material space so that it can be a place where people encounter the love of Jesus. Our current board consists of:
Michael Galli
Bob Wood
Jeff Lytle
Bennie Addington
Nate Smith
OUR STORY
Our church has a rich history since it’s beginning in 1950. It was started as “Temple Baptist” from ParkHill Baptist Church (then on Pueblo’s East side). In those days before the bridges were built, many members on the southside of town would be late or would miss church altogether because of the trains.
In order to remove barriers to people following Jesus, a group of people launched Temple Baptist Church. God has used this church over the years to reach many people with the life changing message of the Gospel. As our culture has changed, new barriers were identified and so another season of ministry has begun.
On September 1, 2019, our church re-launched as “The Avenue Church” in efforts to remove as many barriers as possible to people knowing and following Jesus. While we haven’t changed any of our core beliefs or associations, we are intentionally reaching outward to invite those far from God to come near to hear the Good News of Jesus! Our desire is to hold up Jesus and boldly and clearly call others to follow Him with all of their lives.