History

In 1964 a group of Christians from the Belcaro Evangelical Free Church (now Fellowship Community Church of Aurora) began a Bible study meeting in their homes in Lakewood as a base for planting a new church. In 1965, this group formed the Lakewood Evangelical Free Church with 20 charter members. Pastor Olai Urang served as part-time pastor of the congregation. Also in 1965, 3.3 acres of land at South Wadsworth Boulevard and Morrison Road were purchased as the site for their first building. This site served the growing congregation for 29 years.

Ground was broken in January 1966 and the first service was held in the new building on May 1, 1966. In June 1966, because the church was in the Southern Gables subdivision, the congregation formally changed the name to "Southern Gables Evangelical Free Church."

In 1967 the congregation called their first full-time pastor, Dr. Jim Means, who served the church until 1977. Under Dr. Means' leadership, the congregation steadily grew and soon crowded the original chapel and classroom space. Additional classroom space was added and then a major expansion was completed in 1974. It included a 540 seat sanctuary, a fellowship hall, large kitchen and additional classrooms. By 1977, average worship service attendance had grown to about 500.

In 1978 the church called Dr. Jerry Nelson who has served as Senior Pastor since then. Additional associate pastors have been added as the needs of the congregation required.

Growth of the congregation continued and again, crowding became a problem. A key element in the Southern Gables growth strategy was the encouragement of the planting of additional churches. North and south "satellite" congregations, under central church management and meeting in rented space, were begun to expand the outreach into our community. Members were encouraged to participate in several church plants in our area. Attendance continued to increase, averaging more than 1,000 in worship services by 1990.

In 1987, the final expansion of the original church building was completed, adding much needed classroom and nursery space to the west wing. Due to the limited size of the church site, further expansions were not feasible and parking and crowding problems continued. Classroom space was leased in an adjacent office building and off site parking encouraged. After professional study of the church history and projected future growth, the congregation voted to move to a new location and construct a new building.

In 1990, after much searching and negotiations, we were blessed by the purchase of a 12.7 acre site at 4001 S. Wadsworth Boulevard, about two miles south of the original church location. A 42,300 square foot new building was constructed with a 700-seat multi-purpose room, classrooms and enlarged office and nursery space. In 1994 the congregation moved to the new facilities. The first services were held on Easter Sunday with more than 2,000 in attendance.

Even before the move to the new facility, it was recognized that more space would soon be needed for the growing congregation and multi-phase expansions were planned for. In 1997, the "Outback" was constructed, an 8,000 square foot, freestanding building that added much needed classroom and storage space.

Expansion of the west wing was completed in 2000. It added classrooms, a large kitchen, a multi-purpose room for use as a fellowship hall and adult classrooms and additional restrooms. The "jewel" of the expansion was space for the growing student ministries: a large multi-media room for student gatherings and worship, a student center with game and lounge space, office space and classrooms.

Future expansion provided for in the site plan includes completion of the north wing to add classrooms and the possible construction of a sanctuary with 1,200 to 1,400 seat capacity.

In 2002 the congregation launched a church plant (Mosaic Southwest) with 240 men, women and children led by associate pastor Fritz Dale.

In October 2003, the congregation approved the expansion of the Welcome Center to provide more space for "community" on Sunday mornings. Construction of the expansion was begun in October 2004 and completed in June 2005.  The Welcome Center will also serve as the main access to the future sanctuary.

This history provides detail on the "building" aspects of Southern Gables. Our expanding ministry to the Southwest Denver community has both driven the need for these additional facilities and been enabled by their availability. Other pages of this web site describe the human and ministry aspects of our growth and history.