Vision

the next generation empowered to live their greatest story through Jesus focused community

We each have our own story to tell. Our dream is that through knowing God, the kids, youth, and young adults in our conference can’t help but to “Live the greatest story.”

In John 10:10, Jesus calls his followers to live life more abundantly, our prayer is that everyone we encounter responds to Jesus’ call to “Live Greater.”

Mission

making it easy for kids to know God

We strive to run a department that puts Jesus first. Our desire is that every ministry stemming from our department is always making it easy for kids to know God.  

In 1 John 4:7, we are told that love is from God, and that who ever loves knows God. Since we want kids to “Know God,” we keep love at the forefront of our mission.

From Adventurers and Pathfinders to Camp ministries at Glacier View Ranch and Mills Spring Ranch; from large, conference-wide events to meaningful programs at your local church, we're here to serve! Please contact us to let us know how we can assist you. 

In His Service,

Brandon Westgate, Jade Teal and Brent Learned

Goals

The Rocky Mountain Conference Youth Ministry Department is committed to raising standards across our territory — from the doorsteps, sanctuaries, youth rooms & gymnasiums of every local church to the cabins, lodges & facilities at our camps and to the desks, break rooms & meeting areas in our administrative offices. Working together and surrendering to Jesus, we will achieve the impossible. In the coming years, the Youth Department is dedicated to hosting relevant, meaningful, and engaging programs for young people, providing administrative re-organization to streamline Pathfinder & Adventurer Club Ministries, fostering real connections with the leadership of every local congregation, beginning a collaborative youth resource database for RMC churches, and launching a Servant and Leadership Training program for young people interested in working to further local mission.

History*   

The first-known Seventh-day Adventist in Colorado was a young girl who came across the plains of Kansas in a covered wagon in the 1860s during the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush. After finding work in a Denver home and marrying a miner named Shaw, they made their home in Golden. The second known Adventist in the territory was Mrs. Amy Dartt, who had been one of those who looked for Christ’s coming in the 1844 Movement and accepted the Sabbath while living near Baraboo, Wisconsin. She settled in Boulder and was well-known for her missionary activity. A third Adventist was Mrs. Cora M. Thayer (later Mrs. Cora M. Jones). She and her two little girls, Bertha and Myrtle, settled in Georgetown. These three lights in the darkness of scattered mining towns were to ignite other flames in the region.                      

    One unnamed man's work in Montrose, combined with established congregations in Boulder (1870s), Longmont (1880), and Denver (circa 1880), and the presence of James and Ellen White, who held the first formal series of Adventist meetings in the history of Colorado and who set up a nine-year personal summer retreat in the state in 1872, led to the 1882 establishment of the Colorado Conference. In just over a decade, driven by dynamic sharing of the Gospel and emphasis on Scriptural truths, the Adventist presence in Colorado had grown enough to receive recognition as an official conference. For the next 100 years the ministry in the Midwest continued its growth, and the Colorado Conference later merged with the Wyoming Conference to become the Rocky Mountain Conference in 1981. 

    The Youth Department formed as a grass-roots department out of aspirations to support young people in the various churches of Colorado. As the territory expanded, so did the function. In the early stages, the Youth Department served as a central hub of the Pathfinder and Adventurer ministries. From the 90's through 2016, large events like Adventist Winter Fest dominated the calendar. Today, in addition to managing Pathfinder and Adventurer ministry, the Youth Department hosts smaller yearly functions (Prayer Summits, Mission Trips, etc.) and oversees two camp facilities (Glacier View Ranch, Ward CO & Mills Spring Ranch, Casper WY) that operate year-round and seasonal rentals as well as a summer camp program with 700+ campers and 70+ staff annually. 

Directors (1985 - Present) 

Bob Reynolds (1985 - 1987)

Ron Whitehead (1987 - 1996)

Phil Muthersbaugh (1998 - 2002)

Tobin Dodge (2003)

Pete Braman (2004 - 2008)

Marlene Perry (2005 - 2011)

Benjie Maxon (2011-2012)

Steve Hamilton (2013 - 2018) 

Kiefer Dooley (2019 - 2021)

Brandon Westgate (2022-present)

*This history is still a work in-progress and is missing information. Do you know more? Help us out by sending an e-mail with your name along with suggested improvements or additions!