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By RMCNews – Denver, Colorado … On June 25, the RMC Administrative Committee extended an invitation to Darin Gottfried to serve as vice president of finance, replacing George Crumley who left RMC on June 30 to serve in the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference.

“Darin has spent the last nine years in the Kansas-Nebraska Conference. He has done a tremendous job there and I know God will use him in a mighty way here in our Conference,” Ed Barnett, RMC president, said. “George Crumley,  as of July 1 no longer in RMC, has been such a blessing and we will miss him.”

Gottfried accepted the invitation on June 28 and says he is “excited about joining the team in Rocky Mountain. You have a great group of people there that I am looking forward to working with and getting to know better. I hope that I can support and help grow the Conference as much as possible.” He will assume his responsibilities at RMC on September 1

Most recently, he served as vice president of finance for the Kansas-Nebraska Conference during the last five years, after being an associate treasurer for the same Conference, business manager for Wisconsin Academy, and working at Fletch Adventist Hospital in North Carolina.

Doug Inglish, vice president of administration, is looking forward to working alongside Gottfried. “We are very excited that Darin has accepted this call. We believe that he not only has the skill set we are looking for, but the mission-minded approach that matches the Rocky Mountain Conference.”

Born and raised in North Dakota, Darin Gottfried is no stranger to the Rocky Mountain area, where he spent many weekends exploring the scenery of the region.

He is a graduate of Union College where he met his ministry partner, Stephanie. She is familiar with RMC as an alumna of Campion Academy and her parents reside in Monument, Colorado.

The Gottfrieds have two four-legged children, including a Great Dane named Berg and a German Wirehaired Pointer named Otto. Stephanie commented that “[we] have not been able to start a human family of our own, so our dogs are our kids.”

In his spare time, Darin enjoys photography, traveling, camping, and working on cars.  He is also expanding his vocabulary by learning the German language.

Gottfried’s hope at RMC is “that as treasurer, he is able to help maintain a healthy and financially-stable Conference and to use the money that has been entrusted with us in the most effective manner, so that the church can grow and share the love of Jesus with every person in our territory.”

He further expressed his interest in “getting to know the members and employees of the Rocky Mountain Conference, learning their stories, and finding ways of supporting the ministry in every area.”

“Getting to travel the beautiful territory of the Rocky Mountain Conference is an added bonus,” he added.

–RMCNews; photo by Stephanie Gottfried

By RMCNews – Montrose, Colorado … The Montrose Hispanic Company was accepted into the Seventh-day Adventist sisterhood of churches on Sabbath, June 26, with the young adults of the congregation rushing to the front to be first to sign the charter membership books.

One hundred gathered in the Montrose Adventist English church sanctuary for this special occasion marking five years since the group was formed.

Ruben Balaguer, pastor of the Grand Junction Hispanic district, recalls for those assembled the passion he and his family had for planting this Hispanic church.

“With the dream of starting a group or church, we arrived in Montrose in April 2010. We had the desire to know small towns because we no longer wanted to live in the city. Settling in Montrose, we saw a lot of potential to start a group. We proposed to our pastor the plan to start a branch in Montrose but he told us that it was not possible.”

That wasn’t the end of the story Balaguer adds, “He [the pastor] asked us to keep praying until finally, our dream came true. One Saturday, Pastor Mike Shannon encouraged us to begin to realize our wish. A few weeks later our prayers were beginning to be answered as gatherings were planned and held. The meetings began with Horacio Gomez, Marina Guillen, the Magaña family, the Espinoza Chavez family, the Espinoza Venzor family and my family.”

The afternoon inauguration included musical performances by various members and guests, enhancing the service.  One musical selection was performed by the youth choir of the church called “Generacion Escogida” which means “Chosen Generation”.

Ed Barnett, during what will most likely be the last time he attends a formal church inauguration as RMC president, was presented a plaque by the Hispanic area churches thanking him for his service.

Commenting on the event Barnett remarked, “It was a tremendous afternoon celebrating our Montrose Hispanic Company becoming a church. What a sweet spirit and talented church family they have. The musical selections were powerful.  I was impressed by how many young people are charter members.  I want to thank all of the pastors that made this possible. It is nice seeing our Rocky Mountain Conference adding another church to our ranks.”

Doug Inglish, vice president of administration presided over the signing of the charter membership book and reflected on that moment saying, “It is so impressive that the first people to step forward to sign the charter roll for the church were the youngest members. It is a sign of a healthy church whose young people take ownership.”

For the charter members, this was the moment they have been waiting for.

“This is a dream made true and what we have to value is the beautiful group of young people that we have,” Abimael Chavez, Montrose Hispanic elder commented. “They are the future leaders of our church and we have to support them always!”

Dennis Magaña, head elder of Montrose Hispanic also commented on being part of history, “Our commitment and duty to God remains the same: to go and make disciples by bringing them to the feet of Jesus. For this we need, today more than ever, the power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill our mission.”

Pastor Balaguer is excited to be part of this growing church. “It’s a big blessing for me to be a part of the history of the growing Hispanic church,” he said.

The charter roll of Montrose Hispanic includes 37 individuals and a few more who were unable to attend the special event, will sign the charter in next few Sabbaths.

Balaguer, addressing the participating congregation, expressed thanks to their parent church, Olathe Hispanic, for supporting them and providing prayers; the Montrose Adventist English Church for use of their space and unconditional support; and to the Rocky Mountain Conference for supporting the members in this project.

Balaguer concluded with a challenge to the members, “Today, as on that first day we gathered here, our commitment and duty to our God remains the same: to go and make disciples, bringing them to the feet of Christ and uniting them to the church through baptism. Maranatha! Christ is coming.”

–RMCNews; photos by Susan Inglish