Scum of the Earth Church

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Scum of the Earth Church (SOTEC or Scum for short) is a primarily evangelical, non-denominational Christian church dedicated to the teachings of Jesus Christ. SOTEC serves primarily in their own community, the Capitol Hill neighborhood in Denver, Colorado, and in other states and countries through its missions program. SOTEC follows Jesus' teaching to help the poor.

While the weekly service doesn't differ greatly from typical mainstream evangelical church services, SOTEC was intended to appeal to those who feel they don't belong in most mainstream churches. As such, SOTEC's membership is mainly young people—most are under the age of 30. There are many small groups offered at SOTEC, ranging from men's and women's Bible studies to sack lunch outreach to comic book enthusiasts. Sunday night services occasionally feature "Story Night", in which testimonies are given by four of the congregants, Communion, and Baptism, which is typically administered in a horse trough(mostly because they do not have their own baptismal). SOTEC has one sister church, Scum of the Earth Seattle in Seattle. A sister church known as The Refuse of the World, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, ceased to meet in October, 2007.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

SOTEC grew out of a Tuesday night Bible study lead by Pastor Mike Sares at Corona Presbyterian Church and notably attended by members of the band Five Iron Frenzy. After Mikes Sares was ask to leave his pastoring job, the Bible study moved its meetings into his home. It was here that they began to discuss the starting of their own church.....a church for the "left out" in society and those who were rejected or felt unwelcome in most traditional churches. The first organized meeting was held at the Prodigal house in February of 2000. After overcrowding became a nice problem, the church moved to a new building shared with a local Denver ministry. Continued growth and tenant issues lead the church to move to its third and current location at Church in the City on the corner of Colfax and Josephine. Over the years, guest speakers have included: pastor Jay Bakker of Revolution Church, singer/songwriter Randy Stonehill, former pastor Trevor Bron of The Next Level(TNL) church, professors Craig Blomberg and Douglas Groothuis of Denver Seminary, and Bob Beltz of Walden Media.

[edit] The Name

1 Corinthians 4:11-13:
"To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated,
we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when
we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this
moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world." [NIV]

[edit] Mission Statement

“ We strive to be a church who:

seeks intimacy with God and relationships with others cultivates creativity and uses everyone's gifts asks questions while seeking Truth recognizes our need for a Savior and tries to demonstrate God's love in our community.

 ”

[edit] Staff

  • Mike Sares* - Senior Pastor/"First-String" Pastor/Co-Founder
  • Josh Cook* - Associate Pastor
  • Joshua Peebles* - Ministry of Propaganda, Preaching
  • Tim Dunbar* - Finance Director
  • Leanor Ortega Till - Women's Ministry
  • Ben Mercer - Global Outreach Director "The g.O.D. of S.O.T.E.C."
  • Jesse Heilmann - Small Groups
  • Anna Till - Administrative


  • Former Pastors: Eric Bane*, Associate; Reese Roper, "Second-String"/Co-Founder

(* staff who have attended Denver Seminary)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Refuse of the World myspace page. Retrieved on 2007-11-07.

[edit] Media coverage

[edit] External links