History
As a singles pastor in his existing church, Trent Ballard began to hear the Lord calling him to new pastoral position in the Denver area. This calling was heard in the form of encouragement from friends, family, and those he pastored. The senior pastor and leadership of his existing church recognized that Trent had the skill and gifts from God to someday be a senior pastor of a church as well.
After several months of prayer, discussion with friends, and guidance from mentors, it became evident to Trent and his wife Kristen that their calling was to plant a church in the south metro area of Denver, Colorado. Many of the individuals and families who exhorted Trent to pursue a new pastoral path quickly formed the core of what was to become The Outpost.
On October 4, 2007, the first informational meeting of The Outpost was held at the Ballard’s home. The purpose of the meeting was to convey the vision of The Outpost, get an idea of the commitment level of those interested in The Outpost, and offer those interested in becoming a part of The Outpost to ask questions or express concerns.
The commitment level was such that the core group prayerfully decided to move forward with planting the church. Trent notified his current church of his calling to leave and plant a church and they offered him their full support, collaborated on a transition strategy, and offered financial assistance.
Leaders were identified from the core group and this steering committee began to outline the mission, vision, and values of The Outpost, as well as plan for the eventual first gathering.
On November 8, 2007 the first gathering of The Outpost was held at the Ballard’s home. The initial gathering consisted of praise and worship, prayer, communion, fellowship, and teaching from the Word.
The Outpost continued to meet together in worship gatherings on Thursday nights and in dinner groups throughout the week. The first Sunday gathering of The Outpost was held at the Ballard’s home on May 18, 2008 and The Outpost has gathered at the Ballard’s home on each Sunday since.
After several months of meeting, the family room, kitchen, and living room at the Ballard’s home was getting to be quite full on Sunday mornings, the church began to search for a larger meeting space for its Sunday gatherings. The Outpost originally intended to locate somewhere just north of County Line Road in Littleton, so the search included vacant offices, buildings, and schools in that area. After several weeks of searching, The Outpost realized that God had other ideas for where the church should be located as not one school in the targeted area was willing to rent space to a church on Sunday mornings, and vacant office space was far too expensive for the church’s budget.
Our search for a new meeting place expanded slightly farther south than we originally intended, into the Highlands Ranch area. God led us to an elementary school just south of C-470 in Highlands Ranch, called Sand Creek Elementary. The elementary school had previously rented space to another church and had a bad experience doing so; however they were willing to give our church a chance. The Outpost appreciated the opportunity to redeem the school’s opinion of churches and began renting space at Sand Creek in late September of 2008. As of a recent change, The Outpost meets for worship at several homes in the Highlands Ranch Area
