AGAPE Podcast

After serving as a pastor in Colorado Springs for 13 years, September 18, 2022 marked Justin's last morning before moving to TX and transitioning into a new season. Take a listen to his final message.   

"Many Christians have learned to be Biblical, but not Christlike. I wonder what would happen if the body of Christ would learn meekness?"

baby dedication for Tiger Ryan Knapp + message from Pastor Dan

Continued conversations about themes and key thoughts from "Irresistible", the book by Andy Stanley we are discussing during our Spring Small Group nights.

Pastor Justin shares about transformation, growth, and his journey in ministry thus far––leading into a huge announcement. *Not recorded were some uplifting remarks from a few people in the crowd about the future. 

"Encounter Sundays" happen once a month and we change things up a bit to make space for worship + testimonies + communion. One of the core values of AGAPE is to "encounter Jesus together and celebrate and believe in each other." We can't really do the latter if we don't know what is going on in each other's lives so, the "testimonies" time is an opportunity to connect by hearing different people share recent life updates, God moments, praise reports, or anything anyone wants our church community to be praying with or for them about. This recording starts right as people begin to share, is followed by Luke Creasman sharing part of his story so we could get to know him better, and ends with Pastor Justin leading a time of communion with all ages as one big church family. We believe you will be encouraged by what was shared. Enjoy! 

What does Jesus look like? What does He sound like? If He is alive (a main point our faith rests on), then we should know and experience the answer to those two questions. Is Jesus only found in a church building? Where is He? If He is so "irresistible" then why is so much of Christianity, so much of "church" so resistible?? Take a listen as Justin candidly shares about his own personal connection with God.. why it's so "real" for him. 

Whether it's something NEW God is trying to lead us into in our personal lives OR the NEW that Jesus introduced to the world.. embracing it seems VERY important! If we don't do so in our personal lives we can grow stagnant, feel stuck, become frustrated.. even miss out on the future God has for us.. the future we don't even know yet exists.. and if we don't embrace (as well as fully learn about and comprehend) the NEW that Jesus introduced to the world, we end up with a convoluted mix that is detrimental to our faith and the message of the Gospel we live out and proclaim!" Ps, FYI, a tiny bit of the audio at the beginning was not recorded. Pastor Katherine shared about how she was with a team in Japan doing relief work right after a massive earthquake/tsunami hit back in 2011 when they experienced another (smaller) earthquake and people had gotten the news out on social media before the local news could even do so themselves.

“There is a difference between the gospel of the church and the gospel of the kingdom.” “What is the kingdom? God's domain. Where He rules and reigns.” “All of the church is in the kingdom but not all of the kingdom is in the church.” “You carry the kingdom, and the kingdom carries transformation.” Pastor Justin is preachin' today!

Justin dives into Matthew 13 today as he continues a talk about hope!   "Close your eyes and think about the coolest, most fun person you have ever met.. now close your eyes one more time.. think about the meanest, ugliest person you have ever met.. now imagine both asking you to a football game.. two very different ways of seeing the exact same thing.. keep that in mind this morning as we continue this morning..." - Justin 

We got to recap and celebrate ALL God did through COSILoveYou "Movement Week" events... Leadership Gathering, Citywide Worship Gathering, CityServe Day, the donation drive-thru we hosted for Mercy's Gate, and more before all partaking of communion together as one big church family! Take a listen and hear about how God is moving in our city and how churches, nonprofits, businesses, and civic leaders are teaming up together to see our city flourish.   Thanks again to all who helped load up all the donated items! We were able to drop off around 140 bags full of food items to Mercy's Gate that will go to local individuals and families facing a crisis.   Mark your calendar now for next year's CityServe Day the first Saturday in October 2022!

It's not when what you are hoping for gets delayed, it's when hope itself goes away.. when you have lost the ability to hope, to believe. That is when your heart gets sick. God is crazy about us, wild about us. The more you are connected to that truth, the more you will be full of hope. Lots of folks have lost hope. We have got to start hoping again.. and we've go to do it together. 

Pastor Katherine shares a recent prophetic dream she felt like God was saying was a general reminder for some, but a specific encouragement for right now for others before jumping into a talk all about what God is like. What is God like? This is a loaded question. Does anyone truly have the market cornered on answering it? In a room full of people you would hear a wide array of different answers to this question. Can we even know what He is really like? Let's talk about it.

Many times, "unity" is accomplished through force...  forced through fear, forcing everyone to be on the same page and agree...   Today Pastor Justin shared his heart about a different kind of unity.. about unity where everyone is fully themselves, fully present, fully engaged, fully speaking up.. which creates a powerful community! 

We hope our September “Encounter Sunday” was meaningful to all who spent a bit of your morning with us! We loved getting to gather in more of a big family circle, singing and praying together over different projects happening on CityServe Day (October 2) and for the organizations those projects will be serving, getting to hear Rachel Thomas share about her time ministering in Europe, and Rachel Leonhart share some of her story so we could get to know her better. Reflecting on, remembering, and celebrating all the ways God is moving in our city and our personal lives led us right into a time of communion together in remembrance of Jesus and all He has done and continues to do. We love that our kids and youth re-join us for this time so we can partake of communion all together as one big church family once a month.

After a long time of not being able to speak on a Sunday morning (due to being super sick with Hyperemesis Gravidarum), Pastor Katherine takes the morning to catch up with everyone and share her heart about encountering and embodying love. "The more I learn and grow, the more I realize there is a lot I don't know.. but these two things I am sure of..."

We love it when Papa Joe shares! If you have been wanting to grow or continue to grow in exercising your spiritual senses, take a listen!

Pastor Justin has been sharing his heart through a new series of talks about what we are really trying to go after and pursue as a church community moving forward. Here are a few quotes from his message on September 15 so you have an idea of what you will hear him share about in this podcast episode: "What is He calling us to? Called to what? Called to love. It's easy to say yes, it's hard to show up. It's easy to spot a problem, it's hard to be part of the solution. It's easy to have a response but hard to have an action. Going to do it is a whole different thing. Not all who are chosen are faithful.... but God is."

Last week Pastor Justin started a new series of talks where he shares some of his heart and thoughts about what we are really trying to go after and pursue as a church community moving forward. Today he continues on with all that, specifically about the reality that "GOD IS WILD ABOUT US!" May you remember,  experience, and be encouraged by the radical LOVE OF GOD today!  

In place of our usual Sunday Morning Gatherings, for the entire month of July, we instead planned a bunch of events so everyone in our church community had a chance to have an unhurried time to really connect and have a bunch of summertime fun together to build relationships! On Sunday, August 1, Pastor Justin started a new series of talks where he shares some of his heart and thoughts about what we are really trying to go after and pursue as a church community moving forward. Whether you are part of our local church community or just feel connected from afar, we hope what he shares encourages and inspires you wherever you find yourself in your own journey with Jesus.

Palm Sunday is the day that marks the beginning of something called Holy Week––a week focusing on the final days of Jesus' life leading up to Resurrection (Easter) Sunday. Pastor Justin shared a message with everyone before we thanked Jim and Pam Rogers for all the ways they have poured into our church family these last several years and blessed all the new things that God has for them to step into in this season. 

Papa Joe finished up part 2 of his two-week series of talks by giving some practical examples and ways to practice hearing from God and learning to cultivate an awareness and sensitivity to what the Holy Spirit is doing and saying in our lives on a regular basis. 

Pastor Katherine shared a message at Discovery Church Colorado for week 3 of their current series "Rogue King." Because of the snowpocalypse, it ended up being that three churches (DCC, Solid Rock Christian Center, and AGAPE) all tuned in together for a full online experience with worship (singing), communion, and her message. This was a bit out of the norm and ended up being a special morning as one church united. We may be three different church communities but we are all one big family in the Kingdom of God!

On this snowed-in Sunday, we all got to tune in from home and listen to Papa Joe share about hearing the voice of God and learning to cultivate an awareness and sensitivity to what the Holy Spirit is doing and saying. 

This morning we got to hear a few different people in our community share a recent God story, praise report, update, etc. We got to know Rich Martinez a bit better as he shared part of his story. Pastor Justin shared for just a minute about faith, a core value of our church before our elementary age kids came in and encouraged/ministered to all the adults. We ended our time by partaking in communion altogether.    Encounter God | Encounter Community 1st Sunday each month worship + testimonies + communion

Shaun Colin shared today before making a special announcement relating to him and his family!

Matt Rogers shared today before making a special announcement relating to him and his family! 

Midweek Miscellaneous A quick and easy way for our community to have a chance to connect on Wednesdays. Each week you can expect an encouraging message, something to think on, a quick way to get to know someone better, etc. from someone on our team! This week, Pastor Katherine shares an update about how we are going to start serving local schools in our area and something to commit to praying for! www.welcometoagape.com

Pastor Justin kicked off the first week of our "Jesus Is My Friend" series of talks. Listen in ask he candidly shares what makes Jesus and the Gospel real to him. 

Midweek Miscellaneous A quick and easy way for our community to have a chance to connect on Wednesdays. Each week you can expect an encouraging message, something to think on, a quick way to get to know someone better, etc. from someone on our team! This week, Pastors Justin & Katherine answer some love and marriage themed questions about their relationship in honor of Valentine's Day! www.welcometoagape.com

This morning we got to hear a few different people in our community share a recent God story, praise report, update, etc. We got to know Tiffany Thompson a bit better as she shared part of her story. And, Pastor Justin shared about legacy, a core value of our church, leading into a time of communion together.    Encounter God | Encounter Community 1st Sunday each month worship + testimonies + communion

Justin Knapp | AGAPE | Sunday Morning Gathering 

Midweek Miscellaneous A quick and easy way for our community to have a chance to connect on Wednesdays. Each week you can expect an encouraging message, something to think on, a quick way to get to know someone better, etc. from someone on our team! This week, Papa Joe shares about becoming stillness! www.welcometoagape.com

Katherine Knapp | AGAPE | Sunday Morning Gathering 

Midweek Miscellaneous A quick and easy way for our community to have a chance to connect on Wednesdays. Each week you can expect an encouraging message, something to think on, a quick way to get to know someone better, etc. from someone on our team! This week, Schaun shares about overcoming anxiety! www.welcometoagape.com

Katherine Knapp | AGAPE | Sunday Morning Gathering

Midweek Miscellaneous A quick and easy way for our community to have a chance to connect on Wednesdays. Each week you can expect an encouraging message, something to think on, a quick way to get to know someone better, etc. from someone on our team! This week, Matt shares about renewing your mind for 2021! www.welcometoagape.com  

Justin Knapp | AGAPE | Sunday Morning Gathering

On January 4 we got to hear Jim Rogers share a bit of his story and Pastor Justin shared a bit about honor leading into a time of communion together.    extended worship + testimonies + communion    1st Sunday of every month in 2021   Encounter God | Encounter Community

Our 4th Sunday of Advent was filled with worship, Advent readings, candle lighting, carols, and a message from Pastor Katherine as we gathered together from our living rooms on Zoom.

"Midweek Miscellaneous!" A quick and easy way for our community to have a chance to connect on Wednesdays. Each week you can expect an encouraging message, something to think on, a quick way to get to know someone better, etc. from someone on our team! This week, Papa Joe shares about the question of what's in a name? www.welcometoagape.com

Our 3rd Sunday of Advent was filled with worship, Advent readings, candle lighting, carols, a powerful message from Jamie about the incarnation.. Emmanuel.. GOD WITH US.. as well as how we can live incarnationally with others as God did with us. We also had a quick Q&A with Jamie at the end, as we gathered together from our living rooms on Zoom.

"Midweek Miscellaneous!" A quick and easy way for our community to have a chance to connect on Wednesdays. Each week you can expect an encouraging message, something to think on, a quick way to get to know someone better, etc. from someone on our team! This week, Schaun shares about the power of story. www.welcometoagape.com

Our 2nd Sunday of Advent with filled with worship, Advent readings, candle lighting, carols, a short message from Matt Rogers, and a community time so we could connect and chat about the message as we gathered together from our living rooms on Zoom.

"Midweek Miscellaneous!" A quick and easy way for our community to have a chance to connect on Wednesdays. Each week you can expect an encouraging message, something to think on, a quick way to get to know someone better, etc. from someone on our team! This week, Pastor Justin shares a story. www.welcometoagape.com

We kicked off our 1st Sunday of Advent with worship, Advent readings, candle lighting, carols, a short message from Schaun Colin, and Zoom breakouts so we could connect, chat and pray for each other in small groups as we gather together from our living rooms on Zoom. Sorry for the poor audio quality! We have run into some live streaming roadblocks and are working to get things sorted out! 

EXTRAORDINARY | series of talks | week 8   This morning was full of God stories, testimonies, praise reports, and updates from a number of different people in our church community. It was a relationally oriented morning with the purpose of building community and deeper connections with each other. Enjoy!

"Midweek Miscellaneous!" A quick and easy way for our community to have a chance to connect on Wednesdays. Each week you can expect an encouraging message, something to think on, a quick way to get to know someone better, etc. from someone on our team! This week, Pastor Katherine answers a few quick “get to know” type questions and invites everyone to be part of our “Extraordinary Community” plans for this Sunday! www.welcometoagape.com