Michael Craft has been in ministry since 1989 and the lead pastor at The Alpine Chapel in Telluride, Colorado since April of 2018. He is ordained with the Calvary Chapel Association and has a sincere passion for God, a passion for people, and a passion for creating a platform to bring the two together.
Michael grew up as a pastor’s kid. He met his wife, Kelli, in a college study group, where he fell madly in love. Michael lived on a tour bus and played bass guitar for the Christian Rock group, Destiny in the late 80s. He and Kelli were married in August of 1990. He earned his undergraduate degree in pastoral studies/theology by attending schools in Southern California and Central Oregon. He was a crazy youth pastor for eight years and then took the Lead Pastor position of a small (27 people their first Sunday) church just outside of Kansas City, Missouri. Michael continued his education, working towards his Master’s degree, at a Messianic Jewish Institute in Kansas City where he learned to love, read and teach the Bible in new and transformative ways, from a Jewish Roots perspective. The church he pastored grew bigger than he could have ever imagined and began making a loud noise for the cause of Christ in their small suburb. He and his wife were at this church from July 1995 until August of 2013.
Michael was bi-vocational for the first few years of his ministry, and did everything from cleaning carpets to building houses. As the church grew, and he was honored to be hired full time, Michael felt his passions for people and helping them come to walk in genuine relationship with God and others come alive. These years were a highlight. Michael’s wife then became very sick, and after a brain-surgery, multiple trips out of state to specialist doctors, and a rough season of on-and-off hospital stays, Michael needed to resign his position and move his family to a different climate for his wife’s benefit and on doctor’s orders. Michael and Kelli moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado in August of 2013, where, soon-after, Michael was hired to serve on the staff of Calvary Worship Center for a little over 4 years, as an Equipping/Executive Pastor; Overseeing missions, children’s ministries, youth, young adults, a satellite campus, benevolence, and the counseling department.
Michael and Kelli have three sons (Conor, Kolten, and Caleb), two daughters (Michaela-Rayn and Merci), three daughters-in-law (Amy, Diana, and Jocelyn), one son-in-law (Jonah), four granddaughters (Lovely, Ember, Luna, and Posie), and four grandsons (Ki, Honor, Zadok, and River).
Michael loves to give hugs, ride his Harley Davidson motorcycle, watch old movies, cheer for his Kansas City Chiefs, ski, listen to classic Christian rock, grill outdoors, eat, hang out with his brothers in the church and each member of his incredible family, and much more. He has some Scripture tattoos, a ssssslight ssssslur, and uses the expressions “dude” and “awesome” way too much.
