Whether it’s your first time here, or you’ve been coming for a while and simply want to know more about us, you’ve come to the right place. Our heart is to: “Seek Jesus, Point to Jesus, and Walk with Jesus.” Below you’ll find the answers to some of our most Frequently Asked Questions.
If you have any questions that are not answered here, please feel free to contact us at info@thealpinechapel.com or call us at 970.728.3504. We want to be here for you!
FAQs:
- When are your services? – Sundays at 9am… and in the “ON-SEASONS” we have a Saturday Night Service at 6pm (please refer to our monthly church calendar to see if we are currently in the “ON” or “OFF” season by clicking HERE). These services are identical, with one exception: There is no children’s ministry for the Saturday service. If you have children, the 9am Sunday service would be a better choice. Our service is available on our Facebook page at 9am each Sunday. The message will appear on this website later on Sunday afternoon. Other Bible Studies and special events throughout the week are also available. Please see our EVENTS page for more details.
- How can I learn more about following Jesus?
If you would like to know HOW you can BEGIN a relationship with God, or even what you are supposed to do NEXT once you’ve accepted Christ… please click HERE. If you’d like to talk to our pastor, he is always available and can be contacted at pastor@thealpinechapel.com
- What does your church believe?
Please visit our BELIEFS page for specifics, but simply put, we are centered around Jesus Christ and God’s revelation to us, the Bible. Through the teaching of His Word we learn about His character, plan, and love for us. As we grow in our understanding of Him, we experience His Spirit leading us to step out in ministry to one another and the world.
- What does it mean that The Alpine Chapel is an interdenominational church?
It simply means that we are not associated, affiliated, or connected with any denomination, man-made organization or institution. Our only allegiance is to the Lord and His Word. We can fellowship with brothers and sisters of Christ anywhere at any time without answering to a national headquarters somewhere. We are a body of believers striving to live out the Biblical command to love God, each other and our neighbors well. Although our church began many years ago associated with the Southern Baptists, and we will always have a deep love and appreciation for that particular denomination, we call ourselves ‘interdenominational’, because we are so unlike many Southern Baptist churches and have so many other denominational backgrounds represented by those that attend T.A.C. Our senior pastor and all of our associate pastors are ordained with the Calvary Chapel Association (more info about Calvary Chapel found HERE).
- Where are you located?
The Alpine Chapel is the cute, little church located half a block off the main drag in Telluride, Colorado. We’re also a block away from the famous Telluride Gondola. The address is: 122 S. Aspen Street. For detailed directions from wherever you are in the world, just click HERE.
- What Can I Expect?
At The Alpine Chapel our main weekend services are approximately 60 minutes long. We always put an emphasis on worship in our services. We worship God corporately through singing praise to Him and taking time to study His Word. We believe that God made us to worship and He created music so that it reaches into the heart and soul of people unlike anything else. Worship is our opportunity to reflect God’s love back at Him, while allowing our hearts to be shaped the way that He wants them to be. The singing portion of our services is always an intimate time, led by our passionate worship team. Our church is made up of people who have come from a variety of denominations, worship styles, and church backgrounds. We invite people to freely express their worship in a “decent and orderly” way during our services (1 Corinthians 14:40). After the singing we dismiss our children to go downstairs and be a part of our dynamic Children’s Church, where the Bible is taught in a fun and powerful way, but is on the level of children. During the teaching portion of the service, our pastor teaches through the Bible with it’s original context and meaning as the starting point. Most times we’ll teach through a Book of the Bible verse-by-verse. Occasionally, we’ll center on a theme and dig deeper into a topic. Our goal is to breathe life into the people, places, and stories of Scripture and to always provide practical application of God’s Word to our lives today. Our deep desire is that Jesus, the Living Word, would touch your life during our service.
- Does The Alpine Chapel share communion? Yes! We love communion times! They occur at least once a month during the weekend services. We believe that communion should be open and available to any and all that have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, regardless of church membership.
- What translation of the Bible do you use?
There are many English translations of God’s Word that we think are great. Truthfully, a person should use any translation that they will actually read! If the King James Version is your thing, great! If you are an NIV person, wonderful! However, in our main services, Pastor Michael teaches from the Christian Standard Bible, which is a highly readable, highly reliable translation that arrived in 2017. The CSB stays as literal as possible to the Bible’s original meaning without sacrificing clarity, making it easier to engage with Scripture’s life-transforming message and to share it with others. Please watch the two minute video below to learn more about this translation.
- Is Your Building Handicap Accessible?
Yes, we have an elevator that can take a person from the Sanctuary to the restrooms and the children’s facilities. For help accessing our elevator, please ask any of the pastors.
- OTHER THINGS YOU MAY WANT TO KNOW:
- We enjoy a casual, relaxed environment; come dressed as you are… seriously! If you are dressed to ski and come clomping in wearing your ski boots you’ll be right at home!
- We are a community of people who love God, each other,… and you!
- We offer excellent ministries for infants and toddlers as well as an exciting Children’s Ministry for older children. – We believe that worship is important for all ages, therefore, older children will join us for worship, and then be dismissed to their class. Only our 9am service has children’s ministry available.
- What is Alpine Chapel’s Story?
Here is a brief history of our church: Alpine Chapel ministers to the community of Telluride Colorado to locals, second homeowners, and visitors. We are located at 122 South Aspen Street. We have been in our current location since completion of our building in 2010 and we are debt free.Alpine Chapel began as a mission church from Rosemont Baptist Church in Montrose, Colorado during the mid 70s. Alpine Chapel was originally named The Telluride Baptist Church. The Church began worshipping at the Porterfield Stone building in town. The small congregation met in the upstairs of the Porterfield building, which they called “The Upper Room.” The Telluride Baptist Church changed locations several times during the first 20 years. We met at the school lunch room, music room, private homes, the Christian Fellowship building, and the Nugget Movie Theater. And from the Nugget Movie Theater we moved into our current space. In 1997, Telluride Baptist Church became independent, self-supporting from Rosemont Baptist Church and was officially named The Alpine Chapel of Telluride. We continue to have affiliation with Rosemont Baptist Church as friends. Our congregation grew and the desire and possibilities to have a home building to worship was pursued. Money was raised and then land was purchased in Mountain Village. Plans and models were made, going before the architectural design review committee. It was determined that Mountain Village did not want or need a church. No church building would be allowed to be built on the lot owned by Alpine Chapel. The Chapel land was sold and the money was put into savings. George Greenbanks architectural building and land in town was up for sale. With God’s help, we raised funds again. All members gave as best they could. The Second Home Fellowship financially challenged each other to meet the remaining balance and the challenge was met. The land was purchased in 2008 and our plans were approved by the town. We broke ground in 2009 and the church was complete in 2010. We are so thankful that God blessed us with this building to gather. The church building is currently being utilized for Sunday Worship, Children’s programs, a Free Coffee House, and other church ministry and community events. We continue to thrive within our own church building. In April of 2018 Alpine Chapel welcomed our senior pastor, Michael Craft. The staff of T.A.C. has grown since that time and we believe the future looks very exciting, as we seek to continue to make the name of Jesus famous in this town and area.
- What is your senior pastor’s story?
Michael Craft has been a pastor since 1989, and is ordained with Calvary Chapel. Michael has a sincere passion for God, a passion for people, and a passion for creating a platform to bring the two together. For much more information about our pastor click HERE or visit his personal website: www.MichaelCraft.org
- What is the LEADERSHIP Structure of The Alpine Chapel?
We believe our structure to be what Scripture describes as how the government for the church should look, God’s model. Jesus is the Head of the Church. The Lead/Senior pastor is ruled by the Lord and (aided and held accountable by the elders and Trustees) called to discover the mind and will of Jesus Christ for His church. This in turn is implemented by the assistant pastors. The Alpine Chapel has a Board of Trustees that is made up of men and women who’ve been nominated by the current board and Senior Pastor, and then elected by the members of the church. These Trustees oversee all the finances of the church and decisions concerning the upkeep and maintaining of the facilities of the church. The Senior Pastor sits on this board and has influence, but no vote. The pastors currently serve as elders of the church, in that they are in charge of overseeing the spiritual well-being of the fellowship, as well as serving the church in other areas including prayer, council, and visitation. Others can and will be appointed to the elder board as the Lord leads.
- Why are there 4 pastors on staff at such a small church?
The Alpine Chapel is unique in that we are a large church with a small congregation. The number of locals that attend is growing, however, many of our local attendees are very sporadic attenders due to their traveling schedules. T.A.C also has a large number of “Second-Home-Owners” (those that live elsewhere, but also own homes in the Telluride area and want a solid church to attend while they are here). Add these numbers to those that are simply ‘visiting’ and we can have some weekends with half the chairs full and others where there is standing room only. For this reason, we don’t have the consistent volunteers that many churches are blessed to have. It can be a challenge to ‘plan’ and adequately provide all the ministries that we feel God has called us to provide. The four pastors are here to ensure that consistent and excellent ministry continues, regardless. All four pastors have areas that they oversee: Pastor Michael oversees the entire church and staff, but mainly focuses on teaching God’s Word. Pastor Isam oversees all the outreach events of the church, including the Coffee House ministry. He also oversees all volunteer training and discipleship. Pastor Skye oversees the praise and worship of the church, as well as oversees the facilities that are owned by the church. Pastor Conor oversees all ministries geared for those aged 18 years and younger.
- How can I get connected?
While Sunday morning worship is important, if that’s your only involvement with church, it’ll be difficult (okay, impossible) to become connected to our community in a meaningful way. There are several avenues to getting involved, and in turn, building relationships with other people at Alpine Chapel. Please explore this website for other ways you can jump in and become a part of all that God is doing here. Special classes, Bible studies, and regular community outreach events are just a few of the ways. Of course, you can always talk with someone in leadership, but perhaps most importantly, to get started you can attend our D.N.A. classes (these are offered on a regular basis, please email one of our pastors to find when the next class is happening. Oftentimes, we will meet one-on-one to share this information with those who seek it. The D.N.A. classes are meant to help people Discover more about Alpine Chapel, Navigate their way to where God can minister to them and through them at Alpine Chapel, and then be Activated into authentic and exciting ministry opportunities).
