Austin Burge

Student Pastor

Where did you grow up?

Lakewood, Colorado

My Ministry Story

I was a part of Bear Valley’s Student Ministry as a high schooler but stepped away from the church upon graduation as a way of finding “my own” church home. Several years later, I felt a very strong nudge from God to return as the Student Pastor, when at the time, I had no desire for vocational ministry, but I felt that God was simply calling me to obey, and I’m so thankful I did, as my passion is to speak life into others by engaging the tensions of life for the sake Jesus and His Kingdom, hoping that by doing so, others will experience rest from the tension and hope for their life through Jesus and His Kingdom. Currently I oversee our Student Ministry, which serves sixth graders all the way through students in and just coming out of college.

Favorite Bible Verse

Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” The author of Hebrew highlights my passion, the intentionally of “stirring up one another," stimulating each other’s growth, getting down to the “nitty gritty,” for the sake of Jesus and His Kingdom, as well as the consistency, “not neglecting to meet together,” and how both are vital to true community, something we’ve been designed before since our creation.

Something most people don't know about me!

I’m an open book. It’s hard for me to find something that most people don’t already know about me.

Fun Facts!

• I love good stories, regardless of the medium. Book, movie, personal experiences, podcasts, TV shows, you name it! I’m captivated by the continuity of how all aspects of a story, the good, the bad, and the ugly, are ultimately what make the story “good,” and I believe that is a representation of the story God has been writing since the dawn of man.
• I have two favorite categories of food. If it’s an Eastern food, then I’m all in. I haven’t eaten a food from the country of Asia that I do not like. The other category is whether or not the food can be put into a bowl. If it’s in a bowl, then I will eat it. I love the blend of foods mixed together creating different combinations of taste in each bite. However, I do not include soup in that category. Soup is not food, and I will not eat it.