Dr. Robert C. Ballance, Senior Pastor

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Bob is a sleeves-rolled-up, hands-on leader who wants to know personally every one in the congregation. He has a grand sense of humor and works with abundant energy. He is passionate about building the local church and helping people discover (or rediscover) the presence of a loving, creating, challenging God. Pastor's blog

past pastoral experience

• Heritage Baptist Church Cartersville, Ga.
• Highland Park Baptist Austin, Texas
• Several North Carolina churches

education

• Mars Hill College, BA, English and journalism
• Southeastern Seminary, M.Div with languages
• North Carolina State University School of Education and Psychology, EdD
• The Theological School of Drew University, a United Methodist seminary, DMin

Catherine Kent Ballance, Associate Pastor
for Pastoral Care and Family Support

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Catherine is a gifted listener and a compassionate minister. She feels strongly that faith is closely linked to how we treat one another. She and husband Bob have two daughters, who live in Atlanta, Ga.

past pastoral experience

• assistant director of development for Boulder's Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence (SPAN)
• oncology chaplain and hospice chaplain
• director of development for a children's shelter
• director of Christian education in several United Methodist congregations

education

• University of Missouri Columbia, bachelor's degree
• Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, master's degree
• four units of clinical pastoral education from a variety of settings

Larry VanSpriell, Associate Pastor for
Leadership and Pastoral Care

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Larry is a retired hospital chaplain and pastor. He pastored churches in Ohio and Pennsylvania before he realized clinical pastoral education and chaplaincy were his passion. Larry and wife Tam have been dedicated members of First Baptist since moving to Colorado in 1997.

past pastoral experience

• director, pastoral care, Mercer Medical Center, Trenton, NJ
• adjunct faculty/chaplain-supervisor, Princeton Theological Seminary, NJ
• founder and executive director, Boulder Center for Grief & Loss
• interim executive minister, American Baptist Churches of the Rocky Mountains, 2008

education

• Michigan State University, BS, education
• Purdue University, MS, counseling
• Colgate-Rochester Divinity School, MDiv, pastoral ministry

Dwight Neuenschwander, Pastor Emeritus

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Assists with pastoral care, offering his experience and wisdom in many areas of church leadership and service. He knows our congregation well, having served as senior pastor for 10 years. He loves educational and inspirational travel, including study and mission tours to the Middle East, Europe, Haiti, Mexico, Asia and Central and South America. Married to Aladine, a long-tenured minister of music, they have two sons and four grandchildren.

past pastoral experience

• founding pastor of four churches in California, Oregon and Ohio
• regional staff for American Baptist Churches of Ohio and the Northwest
• interim pastor in nine churches in Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming (since retirement!)

education

• Ottawa University (Kansas), BA, English literature
• American Baptist Seminary of the West (Berkeley, Calif.), New Testament theology
• Iliff School of Theology (Denver), pastoral care
• Pacific School of Religion (Berkeley), ecclesiology

Ryan Connell, Organist and Music Director for Mosaic

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Ryan knew music was going to be his career the first time he touched a piano. In Spring 2004 he was invited to perform at the new original music festival of The Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland, where he premiered his trumpet ensemble piece "Watta Flipt Watta" and his composition for string quintet, "...her image deeply lies..." In the past few years Ryan has focused on performing new classical music on the piano. He has returned to his birth state of Colorado, after moving away when he was eight months old.

education

• University of Louisville, bachelor's degrees in piano performance (full scholarship) and music composition
• Kentucky Institute of International Study in Salzburg, Austria

Lukas Graf, Minister of Music

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Lukas is a driven musician, conductor and scholar. He derives most of his musical background from the numerous instruments he played while growing up, but his true passion is witnessed in his singing and conducting. Lukas and his wife have worked at First Baptist for five years.

past professional experience

• performances with Central City Opera and Opera Colorado
• associate conductor of the Junior Symphony Guild, one of the largest outreach programs in America

education

• Montana State University (Bozeman), BA, music in voice and oboe
• University of Colorado (Boulder), MA, voice performance and choral conducting
• University of Colorado (Boulder), beginning doctoral work in voice performance and pedagogy

Polly McDonald, Children's Care

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Polly McDonald has been a constant presence in caring for our children at First Baptist for more than four decades. She has been like a grandmother to many of our children, which has been a real gift to our congregation, as so many of our children are Colorado transplants and don't live near any grandparents. She recently retired as the secretary of Whittier Elementary School, an International Baccalaureate Primary School, just a few blocks from our church, where she still volunteers every day. She ensures that our childcare program is staffed by volunteers and paid professionals who provide child-safe, supervised care for all.