Gateway Canyons, Gateway, Colorado
September 5 – 8, 2024
By Invitation Only
Denver Seminary is hosting a weekend retreat at Gateway Canyons. You will experience the beauty of Colorado, be encouraged in your walk with Christ, and enjoy the teaching ministry of Denver Seminary firsthand.
Please email Clarisse Eldridge or call 303.761.2482 with any questions.
The theme of the weekend is A Time to Celebrate. Throughout our time together, we will focus on how God’s faithful and unchanging presence sustains us through every season. Denver Seminary’s President, Mark Young, and alumni Elisa Morgan, Brandon Young, and John Moreland, will share insightful and challenging teaching during the weekend. Our worship leader, David Norris, will minister to our souls through sacred music and worship.
The weekend kicks off with a reception on Thursday, September 5, and concludes by noon on Sunday, September 8. And because we’ll be in Colorado’s beautiful red rocks country, there will be time to enjoy the splendor of God’s creation through outdoor activities of your choosing.
While you are with us, the honor of hospitality is ours. We will provide lodging and meals for the weekend. Your only cost is transportation to and from Gateway Canyons, and a shuttle will be provided if preferred. We have limited space, so reserve your spot by registering below.
Speakers & Musicians
Keynote Speaker: President Mark Young
Dr. Mark Young, president of Denver Seminary, is a theological educator and pastoral leader with over 40 years of global ministry experience. Prior to joining Denver Seminary in 2009, he served as professor of world missions and intercultural studies at Dallas Theological Seminary from 1995–2009 and was the founding academic dean of the Biblical Theological Seminary in Wroclaw, Poland.
Mark has authored several publications, including The Hope of the Gospel: Theological Education and the Next Evangelicalism (Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2022), One True Story, One True God: What the Bible Is All About (Our Daily Bread Publishing, 2021), “Marriage and the Mission of God,” published in Marriage: Its Foundation, Theology and Mission in a Changing World (Moody Press, 2018), and “Recapturing Evangelical Identity and Mission” published in Still Evangelical? Insiders Reconsider Political, Social, and Theological Meaning (InterVarsity Press, 2018). He has also presented on issues in theological education and mission for numerous international symposia and conferences.
Mark holds a PhD in Educational Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and a ThM in New Testament Literature and Exegesis from Dallas Theological Seminary. He has served as the president of the Board of Directors for the Association of Theological Schools and is a member of the International Council for Evangelical Theological Education, Evangelical Theological Society, OMSC Missions Leaders Forum, and several other organizations.
Mark has been married to Priscilla Young for nearly forty years, has three children, and eight grandchildren.
Elisa Morgan
Elisa Morgan was named by Christianity Today as one of the top fifty women influencing today’s church and culture and is one of today’s most sought-after authors, speakers, and leaders. She speaks internationally to all audiences on a myriad of topics.
She has authored more than twenty-five books on mothering, spiritual formation, and evangelism. Her latest book is Christmas Changes Everything. Her other books include You Are Not Alone: 6 Affirmations from a Loving God, When We Pray Like Jesus, The Beauty of Broken, and Hello, Beauty Full. Her blog, Really, reaches thousands each week with a message of encouragement and inspiration. As a co-host of the syndicated radio program Discover the Word, Elisa offers a daily fifteen-minute real-time conversation around the written and living Word of God. She also writes regularly for the Our Daily Bread Devotional and cohosts the podcast God Hears Her with Eryn Adkins.
Elisa earned an MDiv from Denver Seminary where she serves as the chairman of the board, and a BS from the University of Texas and For twenty years, Elisa Morgan served as the first CEO of MOPS International, now MomCo.
Elisa and her husband Evan (founder and president of Our Daily Bread University) have been married for forty years and have two grown children and three grandchildren who live near them in Denver. Mia, a Jack Russell Terrier, shadows her every move.
John Moreland
John Moreland is the director of Denver Seminary’s Black Church Programs (formerly Urban Initiaive) and the Urban track of the Lilly Pathways grant. John serves as the bi-vocational senior pastor of Denver Christian Bible Church, is a member of the Colorado Air National Guard, and has taught as an adjunct faculty member for Colorado Christian University, Gateway Seminary and the University of Denver. He will advance the Black Church Programs forward in extending the educational resources of Denver Seminary to Denver’s urban communities.
A native of San Antonio, Texas, John was born and raised in deep Southern traditions. He felt called to lifelong service of Christian ministry and public service at age 5, began preaching ministry at age 15, and was ordained to the Gospel Ministry at age 18.
John earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Wayland Baptist University, a Master of Divinity from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary and is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry in Preaching and Pastoral Leadership at Denver Seminary.
Brandon Young
Brandon Young is a former US Army Ranger and co-founder at Applied Leadership Partners, an organization devoted to helping leaders create tightly knit, high-performing teams through executive coaching, speaking, and workshops. He has spent more than 20 years building and leading teams in the military, corporate healthcare, and nonprofit sectors.
Brandon earned his Master of Divinity with a concentration in Leadership from Denver Seminary in 2023. He’s been published in various peer-reviewed academic journals for his work as a co-developer of the Enriched Life Scale, a measurement developed by the military veteran service organization, Team Red, White & Blue (RWB), to systematically capture and quantify the lived experiences of military veterans transitioning to civilian life.
His passion is faith, family, community, people, and family adventures.
David and Taylor Norris
David and Taylor have been leading worship together since they were teenagers in a wide variety of contexts, primarily in service to the local church. Soon after they were married, they moved to Denver so that David could pursue an MDiv at Denver Seminary.
In the Spring of 2016, they joined Wellspring Anglican Church (Englewood, Colorado) where they continue to serve and worship, now as a family of six. Their children—Norah, Cohen, Harper, and Ezra—are their greatest joy and primary ministry context.
Weekend Schedule
| Thursday, September 5 | Friday, September 6 | Saturday, September 7 | Sunday, September 8 |
| 4:00 pm | Check-in is Open 4:00-6:00 pm | Check-in and Welcome Reception 6:00 pm | Dinner 7:30 pm | Opening Session | 7:30 am | Breakfast 9:00 am | General Session 10:15 am | Break 10:45 am | General Session 12:00 pm | Lunch 1:30 pm | Activities, Free Time 5:00 pm | Reception 6:00 pm | Dinner 7:45 pm | General Session | 7:30 am | Breakfast 9:00 am | General Session 10:25 am | Break 10:50 am | General Session 12:00 pm | Lunch 1:30 pm | Activities, Free Time 5:00 pm | Reception 5:30 pm | Dinner 7:15 pm | General Session 8:30 pm | Fire Pit Gathering | 7:30 am | Breakfast 8:30 am | Check Out 9:30 am | Worship Service 11:00 am | Lunch To-Go & Goodbyes |