Our Story
They all walked into a bar!
We are a church that owns no properties and meets in bars to talk faith, support one another, and to learn from Jesus a very tangible way, making and distributing lunches and other essential gear for Denver’s unhoused.
Logan Robertson has been our pastor since July of 2021. That summer we got back into bars after time away during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bar scene and the story of homelessness have been a little different than they were before COVID-19. We’ve had to be creative about how we reach out to our friends on the streets, where we do it, and how we partner with others to make it all happen.
That means we distribute lunches at the Denver Central Library, at Network Coffee House, and in various places and times where we know people will be gathered. AfterHours gets done what it does by being connected and collaborative. This creative approach since 2021 has been a boon to AfterHours, and we hope to our partners as well.
————
July 1, 2019 brought a big change to AfterHours, our first change of pastor and director. That person was Rev. Dr. Tyler Kaufmann. In need of a break from traditional church setting Tyler moved to Colorado intending to manage a coffee shop while holding small group faith studies in bars and coffee shops. He let leaders of the Mountain Sky Conference of the United Methodist Church know his plans and was eventually invited to become AfterHours’ next leader.
Here’s a clip of Tyler and Jim Francis discussing AfterHours with Gina on Mile High Living.
————
Our founder, Rev. Jerry Herships—originally a comedian and bartender—was drawn into ministry after feeling that the connections he made with his customers at the bar were often more real and deeper than anything he’d experienced in church. Jerry decided the church and the bar could learn a lot from one another so he decided to bring these worlds together.
In 2009, Jerry was seeking a new way to help people be the church so he started inviting folks from Saint Andrew’s UMC in Highlands Ranch, Colorado where he was Associate Pastor to help him distribute sack lunches to homeless folks. This ministry eventually became the driving purpose behind the AfterHours Community’s gathering.
Jerry has written two books telling his unique journey to starting these ministries. You can find them using these links.