Our History

Colorado Christian Fellowship (CCF) began as an idea that there could be a church where God’s grace, love, and compassion were evident, a place where a person could be free to worship God in truth and freedom, a place where truth, holiness, purity, and love are understood, taught, and lived out in the lives of everyone – church leaders and members alike. Indeed, it was to be a move of God.

After coming to Denver in 1992, Phillip F. Smith, Jr. (Apostle Phil), was ordained as a local deacon in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and for three (3) years served on the ministerial staff of Shorter Community AME Church. Later he served as an Elder at Lowry Community Christian Church. However, after many prayers, Apostle Phil heard from the Lord, that the church he and Sylvia, his wife, had been searching for, was inside them, and that it was time for that church to be birthed. In 1995, Apostle Phil graduated from law school and began his legal career, but Father had other plans for the Smith Family.

Apostle Phil and Sylvia began (CCF) with 27 people. The first Sunday worship service was held on August 16, 1998, in the library of Harvard Square Retirement Community in Denver. Apostle Phil often shares that he and Sylvia kept asking the Lord when he was going to send the pastor for this new flock. But Father let him know that he was the pastor of this flock. By November 1998, the church had outgrown its little space and the young church moved to the auditorium of the Double Tree Hotel on East Iliff Avenue in Aurora.

The church began to take form, and Sylvia and Apostle Phil were joined by Quetta Keenan as the pianist and worship leader. The church’s first usher was Toussaint Redcross, and Phyllis Mitchell handled the church’s finances. Bible studies were held in Apostle (Pastor) Phil and Sylvia’s home; and the first CCF Board of Elders – Louis Materre, Steve Mitchell, Toussaint Redcross, and Phillip F. Smith – were appointed during the first months of 1999.

The church grew steadily as members invited friends, relatives, and co-workers. As the church continued to grow, it was evident that the auditorium would soon be too small. The church moved to a leased space at Uvalda and Mississippi Avenue, in Aurora, in January 2000. By the end of 2000, the church had grown to approximately 250 members. It was during those years that we grew together at worship services, prayer meetings, pool parties, picnics, workshops, men’s and women’s retreats, and ministry gatherings. It was a time of discovering our purpose and mission as a body; and in 2001 Apostle (Pastor) Phil defined the mission of the church; with an emphasis on five-fold ministry. CCF was to become an equipping and sending church.

In 2002, we began our first capital campaign; however, the property CCF was considering subsequently became unavailable, and we were again looking for a permanent home. In the meantime, we acquired space in Havana Park Place in Aurora.

In 2003, Apostle Phil and Sylvia planted the seeds of our missionary outreach, Global Change Network, U.S.A., traveling to Cambodia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, England, and Italy. On April 9, 2004, our first class of 33 ministers, who were all trained by Apostle (Pastor) Phil, were ordained at CCF. Since 2004 we have ordained over 283 ministers, who are members of Global Change Network, U.S.A. We have also trained and equipped ministers of our affiliate, GCN, Southern Africa. By 2005, Christian Vocational Training School (CVTS) launched and continues to expand and prepare believers to fulfill their destiny. CVTS is a small, private Christian school that offers training for adult men and women to realize and advance their Christian vocations. Along with its Biblical education and training, CVTS also offers classes in communications, family studies, financial stewardship, lay counseling, leadership, prayer, and more.      

In 2006, CCF found land on 6^th and Piccadilly Road for CCF’s future home to be named CCF Village. It was a vision from God that promised to move our congregation to a new level of faith and growth. The original vision for the land was to build a “village” where CCF could invite the community to come and experience the love of Christ through our various ministries. There were several capital campaigns to work towards this goal. The land was originally purchased for $1.3 million, and the value continually increased! Over the years, through the hard work and sacrifice of our members, we paid off the land.

In the summer of 2010, Apostle Phil and Pastor Denise Waldon began discussions regarding planting a CCF campus in Colorado Springs, CO.  Neither of them knew the morning of their meeting, each would receive a visitation from the Lord. Pastor Denise received a dream and Apostle Phil received a word from the Lord. Both messages were the same. 

A fellowship and information meeting were held at Pearlie Waldon’s home on October 22, 2010, to formally meet Apostle Phil and Sylvia and introduce CCF. Seven (7) people confirmed and attended that meeting-Stephanie Theirry, Charalotta Gunter, and Pearlie Waldon (Mom Pearl) were still with the church as it commemorated its 10-year anniversary in 2022. The group continued to meet at Mom Pearl’s home, with the first weekly Bible study beginning on Saturday, December 11, 2010. Attendees of those early Bible studies were Essie Gaine, Eva Downie, Vicci Grey, Charalotta Gunter, Kevin and Norma Jenkins, Jerry and Pam Sweet, Stephanie Thierry, and Steve and Pam Waldon.

After meeting in the home for several months, Apostle Phil, Sylvia, and Pastor Denise started driving and calling around the city looking for potential spaces for worship services. The first worship service was held on Saturday, October 29, 2011, at 4360 Bradley Road, Colorado Springs, CO 80911. The first worship team consisted of Apostle Phil, Sylvia, and Pastor Denise. Elder Kevin Jenkins joined the team the following month; as well as Jason Atchin on the keyboard and Britt Ciampa on the drums. Jerry Sweet started playing the bass guitar shortly afterwards to round out the band and was with the church as it commemorated its 10-year anniversary.

A Charter Membership and Leadership Installation service was held on Saturday, January 19, 2013, in Colorado Springs. Pastor Denise and Kevin Jenkins were installed as Elders. Leaders from the Aurora campus joined the celebration, speaking prophetic words over the elders and the work that God began. In 2022, Apostle Phil transitioned the pastoral leadership of the Colorado Springs campus to Pastor Denise Waldon. She began preaching the weekly Sunday sermons in March, and her formal installation service took place on August 13, 2022.

In 2012, Apostle Phil and Betty Rice began hosting prayer meetings in Boulder with the goal of starting a Boulder campus. Betty Rice served as the campus pastor and services were eventually held at Pine Street Church until 2018. The first service at Pine Street Church, 1237 Pine St, Boulder, CO 80302, was kicked off with a concert in June 2013. The key members of CCF Boulder were Apostle Phil and Sylvia, Betty Rice, and Chris Norwood who joined them in 2014. The Boulder campus hosted many concerts, prophetic nights, and participated in the Boulder Creek Festival for several years.

For years, CCF continued to serve the communities that surround Aurora and Colorado Springs by providing safe environments for spiritual development and growth, supportive people, and sound Biblical teaching.

In 2020, Apostle Phil and Sister Sylvia launched Coffee Time Live! on Facebook, a mid-week Bible study to help CCF members stay connected during the COVID-19 Pandemic lock-down. People continue to “click, sip, and savor” the word of God each week as Coffee Time Live! now reaches thousands of viewers.  

In April of 2021, CCF had its land at 6^th and Picadilly in Aurora appraised to assess its value. The appraisal amount was $3 million.  During the pandemic, as CCF found creative methods to continuing taking the love of Christ to the community, the leadership of our church realized that the land was just an investment in CCF’s ability to reach the world like never before and CCF began planning a Capital Campaign Initiative entitled the Commission to Reach (CTR) Initiative to purchase a new home. The goals of this initiative were as follows: (1) to equip our entire congregation, including children, with the tools to share the love of Jesus with the people we encounter in our everyday lives; (2) to see hundreds of souls saved through the members of our church over the next two years; (3) to grow the ministry in Colorado Springs, (4) to acquire a new facility in Aurora that would serve as a center for outreach and evangelism.

After completing the planning for the CTR Initiative and being able to congregate again in 2022, the goal was to raise $1 million to begin renovations on a new permanent building in Centennial, CO. Father made the first contribution to our initiative by providing $3 million from the proceeds of the sale of the land. The closing for the sale of the land was July 10, 2023.

In May of 2022, Apostle Phil, still following Father’s instructions to take the love of Christ to the community, conducted a brainstorming session with CCF staff members. From the brainstorming session, Apostle Phil discussed increasing CCF’s evangelistic efforts, making a concerted effort to ensure our congregation understood the purpose of the church and that we are being obedient to the mandate of the Great Commission. Matthew 28:16-20 ¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

CCF has done an excellent job of getting its members trained and equipped, healed, and delivered. Now it became imperative that we (CCF) get out and make sure others are introduced to Father, healed and delivered, trained, and equipped, and develop a relationship with the Almighty God. As the brainstorming session progressed, a “third prong” to the CCF vision was developed, “SO THAT” we can more effectively fulfill the mandate of the Great Commission.

Our two-pronged vision was given to us as a church SO THAT we can more effectively fulfill the mandate of the Great Commission, which is to reach our community and the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In July 2023, CCF was under contract to purchase a beautiful concrete building in Centennial. It had large windows all around, mountain views from the back of the building, and was located across the street from Centennial Center Park. However, the building required many repairs, and it would also need to be completely renovated into a church for us to occupy. But Father is faithful! Right when we were determining how to manage all the repair issues on the property in Centennial, we received a phone call from Heritage Christian Center, desiring to sell their church building. On September 12, 2023, Colorado Christian Fellowship closed on this beautiful turnkey facility, located at East Exposition Avenue and Sable Boulevard, in Aurora. Our home has a 1,500-seat sanctuary, two chapels, a wing dedicated to Children’s Church services, a baptismal area in the sanctuary, audio/visual systems; and all the furnishings, fixtures, and other equipment was included in the sale. We hosted our first service in November of 2023.

As we have grown over the years, God has expanded every area of CCF to include ministries of healing and deliverance, care groups, outreach, and evangelism. We have over 35 ministries and departments to meet the needs of the church and surrounding communities.