Meet Jerry Herships | Rev. & Love Monger

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jerry Herships and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jerry, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
I think what has helped to make Applewood Valley UMC continue to grow is a number of factors.

First, we are normal. There is no over the top creepy “churchy” vibe. We are just normal, nice people that have a Progressive mindset toward Christianity and I think that resonates with people.

Second, folks see us as going beyond our doors. Whether it’s making PBJ lunches for unhoused kids going to school, collecting sleeping bags for our friends living outside or doing Trunk or Treat for the neighborhood kiddos, we believe that you “Do church” you don’t just go to church.

And lastly, we have fun on Sundays. I was a stand up comic for 26 years before being a pastor, much of that time in L.A. We get that the sacred doesn’t have to be somber. I think that fun is contagious.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What others have found interesting in the past is that this is my second career and going from that path to my current one has not been what many would call, “the norm”.

I started off bartending in Detroit, my hometown. After getting my undergrad degree, I moved to L.A. and, after bartending there for a short time started doing stand-up full time. I worked in radio, television and film, but my first love was comedy. I was the house Emcee at the IMPROV in Hollywood (the other Emcee was Judd Apatow) and was able to land a gig as a contract writer for Jay Leno.

By 24, I had performed in front of more than a million people and was loving it, but after the Northridge earthquake we moved to Orlando where I kept working on the road all over the country.

But something was missing.

After much soul searching we made the decision to move to Denver, Colorado where I could get a Masters and start the ordination process. I was 40.

Since then I started a church in a bar called AfterHours which is still going strong, moved to Aspen where I pastored to Billionaires and ski bums and then got moved to Applewood Valley two years ago and having a blast!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
lol….well my tastes are maybe a bit off center for a pastor. (I WAS a bartender for a long time!)

I would probably start off by taking them to Don’s Mixed Drink in the Cap Hill neighborhood. Dons has been around for north of 70 years and is a great neighborhood bar. I have done both Last Call Christmas at 2am on Christmas Eve there and it was one of the bars we do AfterHours in…it will always be close to my heart.

For food I would probably take them to Tavenetta, some of the best Italian in the City and beyond.

If they were visiting the suburbs, I would take them to White Chocolate Grill in Lone Tree. There are only three in the country and besides having great food their whiskey list is more than 200 and rivals most big cities.

If it was summer, we would rent a pontoon boat on Chatfield Reservoir and go tooling around the water and soak in the Mountain View’s and sunshine.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’m really thankful for the team we have in place at Applewood Valley. Our music director Scott Finlay is not only our Music Director, he is also President and CEO of Central City Opera so he always has his hands full! Darcy Wood is our Director of Programing and outreach as well as being a teacher nearly full time! Rounding out our team is Thomas Bannister, our Office lead that keeps the joint running and keeping the place clean is Whit Stubbs. That’s the whole staff. Add to that dozens of volunteers and we keep the place humming along pretty good. We have just over 300 member, 60 of which have joined in the last year and a half and we could be more thankful! They are what makes Applewood what it is.

Website: https://www.applewoodvalleychurch.org

Facebook: Applewood Valley UMC

Youtube: Applewood Valley UMC

Image Credits
Headshot – Amanda Tipton

Scott and Jerry – Darcy Wood

Outside of church – Jerry Herships

Improv – Laura Herships