George Saylor
Lead Pastor
George grew up in western Pennsylvania and served as a campus minister in that area for many years following college. He pastored his first church in North Carolina and then planted a church in London, Ontario. (Yes, there is a London in Canada!) In 2014 he fulfilled his lifelong dream and moved to Colorado. In September 2018 George led the launch of Connections Church in Highlands Ranch.
In addition to his role in the church, George has a passion for serving the community. He serves on the Board of the Douglas County Winter Shelter Network, coaches mountain biking at Columbine High School, and teaches rock climbing classes with Foothills Parks and Rec.
George and his wife Robin have 3 children, Eden (married to Thomas Stiles, not pictured here), Karis, and Justin, and a dog named Indy that they adopted on a mission trip to New Mexico. George will drop just about anything to go biking or skiing. (No really, he will. Call him. Please.)
George holds an undergraduate degree in Environmental Science, a Master of Arts in Higher Education, and a Master of Divinity.
Ruth Folkerts
Associate Pastor
Ruth is originally from Binjai, Indonesia, which is located on the northern part of the island of Sumatra, the sixth largest island in the world! After she finished high school she moved to Taiwan, learned Mandarin, and earned her bachelor’s degree in Animal Science. After graduating, she decided to go to seminary in response to God’s call that she got at age 18. During her second year at the Conservative Baptist Seminary in Taiwan, she transferred to Denver Seminary in 2006 where she finished her Master of Divinity and Master of Biblical Studies in the Old Testament. She was ordained by the Christian Reformed Church in North America in October 2013.
Prior to coming to Connections Church, she served as an Associate Pastor, Outreach Director, Office Manager, and Business Owner. Above all, she is very passionate about evangelism. Besides serving at Connections Church, Ruth is happily doing the outreach ministry for Chinese students, young adults, and immigrants
Ruth and her husband Kyle were married in 2014. Currently, they have two international students from China who live with them. They are the proud parents of Spunky the cat, an orange tabby.
If you would like to find a good listener, contact Ruth, she will be more than happy to listen over coffee and delicious food.
Kim Crane
Administrative Director
Kim is Connections Church Administrative Office Manager. She is the first one you meet when you come through the doors and will help you with whatever you need, or guide you to the right person. When asked recently about what she does, she smiled and said, “Whatever no one else does!” We are very appreciative for all she does for Connections Church.
Kim and her husband have 3 adult sons, a daughter-in-law and one grandson. Kim enjoys spending time with her family, reading, skiing, gardening, crafting and just about anything adventurous outdoors.
Paul Park
Children's Pastor
We are very excited to have Paul, his wife Ahnna, and their two children, Maddie (5) and Ryder (2) here at Connections. There are a few things you should know about Paul.
Paul grew up in South Korea and moved to the Philippines after finishing university where he finished his Masters in Divinity and did missions work for several years. Seven years ago Paul moved to Denver and married Ahnna, who is an ordained pastor in the Christian Reformed Church (CRCNA) and works at Denver Seminary. Paul recently finished his Ecclesiastical Program for Ministry Candidates (EPMC) with the CRCNA. Together Ahnna and Paul have served the Korean Church in Denver for many years.
Pauls writes,
“We are excited to know Connections Church. I have a dream of childrens playing together in the church as God’s family, learning to worship our Father, and becoming disciples who sing to Jesus, our Christ, and growing in spiritual fellowship as we take care of each other in the Holy Spirit.”
Cris Olate
Technical Director
Cris runs the show.
He runs the media, the sound, the livestream, and anything else related to technology. But of course it’s much more than a show. It’s making sure that the worship service can be seen and heard and shared. It’s making sure all the staff have the technology they need to do their job. It’ making sure our kids ministry has all the media elements they need to serve our children.
Cris is married to Sara and they have two boys, Tomas and Mateo. He grew up in Chile. And he loves rugby even though it is a completely insane sport!