Welcome to Farnmore, Colorado.
I am Lynn Rollins, and today I'm welcoming on the set with me, Eric Morning.
Welcome.
Well, thank you very much.
Happy to be here.
Oh, good.
So, you know, we're just going to be excited and hear about the things that you're doing
in the community today because it is making a difference.
Now, your community event is called APOS, right?
Yep.
It is.
What does that mean?
And could you tell us a little more about it?
Absolutely, Lynn.
APOS, which is spelled A-P-O-S, stands for a place of shelter.
And the purpose of it is to provide the city with an alternative, a faith-based alternative
to the city's typical nightlife.
And what we mean by that is if you're looking for something fun to do where you don't necessarily
have to be around an environment that reminds you of things that you've done when you were
younger, dancing in the club, you were in the club, weren't you, Sister Lynn?
I don't know.
Yeah, I did my time in the club.
Okay, you were in the club?
I was in the club, too.
And so coming out of the club, but then also wanting to still have fun, but do so in a
way that is glorifying unto God, that is the mission and the purpose of APOS is to allow
people to still have a good time without those morally compromising elements.
Okay.
So your goal is to, like you said, make it fun and to make it open for everyone, no matter
where you are in the community, they can come out and enjoy whether they go to church
or not.
They're welcome, correct?
Yeah.
Yeah, that's true.
It has a community focus.
And so we are a community-based establishment, which means that we have a heart for everyone
in the community.
So whether you are of the faith in which this ministry was founded or not, you are still
welcome to participate in any of the activities that we offer.
It's an open door.
Absolutely.
So come on in.
Yeah, it is.
Well, with that, how did you, I want to know more about you because you're active in the
community as well.
So tell me more about yourself.
Sure.
So I was born in Denver, Colorado.
You're a native.
I'm a native.
Okay.
It's true.
And I lived here for most of my life until I went away for college for a couple years.
Went over to Zinia, Ohio, Wilbur Forest University, spent some time there and then came back here.
And I've been here ever since.
So that's where I've been.
Just recently got married last year.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Very excited about that.
My wife definitely helps to support me in these ministry endeavors as well.
Okay.
So that's awesome.
So how are you helping to change Colorado?
Being with the tense world environment today that young adults are living in, I mean, everyone's
living in, how are you helping to make a change here in the state of Colorado?
Helping to make a change.
So we hope that with every event that we sponsor, every event that we host, because even though
they're all very similar, there are differences from event to the next one.
And so we're hoping that we're basically meeting a need each time.
And so we think about it.
We meet as a group.
APOS is myself and five other members.
So we come together as a group and we talk through things.
We pray through things.
We wait for the Lord to lead us in a direction.
And then we go out and put things together and try to meet the need that we feel the
Lord is having us to focus on.
When we put together an event, we do have a certain demographic in mind.
Basically an aim or a target.
So in 2015, we had a family skate night, for example.
So we partnered with Skate City.
We had a great time there.
It was family night.
So you saw mothers.
You saw fathers.
You saw children.
You saw children.
So what age children?
The children that were there, they were all, I would say, middle schoolish was the majority
of that.
So your 11, 12, 13, 14-year-olds were there.
But then there were some that were a little younger than that.
People brought their little brothers and sisters and then even a couple of the older
ones as well.
So they were all welcome.
But I would say that would be the center for that particular event.
We also had a teen testimony night.
Now, that was centered on high schoolers, which would be about 13 to 17.
And that was just amazing.
People came there, and they did what it kind of sounds like.
They shared their testimony as to what God's done in their life, and it was people who
were sharing what God did for them, to other people, also their age, wondering about what
it looks like to have some sort of relationship with God, or to how do I get through this
tough, difficult period.
And that was well received by everyone in attendance.
It was.
It was good.
It was well received by not only the participants, but their parents.
It was also received well by the people who heard about it.
So they were curious and wanted to know when we were going to have the next one.
Then earlier this year, actually, sorry, in the last year, we had a Christian karaoke
night where everyone was welcome to come in and sing their favorite song.
Oh, yeah.
I was there.
That was my second.
That was the place that you were at, and that ranged even higher in age, I would say.
So there were people who were in their 20s, and 30s, and 40s who were just having a good
time singing and watching other people embarrass themselves singing karaoke.
And it was all kinds of songs, too.
Yeah.
So it was definitely, it ranged, it was all Christian music, but it did range in terms
of what kind of Christian music was there.
So we had old, old stuff, like Mahalia Jackson old, all the way up to Travis Green or something
like that.
Oh, yeah.
Okay.
That's what I mean by that.
So we do have something for everyone.
The one that we're working on right now does center on the elders of our community.
Because we just feel like there's not enough for people to do of a certain age.
To get to a certain age, and just kind of stop getting talked about.
So APOS is hoping to provide an environment where they can come in and also have fun.
It's going to be a talent show.
A talent show?
It is going to be a talent show, so your 80, 90 plus year olds can come in there and
show us what they can do, show us their talents, their gifts, the things of interest.
Just have a good time, 100% free, open to all members of the community.
Okay.
So Eric, I heard you had a thank you event, could you elaborate more to our listeners?
Yeah, APOS did host sort of an appreciation banquet for everyone that supported us up
until that point.
So that was at the end of 2015.
So everyone that came out and said, you know what, we'll sing at your event, we'll play
music at your event, we'll give money to your event, we'll minister at your event,
we'll do security for your event, we'll take numbers, anybody that participated, we just
had sort of an appreciation, sort of a thank you, a welcome ceremony and it was amazing.
So a really good turnout, we were able to give some public recognition and we enjoyed
doing those kind of things, so we don't take for granted anyone that supports us.
So this show as well, we are very excited to be here.
So you guys will be at the next one, you'll be at the next appreciation banquet as well.
And I'll just take this opportunity also to point out some of the other events that we've
done.
So we've done a total of, let's see, four, five, six events in the last two years.
And what we've done is we sort of alternated.
So there would be like a skate party, as I mentioned, and then I said there was a team
testimony where in between those very specific focused events, we'll have just sort of a
general event, okay, to just come and listen to the music and come and just be sociable
with each other.
And then maybe...
Is that with your team?
With APOS, this is still all APOS, still all community events, but just kind of giving
a broader picture, hopefully, of all the different things that you might experience.
So if you start a year with us and you just come to every single thing that we offer throughout
the year, you're going to get a lot of variety along the way.
How do you keep the balance in the work assignments you do and, you know, work and ministry, family?
You're very busy.
How do you keep a balance?
Oh, yeah.
I don't know how we do it.
I don't know.
I think the key to it is really waiting to establish a priority list based on the urgency.
So my pastor always says that there's the urgency of now.
So there are some things that we set out to do in 2017 that we think can't wait until
2018, or maybe we'll do some things at the end of this year that can't wait until the
end of next year.
So those things come first, and then everything else just kind of comes down after that.
Kind of comes in line with that.
That's correct.
Okay, well, that's exciting.
And if you think about APOS, a place of shelter, how is that making our community stronger?
How is APOS helping the community?
I know we talked about that a little earlier, but I want to know how it's, you know, strengthening
the community.
Sure.
So think about it this way.
Have you ever been to the YMCA before?
Yeah.
It's a rec center, but it's so much more, right?
There's so many things that happen there, or the Boys and Girls Club, or different things
that have become...
Salvation Army.
Salvation Army, right, exactly, that have become fixtures in the community that stand
out as sort of a positive impact, has a positive impact on the community.
And APOS, I think, has a similar agenda or goal.
It absolutely does, because I remember growing up the Salvation Army.
They, no one questioned their name.
They were like, what do you have to give me?
How can you help me?
Right?
And you have that same focus.
That's good.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Every time we have an event, people come in, and the majority of them are just young
people looking for something to do.
And so we welcome whoever comes in through that door, and a lot of them stay, whether
they have a religious stance or not.
Okay.
I think about that with that answer.
So if I'm a young person, and I go to high school, I play sports, I love my music, things
like that, am I going to be bombarded with tracks, and someone trying to really do that
type of thing to me, or is it just a fun environment?
So APOS is definitely not a church.
It's not.
We're not a church.
We don't intend to be.
All right.
And that's not the assignment.
Every member of APOS does have a church home that we go to, and we have that environment
already pre-established for us to enjoy.
It's a love environment, is what I'm getting.
But with APOS, it's a little bit separate.
It's different from that.
So no, to answer your question, we're not trying to trick anyone into becoming a Christian
or to coming to church on Sunday.
What we're doing, what we're doing again is just to, for those who are looking for something
to do that isn't necessarily, put you in that place of where you're feeling tested or where
you're feeling like.
What do you mean by the testing?
Sure.
So let's say that you are a person that used to love to drink alcohol, and now you want
to stop drinking alcohol, but the only place that you can go to have fun are clubs that
serve alcohol.
Alcohol.
That's right.
But at APOS.
So you can come there and not worry about that impeding factor.
You can come there and avoid it, but still have fun, but still have the social element.
Still dance with people, hear music.
There's dancing.
There's dancing.
There's dancing.
There's lots of dancing.
There was a dance contest last year, and young people were just kind of like trying to outdo
each other.
Yeah.
That's awesome.
With the songs that they heard.
Yeah.
So a lot of healthy environment, a strong foundation for the community for us.
Free for the city.
Yep.
This is awesome.
I'm so glad that you came to talk with us today.
Sure.
Now, the one time I did visit, no, I did.
Twice.
You came twice?
Yeah.
I've come twice, see.
And keep coming back and planning to come some more, because I had awesome time.
I had fun.
There were free snacks, you know, I don't know too many places that give you things free
like that.
And free admission.
We never charge to get in.
That's true.
You just slipped right in, and you're welcome as well, but you know, I didn't know what
to expect.
The first time, I'm going back to the very first time I came, my husband said, we're
going to hear his support, Eric, and I said, okay, and you know, that was good enough for
me.
So I really didn't know what to expect, which I'm glad of that, because just going out in
the community, it was at the TREA, and I was familiar with that location, so I didn't know
what to expect.
I was greeted with warm people, you know, just people that said hi to me, and they didn't
tell me where I had to sit, they didn't tell me you need to do this or that.
I was just free to come in and sit down, I was taking in the environment, but I have
to say, I was really enjoying myself.
And I saw all the young people coming in of all nationalities, and they were coming in
groups, I mean groups of people, and I was like this is so awesome.
So I just want to ask you, what's the most challenging part of running APOS as an alternative?
Challenging piece, the most challenging piece is probably funding, at least up to this point.
So we recently received our non-profit status, our 501C3, so we're looking forward to more
support in that area moving forward, but up until this point, that's been a really big
challenge is just keeping things paid for, keeping the expenses covered, and then socially
I would say is some of what you spoke about a minute ago where you said, I'm just not
quite sure what to expect, so there's a stigmatism or maybe an apprehension, not knowing what
this is.
If I say that I'm going to the club, I kind of know what that means, if I say I'm going
to church, I kind of know what that means, and people hear about this sort of this new
idea, and people aren't sure what to expect, and that can make people either feel very
excited to go and see what it's all about, or that can make a person feel apprehensive
and not want to see what it's about, because of whatever they assume that it might be about.
And so I think that's been a challenge for us to work through as well, but what we've
done is seen a lot of the community just kind of turn the corner, and just kind of shift
in our direction, and that's been very encouraging as well.
That is.
What kind of feedback are you getting from the people that attend?
Those that have attended, it's been majority positive, I mean I don't want to say all positive,
but that's really the first thought that came to mind is we haven't really heard anything
negative.
There have been small critiques like, oh well maybe next time think about this food option,
or maybe next time you can start at this time and end at this time, so there's been some
logistical things that people have recommended, but there hasn't been any overbearing negative
response whatsoever.
It's all been very encouraging, so those who have come, they've had a good time, they've
said that they've had a good time, they've told others, they've posted it on social media
and said, you know, APOS, this is a thing to be involved in.
So they can even go to social media and kind of get an idea of what APOS is about.
APOS does have a Facebook page, APOS has a website, we have email address as well, and
I think that we'll be able to list that at the end of the show I believe.
Okay, yes, so you'll want to definitely look for the contact information so that you can
learn more about APOS because we're so limited on time.
Are you expecting to add additional locations for APOS?
Because I understand in the future you told me that it's a traveling community ministry.
Sure, so yeah, we are definitely a traveling ministry right now.
So we go from space to space, again, wherever we see an opportunity or we feel that there's
a need, but moving forward, we want to only expand that.
So we've been mainly in Denver and Aurora, Colorado, but we would hope to go to Boulder,
Colorado, or Commerce City, Colorado, or Farmore, Colorado, and Establish.
Well, you're here, welcome, my dear.
And then put up an APOS event there.
And then in addition to that, we do hope to have sort of a headquarters, so we're just
kind of trusting God for that as well, that He'll give us a building, a stationary place
that we can call home, but yet still go out and continue to go out into the community
as long as there's a need, we hope to meet.
Is there anything else you'd like to close and say?
Really just taking this opportunity to thank everyone that has supported APOS, there have
been many, many different groups and businesses and organizations that have volunteered their
time or their resources.
In the secular as well.
Absolutely.
So there's been King Supers and Walmart, Jamba Juice, the Tria, the place that you came to,
they donated so many things unexpectedly.
And then we have some internal partnerships as well for people who just who have their
own businesses, own ministries, their own ideas that have just wanted to support APOS.
So there's DB Media, there's YMOP, there's Balance for Women Colorado, there's 5280,
there's just so many different people that have just stopped by and said we want to support,
we want to help you.
So thank you to those people, yes.
Well you are very active in the community, I want to thank you personally and for coming
on with us today and sharing about APOS because a place of safety, a shelter, excuse me, which
is a place of safety.
It's a synonymous, those that work too.
Exactly.
And so I would encourage everyone that is enjoying this time that we've had listening with you
to contact you with any other additional questions that maybe you could have spawned on.
But thank you for reaching out to the community for young adults.
Yes.
It is so needed.
And not just young adults, adults are welcome because I'm not, I mean I just had a wonderful
time, the time I went.
So thank you Eric Morning for sharing with us about APOS and thank you for watching Farm
More Colorado.
Farm More Colorado is a public affairs interview program highlighting people of interest to
Coloradans.
The program has guests from our state government and we also feature a wide variety of other
guests who are making a difference here in Colorado.
