Pastor leads growing church, changing lives
Lead pastor at Journey Church, Scotty Priest, at a Sunday service in September, announcing his book One Thousand Days.
The story of Scotty Priest, lead pastor at Journey Church, starts in a nondescript suburb south of Atlanta in 1975. At age 16, a girl invited him to church, where he first heard the message of Jesus and became a Christian, and the trajectory of his life was changed. Scotty’s life as a pastor began by first helping his fellow high school students find faith. Today, he leads one of the fastest growing churches in our area.
Scotty attended the University of West Georgia and earned a double major in psychology and sociology with a minor in philosophy.
Scotty and his wife, Amy, met in high school where they fell in love, married and settled in Georgia with their two young children, Maddy and Micah. In 2006, Scotty was invited to fill a vacant spot as a lead pastor at a church in Highlands Ranch. After visiting, the Priests felt the call to move to Colorado. The first Journey Church location was held in a hotel ballroom and eventually it moved to a strip mall on Holly Street. In 2015, Journey Church bought and built the church facility on Clydesdale Road. Two additional locations have been added in Lone Tree and Parker.
To hear Scotty preach is to hear a man resolute in direction, steeped in his faith, a teacher who inspires, with deep biblical knowledge and humor. Stay with him long enough and much of what you have believed may be reshaped, revised or clarified.
“God works in the mundane, not miracles,” Scotty said. “Be the tortoise, not the hare. Change your habits for the better through Him.”
Today, HOA2 neighbors Scotty and Amy are enjoying the next phase of life. Daughter Maddy is pursuing a graduate degree at the University of Arkansas, and son Micah leads Journey’s programs for middle and high school students. Micah and his wife, Britney, have two daughters, Collins and Blair.
Scotty and Amy, both 51, are extremely close, enjoying similar pastimes. Both work out regularly, sometimes twice daily, including long walks. They enjoy watching college football and the Denver Broncos. When vacation time appears, they travel whenever they can, especially enjoying beaches––the Florida panhandle in particular.
In September, Scotty released a book entitled One Thousand Days. Viewing life through a holistic lens, the book is a timely treatise about positive change that can happen in small steps every day. The back of the self-help book sums it up: “The next 1,000 days will pass whether you make them count or not. The question is, what will you become when they’re gone? Your life is shaped by what you do daily.” In other words, according to Scotty, “Consistency is a superpower.”
The book is free and can be picked up at any of Journey’s locations or can be downloaded at journeycolorado.com.
Scotty, Amy, Britney and Micah Priest and granddaughters, Collins and Blair.
By Joe Gschwendtner; photos courtesy of Journey Church and Scotty Priest
