Pastor from Colorado finds a lot to like about the South

DUDLEY — Greeley, Colorado, is about 50 miles north of Denver. It’s a half-hour drive from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and its population is well over 100,000. In other words, it is a world away from Dudley, not just in terms of distance, but also in terms of culture, and one local pastor is navigating those cultural differences since relocating here from Greeley, with his young family, almost four months ago.

Pastor Jeffrey Hendrick began working as the Creative Arts Pastor at The Bridge Church, on O’Berry Road, in November, and he and his wife, Marissa, along with their four sons (ages 7 to 1) settled on a farm in nearby Beautancus. Sure, there have been a few adjustments — Hendrick admits to struggling, at first, to understand some of the deep Southern accents he encountered, and he’s still on-the-fence about vinegar-based barbecue sauce — but all indications are that he’s found the right fit both personally and professionally.

In Colorado, prior to entering the ministry, Hendrick was a studio engineer, with a talent for playing several instruments: drums, acoustic and electric guitar, bass, and keyboards. Music was central to his life then, and it continues to be central to his life now — and at The Bridge, he’s found he’s in good company. On a typical Sunday, he joins seven or so other musicians and vocalists onstage, performing contemporary Christian songs, and, while he acknowledges that there is some controversy in churches regarding an emphasis on quality (after all, shouldn’t anyone, regardless of ability, be welcome to join the church choir?), he says that at The Bridge, their striving for high quality is a way of honoring God, noting, “It’s a pursuit of excellence because of who God is.”

As Creative Arts Pastor, he also finds many other ways to express his artistic sensibilities, saying, “My job is all about making it as easy as possible for people to connect with God in worship, and that’s everything from sermon slides to video backgrounds to stage design.” When it comes to stage design and lighting, he stresses that he is one of several people on a team responsible for this.

Of course, as a pastor new to the area, one of his top priorities is getting to know members of the congregation, and one way he is doing this is by meeting with different folks each week for lunch at various local restaurants. These lunches have the added benefit of introducing him to new foods—or foods that are prepared differently than he was used to. Take meatloaf, for example. In Colorado, meatloaf is “considered gross,” he says, whereas here, “It is a special, special thing…and for good reason; it’s really good.”

Other foods that he’d either never tried before or that have moved up in his estimation because of how they’re prepared here include: chicken and pastry, red hot dogs, collards, and okra.

And, of course, there’s Eastern-style barbecue. “I don’t know how I feel about the vinegar sauce…I mean, I think I like it, but it’s definitely different.” He is certain of one thing: “I love hushpuppies.”

Along those same lines, Hendrick and his family are enjoying the farm-fresh meat produced by one of their church members. “Being in an agricultural community…you have access to things that you just never knew you were missing out on,” he says. “I will speak for my wife and everybody else…you compare it with store-bought, it’s not in the same realm.”

While the local food gets high marks from Hendrick, it comes in a distant second to what he appreciates most about his new home: “Southern hospitality is a thing,” he says. “And when you bring your family into a place where people are just kind by default, it’s powerful.

“We have basically an open-door policy with our neighbors,” he adds, noting that his neighbors also attend The Bridge.

In the church, Southern hospitality is on full display. “You could have a problem at 2 a.m., you could let one person know, and you’d have a group of people trying to help, without there being a huge appeal,” he says. “This church is healthy, because everybody serves one another that way, the way that we see in the Bible…And when you have everybody interested in each other’s lives and giving without care of what they get in return, it’s a very special thing.”

Besides its innate hospitality, something else the South is commonly known for is its tendency toward moving at a slower pace than our neighbors in other parts of the U.S., and Hendrick has found this to be true. In Colorado, if he was scheduled to meet with someone for 30 minutes, he could generally count on the meeting lasting, well, 30 minutes. Here, he’s learned that most meetings tend to be much more open-ended, and that a proposed one-hour meeting will often turn into two — or more. This is not, however, something he views in a negative light. Instead, it has helped him “learn to appreciate being in the moment,” he says, adding, “People are very generous with their time, and I think they expect the same.”

When he and his wife decided to leave the church in Colorado where Hendrick had pastored for 10 years, they specifically knew they wanted to come to the East Coast. Early in the search process, they found themselves looking at two enticing, but very different, opportunities: Dudley and Boston. Boston offered a higher salary, but it also offered a much higher cost of living. “If there was a place more expensive than Colorado, it would be Boston,” Hendrick notes.

So, Dudley’s attractive cost of living gave the small, rural area the edge. But, the deciding factor was that “it was a better heart fit,” explains Hendrick. He notes that in many vocations, criteria like salary and benefits often tend to be of utmost importance, whereas in the ministry, “it’s definitely, where does God want me to be?” And God made it clear to Hendrick “and very clear to my wife,” he laughs, that Dudley is where they should be.

As excited as they were to come here, the move wasn’t without its difficulties: They left behind a church family with whom they’d grown very close; moreover, they left behind their immediate families—both Hendrick’s and his wife’s parents, as well as his 102-year-old grandmother. Leaving them, he says, is “the thing that will probably always be hard.” Meanwhile, Southern hospitality and hushpuppies help keep him focused on the new family and the new life he’s building here.

The Bridge is located at 230 O’Berry Road. For more information, go to the church’s website (bridgechurch.cc) or Facebook page.