My Story...

Small Churches | Small Children | Small Budgets...
Imagine this... You are at your church's weekly youth group. You're sitting in a giant youth center which is filled to the brim... everyone is given a trendy t-shirt with the church's logo - 100s of kids are assembling - a Christian band is playing - huge prizes are being given away - and there are more volunteers than you can imagine... yeah, I never experienced that either :)

For Small Congregations...
I live in the reality of a small, modest congregation with limited financial resources. Small churches like mine face the challenge of providing for the basic necessities and are unable to spend hundreds of dollars on purchasing curriculum. There is also (generally speaking) less than a handful of faithful people who volunteer to serve and it is even more difficult to find those qualified for a teaching role. But we don't complain. No, we faithfully study the Word of God and obey it by loving our brothers and sisters, encouraging each other daily and generally create our own resources. One resource I have been given is my time, time to study, create, and teach. I want to use my God given talents and abilities to serve my local church and reach others by sharing the resources I have created. 

My Story...
I was born in Washington DC​ and raised in Maryland. I am the associate pastor of a small Bible church that sits on the boarder of DC and MD. It's a little town called Colmar Manor. You've probably never heard of it - yet I have invested my entire life into witnessing and training the young in the area by teaching them the Word of God. When I tell others about my church's location, I generally get two responses: "Why as a white guy do you have a church in PG county?" or "Wow, you're like a missionary." Nathaniel's words always ring though my mind, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" The Son of God was raised there - and the word of God is preached here. I love Colmar Manor Bible Church - and when I say church I am referring to the people not the building - for the people are the church.

The Storm
When I was 12 years old - my life was changed forever. A large group of rebels (much like the ones in the wilderness wanderings with Moses) were deceived and attempted to overthrow the leadership of my local church. My faithful dad - the pastor - Dr. Ken Burge Sr stood in their way. Just like the wolf in sheep's clothing (that Jesus warned us about) they infiltrated the leadership, and tried their best to overtake the congregation. However, God in His mercy confused their wicked plans, protected the local church, and had the trouble makers removed. As they left they used one of the devils favorite tools - slander. Their lies, slander and viscous attacks left temporary wounds on the church. But what these deceived people intended for evil - God would use for good. After the storm had past - I had lost my friends. As a home schooled kid my socializing was focused on my local church - and now my friends were gone. It was during this time I learned how to lament. The storm had passed - the damage was done - it was now time to get to work.

Filling The Void
There were many voids left at my local church... But nothing that could not be learned. The sound man left - so I learned how to mix and the art of sound engineering. The person who ran the website also left - so I learned how to manage the website and was introduced to graphic design. The youth group had collapsed - so I set out to rebuild it. Most of the praise team had left - so I learned how to play the guitar. All at the tender age of 12. It was at this time I felt the call to ministry - a call I could not resist. 

Learning & Serving
This was a time of learning and fishing. I spent many hours reading on topics ranging from web design, digital art, theology, sound engineering, music theory and more - but my main focus was on studying God's word so I could teach it clearly and accurately. Since the youth group was mostly gone - I needed to fish. So at the age of 13 I would sit outside my church and engage with pre-teens. After a short while I started a Bible study with a few of the kids from Colmar Manor. Over time this grew into Pre-teen Tuesday Night Youth Group.  Although there were many good curriculums out there - I could not afford them - and frankly they did not target my city's demographics. Therefore, I decided to create my own lessons which taught these young adults the word of God. My curriculum is based off the format I used on Tuesday Nights.

As the years progressed - so did my ministry. At the age of 16 I graduated high-school and was attending college. I chose a local community college and then local / online Bible college because my focus was on the local church. It was a busy season. I was leading the growing Pre-Teen Bible Study on Tuesday & had started a gospel centered Pre-Teen Youth Group on Monday nights. On Wednesday nights there was praise group practice & on Friday nights I taught a college and career group - I was the youngest in attendance. On Sundays I would teach the pre-teen Sunday School, lead the praise team, and also taught Jr. Church. I also ran the website - and created all the visuals and graphics that would be used during services. All while being a full time college student. It was a busy time - but I was young, single, and wanted to glorify my God with this life I had been given - so I had the time and energy.

Looking Back & Looking Forward...
A lot has happened since then. I am now a married man with three children. I am the associate pastor at Colmar Manor Bible church. I have cast so many seeds throughout the years. Some of the kids I have worked with have matured into young men and women who faithfully serve our God. I have the privilege of serving alongside a few of them! Others have rejected the Gospel. Some have been killed due to their sinful desires. Most have moved far away from Colmar Manor. But some come back - and all of them know where they will find me - and all those lessons and seeds are somewhere in their memory. I now host a bi-weekly podcast with my dad called, "The Father & Son Pastoral Podcast" which looks at every word Jesus spoke in the New Testament. Like all ministries - there are ebbs and flows, but I am thankful that God has given me the time to create this series for children.

- Pastor Kenny Burge Jr.