Pure Scum

Mike Sares, Reese Roper

When the band Five Iron Frenzy started a Bible study, little did they know it would morph into a unique church led by pastor Mike Sares. Before he was hoodwinked by the Holy Spirit into working at Scum, Sares served in many roles, including young adult and singles pastor, advertising account executive, salesman, steelworker and high school English teacher. He's been pursuing an M.Div. from Denver Seminary for over a decade now. Sares' denominationally varied pedigree began with growing up Greek Orthodox (very Greek Orthodox). When his dad remarried he began attending a Presbyterian church every other week and came to Christ through the para-church organization Young Life. He spent eight years in a charismatic church, sent his children into a Lutheran School for a time, was on staff at a Presbyterian Church (PCUSA). He's ordained in a small fellowship of churches called The Alliance for Renewal Churches, headquartered in Mansfield Ohio. Sares brings his eclectic experience to bear as the senior pastor of an eclectic congregation of artists, punks, skaters, ravers, homeless people and other outcasts at Scum of the Earth Church in Denver, Colorado. To find out more, check out their website at scumoftheearth.net.