Team Members

LEADERSHIP

Rev. Cory Young

Bishop Kristin G. Stoneking has appointed Rev. Cory Young as Senior Pastor to Palisade Methodist Church beginning July 1, 2026.

Rev. Young is an Elder and brings experience in multipoint charge leadership. His prior appointment was in Gillette at First United Methodist Church Gillette. Rev. Young is excited to continue the important work of collaboration with the churches of FUMC Grand Junction, Palisade UMC, and Redlands UMC.

Pastor Paul Grossman

Blessings to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! I am Rev. Paul Grossman, but you can always refer to me as Pastor Paul. It is a joy to serve you as the Pastor of Development and Care for Palisade UMC! Before coming to the Grand Valley, I served the good people at Community Federated Church in Thermopolis, Wyoming, and I also previously served as a lay pastor at Hope UMC in Greenwood Village, CO. While originally from Ohio, I have come to love the stunning vistas and landscapes that dot our mountain states and Palisade certainly has no shortage of reminders of our God's beautiful handiwork. Now, I serve here in the valley as the Pastor of Development and Care for Palisade, First, and Redlands UMCs. I attended college here in Colorado, graduating from Metropolitan State University in 2011 with a B.A. in history. I met and married my wife, Caitlin, while in the Denver metro area. I also attended the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, obtaining a Master of Divinity in 2020. That same year, we welcomed our daughter, Sophie, to the family, and it has been a joy being her dad. Just recently, I became a fully ordained elder at the 2024 Annual Conference of the Mountain Sky Conference of the United Methodist Church.

As your Pastor of Development and Care, I work alongside Rev. Rebecca Dunagan to provide meaningful worship and preach biblically grounded messages. In addition, my role means that I serve you uniquely through providing and equipping our churches with pastoral care, discipleship opportunities, and work to empower our laity to share in this work. I hope to see you in worship, and I would love to connect outside of worship as well! Please feel free to reach out to me at pastorpaulg13@gmail.com or my cellphone at 970-549-0952 to connect and schedule a time and place to meet. May the love and grace of our God surround you always!