When the City of Denver, nonprofit partners, and State resources became overwhelmed with the influx of migrants at the beginning of 2023, a representative from the State of Colorado reached out to see if the Church could help to welcome, host, and care for newly arrived migrants.

We responded by producing a collaborative forum to gather the City of Denver, service providers, churches, businesses, and concerned citizens to learn how to engage and support our new neighbors.

The Love Thy Neighbor forum was an insightful discussion as we heard from Shantelle & Chad Mullinik with the West Colfax Lampstand. As well as Juan with Providence Bible & Roberto with Renuevo Church. 

It seemed like an appropriate time for those who had been working diligently on the issue to share and connect, as well as to glean and discern the next steps.

When Roberto and Juan shared their story of working together to serve 70 Venezuelan migrants that had walked through the doors of Renuevo Church, it was apparent that their collaboration was not only unique but possibly a future model for bridging resources to serve the needs of our new neighbors.

We are exploring how to bridge the resource gap and encourage collaborative service models similar to Providence Bible and Renuevo Church.