ABOUT
History
We are ONE church committed to ONE mission with ONE people in ONE place for LIFE!
1. We are one church…
In the fall of 2007, a group of believers in Denver began to meet, discuss, and pray about the vision of planting a church in downtown Denver. We rented a room in the basement of a church building at 18th and Broadway and cast the vision to a larger group.
By the summer of 2008, about fifty adults had come together to form this new fellowship. Sunday services and home-based community groups began in the fall of 2008, and a church was born.
Over the following decade, this small basement gathering would grow to a beautiful multicultural, multilingual congregation of over 200 people from 10+ countries while also launching a thriving community non-profit organization called CrossPurpose.
2. Committed…
From the beginning, we have asked people to make a commitment to Christ and his church. The mission is serious. The laborers are few. The obstacles are many. And Jesus only talked about one brand of Christianity – radical commitment! At Providence, our core commitments come out of our identities as believers related to God.
- We Gather throughout the week.
- We Grow through Community Groups.
- We Give to one another.
- We Go into the community.
Every member makes all four commitments as part of our covenant with one another.
3. To one mission…
Providence derives its name from the state motto of Colorado, Nil Sine Numine, which means “Nothing without Providence.” The state founders realized that nothing happens in the land of the Rockies without the hand of God.
We believe this idea has been lost in our state, and we endeavor to be salt & light in our city so that all people, believers and non-believers, will glorify God as the Gospel changes lives.
What is our mission? Our mission is to live as fully loved and devoted followers of Jesus Christ and love our neighbors to do the same.
How do we accomplish this mission? We gather together on Sunday mornings, unite together as a collection of home fellowships during the week, and make disciples of Jesus Christ who make disciples.
4. With one people…
Providence was founded with the intention of being ethnically, generationally, and socio-economically diverse. Our ministry context is diverse in these ways, and we believe it is a testimony to the power of God that people from different races, genders, classes and age groups can gather together as one body.
Though this level of diversity was not seen initially at the beginning, by God’s grace we have grown to see heaven on earth. Immigrants, refugees and transplants from around the globe now call Providence home.
Today, we enjoy the privilege of regularly worshiping together in English, Spanish, Swahili, French, Lingala (and other languages), offering weekly sermons in both English & Spanish, and providing live interpretation of services in Spanish.
5. In one place…
We want to live as agents of change for Christ. But, we’re not really trying to change the world. To be honest, we’re not even trying to change our city. We’d be thrilled to change some neighborhoods… ten of them, to be specific (Globeville, Five Points, Elyria/Swansea,
Whittier, Cole, Skyland, Clayton, North Park Hill, Northeast Park Hill and Commerce City).
While our assembly is comprised of suburban & urban Christians, we are all united behind the mission of claiming Gospel responsibility for the brokenness of our neighborhoods.
Our vision is to see a community restored to wholeness by the grace of God.
Why we chose our “ten”
- It was racially diverse with almost an equal split of Latinos, African-Americans, and Caucasians when we began the ministry.
- It is the historic center of poverty in our city. We have over 50 food banks and only a handful of grocery stores. Almost 10,000 of the 57,000 residents are vulnerable children (born to teen moms or on Free and Reduced School Lunch Program).
- It is a gentrifying area, thus putting the wealthy in close proximity to the poor. However, it is a divided community where most people tend to stay in their comfort zones.
6. For Life!
When we came together as a body, we started talking about a lifetime commitment. In a highly mobile culture, deep relationships are rare. In a poverty-stricken neighborhood, change is hard. In a racially-divided city, trust is developed over time. In a “Facebook friend” culture, true friends are tough to find. In a church-hopping culture, commitment is difficult to maintain.
In humility, we recognize that people are people. Churches are churches. Sin is sin. Grace is grace. Nothing is richer in life than knowing others and being known, loving others and being loved. Good relationships take time to develop, and the best relationships work through difficulties to reach a point of unconditional love and acceptance.