Isaac and Jaime Olivarez — Colorado, USA
DENVER, COLORADO, USA — Isaac and Jaime are missionaries to the inner city people of downtown Denver. In 2012 they created Urban Outreach Denver, a non-profit organization that was designed to help them start a church in the heart of the city. The goal was to give the hurting, the homeless, and the broken a church of their own. They began meeting people and ministering to needs out in the streets, parks, and alleys by distributing food, clothing, hygiene items, and winter warmth in the cold months.
In May 2013, they began hosting meals in a space they had just leased, as a way of bringing together the people whom they had met out in the neighborhood. But the plan was still only in step two of a three-pronged approach (street outreaches lead to shared meals which will launch the church). The hope was to use the meals to build deeper relationships and use that momentum to launch a church that would meet in the same space on Sunday mornings. From May to September, the meals were met with a wonderful response, as nearly 100 people crammed into a tight space for a hot meal, conversation, prayer, and a short message from Scripture. In September, they launched their Sunday service. However, very few of the people who were attending the Thursday meals were attending—despite their gratitude for the outreaches and Thursday meals. Stubborn and naïve, they forged ahead for two years, trying to get those living on the margins in inner city Denver into their Sunday service. Finally, in August 2015, sensing the leading and the courage of the Holy Spirit, they simply canceled the Sunday service. More than anything, it was an acknowledgement and an awareness that they were already having church on Thursday nights! They were a dinner church.
For the past seven years, they have devoted themselves to cultivating community around feeding thousands at the dinner table, while sharing the good news of Christ. How do you reach a city? A neighborhood? A community? One table at a time. They recently reached an amazing milestone by hosting their 300th weekly community dinner!
Each community dinner is marked by the abundance of food — this truly is a feast — which exemplifies the abundance of Christ and who He is. Black table linens, table center pieces and live music add to the richness of the evening. What’s most important about the dinners is the 10-minute Christ story.
"You are more than welcome to join us and see for yourself how God is moving at our weekly community dinners. As we say each week: “We want you to eat as much as you possibly can tonight. We want to roll you out of here. But no matter how much you eat tonight, you’re still going to wake up hungry tomorrow morning! But, the Bible states that if you receive what Jesus has to offer you, you will never hunger nor thirst again!” Pastor Isaac Olivarez
To send a note of encouragement to Isaac and Jaime, click the button below.