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What is the Extreme Community Makeover?

The Extreme Community Makeover is an initiative designed to bring churches and companies in the Denver area into specific neighborhoods throughout Denver in order to assist the residents with identified needs such as painting, yard work, and other home improvement type activities.

Building relationships with those living in these neighborhoods will allow other emotional, physical, and spiritual needs to be met as well, primarily through the efforts of Confluence Ministries serving as a bridge to connect people with community resources that meet those needs.

The initial community that will be served by the Extreme Community Makeover initiative is bounded on the north by Colfax Avenue, on the east by Federal Boulevard, on the south by 6th Avenue, and on the west by Sheridan Boulevard. (See Map Below)

The ECM area of concentration

TWO Parts to the Extreme Community Makeover

             1. OB/OC/OD - One Block/One Church or Company/One Day

  • Starting April 12th, Churches and companies will "adopt a block" within the targeted neighborhood and spend a day helping the residents with needs that have been identified through surveying the residents of that particular block prior to the scheduled "adopt a block" day.  Find out more by going to the Get Involved Page!
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2. Habitat for Humanity Build

  • Starting April 7th, Through a coalition of churches, The "Future Faith Network" (The Next Level Church, Greenwood Community Church, Denver Community Church, and a number of other local churches) is partnering with Habitat for Humanity and building a duplex  for the Mosquera family at 7th and Lowell. (seen below)   Find out more about the Future Faith Network on the Habitat for Humanity site here.

    The Masquera Family

    See how to get involved with this project on the Get Involved Page!

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 -----------The Community Being Served:------------

The "West Cofax" and "Villa Park"communities being served (seen on the map above) contain around 20,000 residents. Here are some additional statistics from "PITON".(PITON website)  

  • 70% Latino Population (roughly- both combined)
  • 25% Non- English Speaking adults (roughly- both combined)
  • 47.55% Birthrate to unwed mothers (Villa Park)
  • 9.4% Crime Rate (West Colfax) and 6.4% Crime Rate (Villa Park)

    • In the last two years this area has been through multiple community-wide tragedies, which is evident from the crime rate seen above.  Most importantly they are in desperate need of Hope. The ECM initiative is facilitated by Confluence Ministries which is located at 1400 Quitman St. in Denver. Confluence and two churches in the area are spearheading both the short term and long term transformation of this community. Although the community is very transitional in nature and has many renters, these three organizations have been very successful in the last 5 years bringing hope in the midst of tragedy. In summary the community is primed for a makeover. They are in need of Hope.

    ------------The Community Serving:------------

    The OB/OC/OD (One Block, One Church or Company, One Day) portion of the ECM initiative consists of multiple churches and organizations immersing themselves in the community one day at a time during the spring and summer months of 2008. These are churches and businesses that have designated a day for volunteering and investing in the community being served. These are Churches that purely want to do the work of Jesus, serving without strings attached, and loving without expectation. The businesses that are serving are those that are looking to make an impact on a larger scale than their business does already, or to compliment the values their business holds toward the community. The sponsors and businesses that may help with supplies are those who see the bigger picture in their service to humanity, and therefore want to contribute.What does OB/OC/OD actually look like?  See the Get Involved Page for a complete explanation.

    -----------Business Model (a brief synopsis):-----------

     The ECM initiative is designed to help compliment the work of those in Denver who are yearning to make an impact through service to those in need.  This initiative provides a way for churches to actually "do" the work of Christ- to serve those in need selflessly.  There is no catch to those in the community who are being served.  The ECM initiative simply provides a way for churches, organizations, and businesses to serve those in the community by "externally" making over the houses visible qualities.  It also gives the general community of Denver a venue to serve those in need in a concentrated fashion.  Because of this, the ECM initiative is being facilitated by Confluence Ministries (an approved 501(c)3), whose purpose is "to help mobilize the church outside the four walls to reach our local and global communities with the love of Christ through practical acts of kindness and sharing. We are committed to serving our cities and communities around the world by coming together as His community of grace extended."  Therefore Confluences natural role in the initiative is to provide accountability through finances, and help facilitate the relationships in the community.

    The responsibility of the residents and those serving to "makeover" their houses is a joint one.  The resident is to help organize and possibly provide for some of the supplies to makeover the property, while the organization is to provide the manpower, and share in the supply load (meaning providing the majority of needed resources to make over the property).  This is evaluated on a case by case basis and left to the descretion of the community serving that particular block and the houses found on that block.  During this process, the ECM leadership team will recruit businesses and sponsors to help with the plethora of needs to help accomplish the overall tasks of the "Community Makeover".

    Long Term Opportunities to Serve/Get Involved

    • Upcoming Habitat builds- www.habitatmetrodenver.org  
    • Whiz Kids Tutoring- www.whizkidstutoring.com
    • Compa Food Bank Ministry- www.compafoodministry.com 
    • Denver Works- www.denverworks.org
    • Your creativity is the only limit! 
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    To connect with these and other organiations please see the Confluence Minstries website at  www.confluenceministries.org







    The Extreme Community Makeover initiative is a coalition of churches and businesses in the Denver area who are working cohesively to transform a specific community. The initiative as a whole is facilitated by Confluence Ministries, an approved 501(c)3 located at 1400 Quitman St. in Denver.  For more information visit www.confluenceministries.org or contact us.