Colorado Churches Offering Disaster Relief and the Hope of Jesus

The Alexander Mountain Fire last July didn’t attract national attention like the recent Los Angeles wildfires. But the response in northern Colorado helped spotlight a growing network of Christian disaster relief and social assistance organizations.

Sparked by an arsonist, the fire in the Roosevelt National Forest about 30 miles southwest of Fort Collins burned nearly 10,000 acres over three weeks. It destroyed nearly 30 homes and forced the evacuation of 5,500 residents.

Among those responding to this devastation was Serve 6.8, a regional, inter-denominational ministry that originated at Timberline Church.

The inspiration for the ministry’s unusual name comes from Isaiah 6:8 and Micah 6:8, verses that talk about serving and justice.

Launched in 2012 as a modest outreach to families in the community, today the ministry is a multi-faceted network encompassing food, clothing, and other forms of assistance, and disaster relief.

Because of its work the past 13 years, Serve 6.8 has formed affiliations with Convoy of Hope (COH) and other major Christian relief organizations, says Director Mike J. Walker, 53.

“We coordinate nationally how we’ll respond to various disasters,” Walker says of partnerships with COH, Samaritan’s Purse, and others. “Our region is from Montana to New Mexico; anything that happens in the region we respond first and then call national partners for support.”

Last summer, that meant a lifeline for area residents. After the Alexander fire, the ministry distributed $550,000 in relief supplies and $167,000 in financial assistance to 52 families—all of it raised by Serve 6.8 partners.

In addition, it served 125 families at its church-based disaster resource centers. More than 850 volunteers completed 20 projects for homeowners and built more than 5,000 sandbags to protect neighborhoods from flash flooding after the fire.

For all of 2024, the ministry distributed an additional $3.5 million of resources to approximately 19,000 families in a five-county area around Fort Collins, home to Colorado State University.

This kind of response is possible because of the ministry’s 65 church affiliates covering a 14,000-square-mile area. Serve 6.8 maintains a 15,000-square-foot warehouse in Loveland as a clearing house for donations.

Still, Walker says the heartbeat of the ministry is the resource centers that operate at various times and churches throughout the week. Besides food and clothing, the ministry offers residents career coaching, money management, and a legal aid clinic. And, for those who are interested, an invitation to accept Jesus as their Savior.

“Serve 6.8 remembers the local church is the greatest hope of the world,” says Walker, who left a career in law enforcement to work at Timberline, starting on the facilities team before becoming missions pastor. “Jesus’s church is what everything is built on.”

Dary R. Northrop, senior pastor of Timberline, says the director is one reason the ministry “took off” following Walker directing far-reaching disaster relief efforts after a huge fire and then flooding in 2012. After the flood, Timberline served as an evacuation center, setting up beds in its auditorium and offering meals and spiritual counseling.

Not only does Walker have a knack for organizing disaster relief, establishing a separate nonprofit organization to oversee everything encouraged other churches to participate, the pastor says.

“It’s been a joy to see so many of our friends get involved,” says Northrup, 66. “The big thing about this ministry is you get to serve with other people who care about injustice and helping others. That spirit has certainly grown in our church. Our main theme for everything we do is: ‘Let love live.’”

Serve 6.8 operates with a lean staff: eight employees and two part-timers. It also features an international flavor, says Walker, a U.S. missions associate with Intercultural Ministries who trains volunteers working with resource centers and the “Navigators” who do career and job coaching.

Ironically, Cody M. Van Pelt, 49, and wife Emily had gone to the Dominican Republic in 2021 as missionary associates with AGWM before having to return because of health issues. After they relocated, Van Pelt contacted Walker to discuss starting an outreach in Greeley.

That led to the Van Pelts becoming missions associates with U.S. Missions and establishing a resource center in Greeley; over the past three years they have helped boost the overall number from two to nine.

“Greeley is about 60 percent Hispanic and so I use my Spanish more at Serve 6.8 resource centers on some days than I did in the Dominican,” Van Pelt says. “About 70 percent of the volunteers at the centers are from Hispanic backgrounds.

“I’ve seen a lot of people from different backgrounds, churched and unchurched, come together and make a difference in the community and individuals’ lives,” Van Pelt adds. “We’ve seen hurting people come in and speak to one of our navigators when they had nowhere to turn and we’ve been able to help them.”

Walker says the greatest thing he’s seen God do through Serve 6.8 is forging unity in the body of Christ.

“We’ve been able to achieve a structural framework that allows multiple Jesus-loving churches to move in their communities,” the director says. “We’re engaging churches with the largest needs and synergizing their strengths. That then allows us to have a huge voice at the table.”