CHURCH PLANT IMPACTS THE CITY OF SUPERIOR, COLORADO
by Andy Williams
Church planter Kevin Colon has only one thing hanging on his office wall.
The lone framed item is a proclamation from the City of Superior, Colorado, and Colon displays it as a constant reminder of how he wants Cool River Church to be known in the upscale suburb of Denver. "It's my trophy," said Colon, who moved to Superior three years ago to start Cool River.
The proclamation, presented to Colon by the mayor during a town Board meeting, thanks Cool River for its service to the community in very legal, "whereas" language. It concludes by encouraging "all the people of Superior to adopt the spirit of volunteerism" that Cool River has shown.
"To me, that's what it's all about," Colon said. "That told me they get it - they understand and know that we are here for the community and not the other way around. Our people know it. The town knows it. The city officials know it. We're here to serve them any way we can, and they have no doubt about that now."
In a spiritually hostile environment where people often see churches as self-absorbed or condemning, Colon began laying the groundwork to break the mold when he and his wife Amy moved to Superior three years ago.
Kevin shook hands and kissed babies at every town council, Chamber of Commerce meeting and homeowner's association gathering he could find - and always shared the same message.
"Guys would always ask me, 'Why is a pastor at this meeting? Do you want to get in a leadership group?' And I always said, 'Well, not exactly,'" Colon said.
"My answer would always be the same: I love this place, I want to know everything I can about it and the people. And we want to serve it. That's my job, to build an organization that will serve this place."
Kevin told the homeowner's group and the town of Superior to put Cool River Church at the top of the volunteer list for every event those groups sponsored, call him before every event and he would round up as many volunteers as he could. Even when the church was 20 people strong, Cool River had more volunteers at events than any other group.
The Cool River bunch has flipped and served pancakes, helped event vendors take down booths, set up for city concerts and hosted a service booth with water, dog biscuits, sunscreen and first aid. Event organizers now PAY for Cool River's space rental and tent, set it up and provide ice, tubs, etc.
"They're helping us do ministry," Kevin says. "The town has plenty of events. We don't have to create anything."
Colon says all of the rubbing shoulders of community events has drawn people to Cool River's weekly services, and provided countless opportunities for church ministry partners to tell their spiritual stories.
"People ask questions when you serve," he says. "They want to know why we're doing this, and it gives us tons of opportunities to go into our stories. That's just the beginning."
Three years of serving the community - expecting nothing in return, and no strings attached also has given Cool River a very favorable name in the city. "It's all about reputation, respect and trust," Colon says. "We've built that over the last three years, and people know Cool River is not about just their own thing.
"We've been able to break down a lot of perceptions people have about Christians. When people think about us, we believe it's not 'these Christians are inward and they only think about themselves.'" Colon said. "They think, 'That's a group of people working to make our community better.' And they're right."
back to top |
