What is Mission Arvada?

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Adults experiencing homelessness in Arvada are invited to the Mission for  hot breakfast and lunch, showers, gently used clothing and shoes, personal care items, laundry service, friendship, and compassion. Our day shelter is open from 9am -1pm Monday through Friday.

Orientation is required in order to enroll the day shelter and benefit from all that Mission Arvada has to offer.  Orientation takes place Monday through Friday at 11:00 am, so long as we are accepting new clients that week.

Enrollment requires clients to follow Arvada's laws and uphold a strict code of conduct in order to maintain access to our services.

Mission Arvada supports the needs of each individual toward a path of sustainability. We  host partnering organizations onsite that provide: 

• Health and dental clinics
• Vital document recovery
• Legal advice
• Employment acquisition
• Behavioral healthcare
• Peer recovery
• Assistance in accessing eligible public benefits (SNAP, Medicaid, Social Security Income, VA benefits, etc.)
• Christian fellowship and prayer

Mission Arvada provides in-depth, individualized, and ongoing case management to help obtain and maintain long-term, stable housing.  Housing navigation is multifaceted, and may  include:

• Intake, resource evaluation, goal-setting
• Enrollment in the Metro Denver Coordinated Entry System for regional housing matches
• Referral for rehab/sober-living
• Support with family reunification
• Support with local housing authority applications for subsidized housing
• Support with housing authority meetings, rental applications, lease process
• Ongoing support for housed clients

The Mission Arvada food pantry provides shelf-stable foods, produce, dairy products, baked goods, and meat to  anyone experiencing food insecurity and residing in Jefferson County.

The food pantry  is open on Saturdays from 9:30 am to 11:30 am . Shoppers line up along 57th Ave starting around 8:00 am, and line numbers are distributed around 8:30 am.  At 9:30, clients are allowed inside several at a time.  It is a self-select model with limits based on family size.

To enroll, new shoppers must wait in line. At their turn, they must provide name, birthdate, address (if housed), phone number, and household count by age.

Mission Arvada is committed to fostering a compassionate, inclusive community that uplifts all of our neighbors - housed and unhoused alike. This includes supporting our local residents, business owners in Olde Town, and those experiencing homelessness.

The  Mission Arvada Ambassador Program (MAAP)  is a volunteer-run street outreach program. MAAP teams walk the streets of Olde Town  before and after Mission Arvada hours to provide  resources to the unhoused community and support good citizenship and cleanliness efforts within Olde Town Arvada.

For general questions or to join as a volunteer please email: arvada.ambassadors@gmail.com

Arvada's Overnight Weather Shelter (AOWS) is hosted at The Rising Church in Olde Town.  A coalition of churches provide volunteer staffing, donated meals, supplies, and financial support. Click here to go to AOWS website.

We open November 1 - March 31 when temperatures are colder than 20°F .

During the 2024-25 season we opened 45 nights, served 277 unique guests, and provided 2,035 instances of warm sleep. 

Mission Arvada is a low-barrier ministry, serving anyone who comes to us for help, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or creed, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, age, national origin, ancestry, income, criminal background, disabling conditions, or military status.

Clients and volunteers are welcome to join the many opportunities for Christian fellowship at Mission Arvada of The Rising Church:

• Sunday Bible Study - 9:00 am
• Sunday Church Service- 10:30 am
• Sunday Men's Discipleship- 3:00 pm 
• Monday Biblical Counseling (for Day Shelter Clients)
•  Tuesday Eternal Recovery - 11:00 am
• Wednesday Biblical Counseling (for Day Shelter Clients)
• Thursday Discipleship Class- 1:00 pm 
•  Thursday Women's Bible Study- 6:30 pm

The majority of our work relies on volunteers and tangible donations of food, clothing, and supplies. However, we do need a stable funding stream to pay for  salaries and operational expenses. 

We have successfully obtained much needed grant funding and private donations for 2025. Even with this success, our total funding is short this year by almost 50%.

Will you consider supporting our ministry? Mission Arvada is a Colorado Gives Foundation non-profit organization, and giving can be done through Colorado Gives year round.

Mission Arvada’s Executive Director is Karen Cowling, a member of The Rising Church who is approved by the congregation and collaborates closely with  Pastor Jarrod Irwin. Mission Arvada’s Assistant Director and part-time Team Lead is Lori Perry-Crumrine. A collaborative team of staff and volunteers support  the  Executive Director, Pastor, and Assistant Director in setting policy and planning for Mission Arvada. Daily operations are overseen by Team Leads, Jaci Lippert, Joe Keller and Donna Schafler. Mission Arvada’s case managers are Berzette Green and Christine Thurston. Mission Arvada's Finance Director is Kieth Cowling, who works with the The Rising's Administrative Council to manage financial accounting, establish the budget, and allocate all expenses to ensure long-term financial health.

Mission Arvada is a ministry of the Arvada Central Baptist Church (dba The Rising) which operates under the Colorado Baptist Convention's 501(c)(3) charitable organization designation.