SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT FOR OUR CHURCH FAMILY
Together with Michael and Lorisa Miller and the UPPERROOM family, we have an exciting announcement that we would like to share with our church family.
In January of 2014, a small group of friends and pioneers were sent to this City to plant our church. Against all odds, they ministered to the Lord morning, noon, and night. Over the years, this spiritual family grew and flourished under the greenhouse of UPPERROOM. Families that had helped plant and establish this community remain to this day, believing for the move of God and the establishing of the Church in the city of Denver.
In 2021, Grace and I were invited to serve as senior pastors of this church in Denver. In these last years together, the Lord began speaking both to Michael and Lorisa Miller and us, that He was doing a new thing. We agreed, as it seemed good to us and to the Holy Spirit that we would begin this new season with a new name.
Let me be clear, there is no conflict. Michael and Lorisa Miller remain the dearest of friends and will continue to serve as part of our church oversight team. There is truly only deep and mutual love and respect for the calling that God has on this church family. This is not a rending of one house into two houses but a sending that the Holy Spirit is leading us into. This isn’t division but a multiplication of His House.
Throughout the scriptures, when God initiates a new season, He often gives a new name to mark that new season. A new name doesn’t mean we are a different people. We carry in us the history that we deeply honor, but we know that we cannot live from memory alone. It’s time to forge a new way forward together with the Holy Spirit.
We are happy to announce that as we move forward, the name of our church is HOUSE Denver.
If you’re wondering if there is some kind of scandal, you simply won’t find it in this beautiful story. It has sadly become rare to hear of churches and ministries operating in peace, unity, and mutual joy when the Holy Spirit initiates a multiplication. But we can attest that the Holy Spirit is at work in this process and all parties are confident this decision is in obedience to the Lord’s leading.
This is most likely the real question you’re asking. Big changes like this can often stir a sense of instability or uncertainty. Your trust is not something we take lightly. We are committed to authentic and integrous leadership throughout this process and always.
While we will no longer bear the same name, we will remain deeply knit in heart and friendship with UPPERROOM.
Michael and Lorisa Miller, founding pastors of UPPERROOM Dallas will serve as a part of HOUSE Denver’s oversight team.
No. We did not anticipate a name change when we first stepped in as pastors. But over the course of the last 2 years, the Lord began speaking. Not in loud shouts or whirlwind oracles, but in whispers. And we began to pay attention. When the Lord begins to speak and move, there is wisdom in not immediately acting on it. “Mary pondered these things in her heart” (Luke 2:19) God doesn’t always have to shout or lift His voice. Leaders must learn to hear His whispers and a lot of this process was about learning that. We felt the invitation to hear and simply obey, even when there wasn’t a loud prophetic swirl to explain it.
Yes, He has. So often, we assume the word of the Lord comes in a shout, or some sort of technicolor dream but He also speaks to His leaders in whispers. That’s honestly what we responded to. There was a mutual peace, recognition, and grace on the Millers and on us to move forward in this new season with a new name. “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us...” (Acts 15:28)
Yes. Faith always looks a little crazy. If you don’t feel like you’re taking a risk, are you really walking in faith? People are going to misunderstand, they will even think you are foolish at times, but walking by faith is the joy and adventure of friendship with God! We want our church family to walk in courageous faith, a walk of faith that others might call foolish, but God calls pleasing.
And No. We are not crazy. How do we know? Because “unless the Lord builds the house, they who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1) He is driving the bus. He is leading His church. We are going to be ok, more than ok.
Our connection to UPPERROOM is not primarily to an organization, a platform or even to a church network out of Dallas, TX. Our relationship and commitment has always been with, through and for Michael and Lorisa Miller. The leaders they are becoming are rare and beautiful in the earth. We are honored to run with them, and we are 100% committed to championing the calling and vision the Lord placed in them.
A name change is a beginning of new purpose. It’s a sign of a new beginning. Just like a bride when she gets married and takes on a new name, it takes a minute to get used to. A bride will practice writing her name and it might feel unfamiliar and different at first, but at the same time, there is much joy, excitement and love intermingled throughout that transition period. We know it will take a minute to get used to the new name, but we are confident that the Lord is building and leading. The best is ahead.
Our church is receiving a new beginning. Our invitation is not to cling to what was, or how we’ve always done it in the past. The invitation is to live apostolically – to live the way we do inside our dreams. There are promises, ministries, breakthroughs, and victories ahead that God has for us. For THIS house. In THIS city. In THIS generation. The invitation for our church family is to a deeper intimacy, a more profound humility, and a more courageous lean into the grace and tenderness of God in this season as He unfolds the vision and purpose in His heart for us.
We remain a church deeply called and committed to building the Lord a resting place in our city. The prayer room will always remain at our core. We will preach the Word and consistently call this church family to lifestyles of wholehearted devotion to Jesus, intentional community centered around the Word of God, and missional purpose fueled by the Holy Spirit.
The mention of the word HOUSE is prominent throughout Scripture. It is the depiction of the dwelling place of God as well as His heart for how His church would operate. In the New Testament Greek, the word used for house is “OIKOS”, which is often translated as “House, home, family”. This is the heart of why we call our church HOUSE, to be a place of belonging, nurture, discipleship, and family for the people of God in our city. But first and foremost, our desire is to answer the longing we see in God’s heart throughout Scripture. We desire to be a resting place for God. His HOUSE.
Thus says the LORD: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build for Me? Where is the place of My rest?” Isaiah 66:1