On Sunday morning, December 10, 2017, pastor Nirup Alphonse received a surprising early-morning phone call. The truck and trailer that store all of LifeGate Denver’s worship service supplies were gone. Stolen. “We lost everything…sound equipment, tables, T-shirts, nametags…everything,” he says. And how did LifeGate respond to what could have been a tragedy? “We decided to meet anyway. It was one of the most powerful worship services I’ve ever been a part of,” says Nirup. “We literally had NO stuff. A few people played acoustic guitars, and we prayed over the city, prayed forgiveness for the people who did this.”
In the days following the robbery, LifeGate has been blessed beyond imagination, with local churches coming alongside them, donating cash and supplies. What’s more, several local TV and radio stations covered the news. “Suddenly, our story was in front of millions of viewers in the Denver area,” says Nirup. “One reporter shared the news that a local church was stolen. I immediately thought to myself, ‘How do you steal a church? You can’t steal a church!’ We were able to share the message that you can steal our stuff, but you can’t steal our people, our vision, or our joy.”
Through it all, LifeGate has learned that there’s a big difference between the tools of ministry and the task of ministry. “Sometimes,” says Nirup, “we can get caught up in the tools instead of the task—the mission. LifeGate may not have the tools right now,” he says, “but we do have our number one asset: our people.” To prove this point, LifeGate decided to move forward with its first-ever giving campaign, which was already in the works before the robbery took place. Only this campaign won’t directly benefit the church—at all. Instead, LifeGate plans to give 100% of the donations to Operation Restore, a local non-profit that provides housing for displaced families and kids aging out of foster care. “All the money will be given away,” says Nirup. Please be praying for everyone at LifeGate, and stay tuned to the church’s FaceBook page for more updates at www.facebook.com/lifegatedenver.
