Mark Lopez
Audio By Carbonatix
It’s been asked on many a bumper sticker: What would Jesus do? In a world in which mega-churches hold too much sway, lining the pockets of wealthy ministries devoted more to riches than to outreach, seeing a church practice what it preaches is pretty close to divine.
Granite Peaks Church offers long-term stays to men of “any faith or no faith at all,” according to co-founder and Pastor Mark Lopez. For $650 a month, an unhoused man in need can get a clean bed in a dorm-like room, with access to a full kitchen and bathroom facilities. The church was founded in 1986 in the old Trujillo funeral home located at Morrison Road and South Quitman Street. It was later relocated to a storefront at West Eighth Avenue and Federal Boulevard before moving into its current building on the corner of West Eighth and Knox Court in the Villa Park neighborhood.
Lopez says the idea for the dorm was sparked around 2016, shortly after a charter school that Granite Peaks was running closed, leaving a considerable building infrastructure largely unused. A couple from Florida visited the church that winter; they had ran out of money and were going to have to sleep in their vehicle.
“I told them they’d come to the right place,” Lopez recalls. “We had space we could offer them, and they ended up staying for a few months while they got jobs and saved some money and could move on. We were happy to be able to help them, and we recognized the opportunity for the church to help others in the same way.”
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With the help of his wife, Lucy, and others from Granite Peaks, Lopez began inviting more unhoused people, including his own brother, into the church after the Florida couple departed. “We saw these encampments growing in town,” says Lopez, “and thought there were probably some in that population that were stable, could afford a bit to help us defray costs, and that we could really help out.”
They started with one dorm room with several beds, but soon saw there was more demand. “Over time, we furnished other rooms until we reached capacity,” Lopez says. “The need was so great that we filled up the beds as fast as we could make them.” Right now, Granite Peaks has three dorm areas that each house seven to eight men, plus a smaller room that can hold two to three more.
According to Colorado’s Homeless Management Information System, 52,806 people sought housing and services related to homelessness in 2024, about 62 percent of whom were men.
Currently, Granite Peaks is nearly at capacity, with 23 residents and only one bed available — and Lopez says that one will probably be occupied soon, especially with Denver now hitting freezing temperatures at night.
Granite Peaks is welcoming, he says, but also selective, in order for residents, staff and volunteers to feel safe. “We do background checks,” he explains, “and don’t admit anyone with sexual or violent offenses. We make sure the guys coming in here are transitional and interested in improving their situation. Moving up and moving on.”
Lopez stresses that Granite Peaks, which ran the charter school for fifteen years, is also invested in fostering community and continuing education for its residents. In a lot of ways, the educational opportunities that the original charter school offered have just shifted in terms of audience. Now, in addition to spiritual development, Granite Peaks offers financial classes for residents.
“I always say that money is like the kindergarten of life,” Lopez explains. “If you can’t master money in some way, shape or form, you’re always going to struggle. That’s not to say it’s the end-all. Not at all. But for these guys, just basic financial management is something they haven’t had the opportunity to learn yet. So we make sure that happens.”
One of those responsible for the financial focus classes is a Granite Peaks success story: Jerry Wade, who now serves as the house manager, was a former resident.
“He came to us two-and-a-half years ago,” Lopez says. “He had lost the road. He was running from everything. But we brought him in, and he just bloomed. He used to work on Wall Street back in the day, so he’s been a huge part of the financial education we offer. It’s crazy: A lot of our guys come here broke, and then after working with Jerry, have trading accounts with TD Ameritrade and stuff like that. That’s a big part of what we’re doing. It’s not just surviving day to day. It’s about securing a future. That’s not something these guys have been able to even think about before, not really.”
Lopez is hopeful for the future of Granite Peaks and the work it does, as well as for the men who find shelter at the church..
“We in American society, we’re such spectators,” he says. “On Thanksgiving, we all sit and watch football. We’re spectators and consumers. What would it be like if instead we all got involved? What could it be like? It’s the ground-up stuff, not the top-down, that changes the world.”
