Sharing a Dream with God: Synergy Village

An overgrown field. That’s the site of a dream shared by God and the Funks. It’s a dream 30-something years in the making. It’s a dream for shared living and transformed community.

The dream for Adele and Loren Funk was sparked in 1979 at an Urbana Conference. The young couple imagined a space where people lived together, sharing space and sharing their lives. They envisioned a city block of small homes that shared communal space and buildings. While the idea of cohousing might not seem as radical today, some three decades later, it has taken that long for the concept to begin to take shape and concrete form.

Synergy Village is the name of the small cohousing development the Funks are working to make reality. Right now it’s a vacant lot on the 3200 block of South Federal Boulevard in Denver. For the casual passerby, it seems like nothing more than some land long-forgotten, but if you stand on the property with Loren for even just a few moments, the vision of affordable housing for Denver families begins to take shape. With Loren’s weathered hands pointing and sweeping across the landscape and his wise voice explaining what goes where, one can almost see the apartments, duplexes, playground and other buildings that will one day sit on these 1.25 acres.

Synergy is more than the name of the development. It is an understanding that the total effect of people living and working together far exceeds that of the individual parts. Underneath the architectural drawings and the building permits is a God-given vision for ministry not only with the future residents of this small community, but with the larger neighborhood and region.

Loren and Adele have been resident volunteers at Joshua Station, a program of Mile High Ministries for the past year. In the time they have spent with Joshua Station, they’ve learned about the needs of residents transitioning to a more stable life. They’ve invested time, energy, and love into the parents and children who call Joshua Station home. They are more equipped now than ever for the work of building God’s dream on South Federal.

On Tuesday, June 9th the staff of Mile High Ministries joined Loren at the site of his dream and offered prayer and encouragement for what lies ahead. Mile High Ministries will continue to walk alongside him and Adele as their dream with God becomes reality.