Pepperoni and . . . What?
When I first heard about a weekly event called “Pepperoni and Cheesus”—happening every Wednesday at an Alliance church less than 20 miles from our Orchard Alliance offices—I had to read it twice. Then my curiosity got the best of me. I had to see this for myself.
When I arrived at HarvestDowntown Church in the heart of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Lead Pastor David Wilson greeted me mid-setup. He and a crew of dedicated volunteers were busy pulling chairs into circles, laying out Bibles and flyers, and stacking a tower of pizza boxes fresh from the local Domino’s.
Harvest Downtown welcomes students every Wednesday for Pepperoni and Cheesus
Pastor David Wilson and his wife, Juree
Then the doors opened. First a trickle, then a steady stream of students poured in from nearby Palmer High School. By the end of the lunch hour, nearly 100 teenagers had come through. Many settled into circles with their friends and a Harvest volunteer, slices in hand, talking about the stresses of life and hearing how Jesus can meet their deepest needs and longings. And while I was there, two students committed their lives to Him!
What’s in a Name?
After the students had returned to their classes at Palmer, I felt compelled to ask Pastor David about the wacky name the church had chosen for the weekly pizza gathering. “Our first food outreach was handing out donuts to students on their way to school,” he recalls. “It was great because the students would just take their donuts and then go to school. But there’s no relationship or anything developed with that. Then we started doing a little bit of a pizza lunch and probably had, on average, maybe nine to ten students. It wasn’t until we named the event ‘Pepperoni and Cheesus’ that attendance started climbing. It’s a play on words. Obviously, Jesus is the tie-in. And what’s great about that name is that it’s kind of slapstick in a way, but it really breaks down barriers. A church with a self-deprecating sense of humor can be very disarming—especially among a student body that’s already skeptical of institutions, much less the institution of the church. We’ll do anything we can do to help bridge that gap.”
Students gather for pizza and conversation about life and faith
The name worked. Over the past three years, Pepperoni and Cheesus has exploded to an average of 120 students every Wednesday—so many that the school has taken notice. “Palmer High School has told us that we feed more students over the Wednesday lunch hour than their school cafeteria does,” adds Pastor David.
Building Bridges with the School District
“We’ve got a strong relationship with Colorado Springs District 11, which is the school district overseeing Palmer High School,” explains Pastor David. “As we were working to become a ministry hub in the downtown area, we began asking, ‘Who are the people we need to connect with?’ We soon realized that we just needed to have more interaction, not just with students, but also with teachers and administrators. Before long, we had developed a great relationship with the D11 administration, in large part because we’ve been loving their students well.” And that love doesn’t stop at the high school. Beyond Pepperoni and Cheesus, Harvest also serves nearby Columbia Elementary through mentoring, food assistance, and coaching, with special care for underprivileged and homeless students.
The partnership runs deep. Recently, the district invited Harvest’s leaders to tour Palmer High School’s massive expansion—a project that will bring students even closer to the church’s front door. And thanks to the church’s faithful, ongoing involvement, Colorado Springs School District 11 has publicly recognized HarvestDowntown as a valued partner.
Watch a District 11 administrator praise the partnership—and to catch some Palmer HS students enjoying Harvest’s hospitality (and pizza).
A Local Hub and a Global Launchpad
Harvest’s doors are open to the whole city. Beyond its work with District 11, the church has hosted block parties, HOA meetings, the Mayor’s Young Leader Forum, and Forge Evolution’s Teen Court Program—a unique and highly successful approach to addressing juvenile crime—along with countless other community gatherings. Harvest is also a training ground for the next generation of church leaders and planters. Through The Alliance’s Greenhouse initiative, the church identifies emerging leaders, develops them for effective ministry, and sends them out to serve in local churches. And Harvest’s reach doesn’t stop there. Since its doors first opened, the church has prepared and sent generations of international workers into some of the world’s least-reached places. Today, it supports nine worker families serving overseas and three serving in the U.S.
The Renovation That Made It All Possible
To fulfill its mission as a catalyst for spiritual change within its city, HarvestDowntown partnered with Orchard Alliance in 2020 to reimagine its property. The church leveled the worship center floor and pulled out the fixed seating, creating a wide-open, flexible space. A brand-new addition brought larger restrooms, more storage, and a kitchen, making room for accessible, dynamic ministry all week long. Read more about the transformation here.
“When we started the project, we were able to fund it through a loan from Orchard Alliance,” recalls Pastor David. “This was right when COVID was really taking off. Supply chains were going crazy, and the labor force was being sidelined. We would have been forced to pay double—even triple—what the renovation would have normally cost. By securing the loan with Orchard, we were able to leverage time and schedule construction when things had stabilized. Otherwise, the renovation would not have happened.”
So why Orchard instead of a local bank? For Pastor David, it came down to mission. Orchard brings a ministry mindset to its lending and sees itself as a partner in extending the gospel, both locally and around the world. As he puts it, “Those who fund ministry are just as important and as essential as those who carry out the ministry in the field. It’s just a matter of fulfilling your part in the Kingdom work.”
Next-generation pastor, Austin Fry (left) with lead pastor, David Wilson (right)
And to the investors who make church and ministry loans like this possible, Pastor David offers this word of encouragement: “I would hope people don’t just invest in Orchard Alliance because they like Orchard Alliance. I hope they’re investing in Orchard Alliance because they believe in the fruits of ministry: that people will be worshiping Jesus in eternity because of their investment—like the two students who gave their lives to Him at last Wednesday’s Pepperoni and Cheesus event and others who will turn to Him as Alliance churches continue to extend and expand their gospel-advancing ministries.”
Orchard Alliance is deeply grateful to our investors for making ministries like “Pepperoni and Cheesus” possible. Every slice served, every circle of chairs, and every student who meets Jesus is part of your story, too. Your investment funds the loans that empower churches like HarvestDowntown to expand their presence, deepen their influence, and open their doors wider to those who have yet to encounter Jesus’ loving embrace.
