Uniting Faith, Business, and Government for Community Transformation with Dave Runyon

“What are some of the most practical ways that Christians can respond to the mental health crisis?”

This week on “Delay the Decay” we welcome Dave Runyon, executive director of City Unite in Denver, which convenes faith, business, and government leaders around shared causes for the city, and a leader of the Colorado Prayer Luncheon. Dave discusses his vocational path from U.S. history teacher and baseball coach to a 10-year pastoral role, then into nonprofit bridge-building focused on mobilizing congregational volunteerism, especially for under-resourced schools.

He describes learning from civic leaders by asking what keeps them up at night, highlights tutoring efforts like Wiz Kids, and explains collaborating across ideological differences by centering on clear causes. We discuss the Prayer Luncheon’s purpose, community care in neighborhoods, nonprofit leaders meeting for peer support, COVID-era calls between Governor Polis and faith leaders, and ongoing mental health and criminal justice challenges, before teeing up Runyon’s “Best Practices Framework” for faith-driven businesses.