Helping the homeless is at the center of many religious groups’ focus, with outreach coming in the form of soup kitchens, shelters and a variety of programs designed to lend a hand.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church, a Protestant denomination with roughly 19 million members worldwide — a million of them in North America — has publicly declared that it’s approach to ministering to the homeless and the vulnerable is “a direct act of service to God.” It is a cornerstone to its faith.

That the newly formed Maranatha Indonesian-American Seventh Day Adventist Church in Aurora — it was created in September 2024 — says its mission is to help the homeless isn’t novel.

That it does it with $50 cash donations is.

“That’s just not anything I’ve ever heard of before,” said Adrian Miller, executive director of the Colorado Council of Churches, an amalgam of several denominations composed of more than 600 churches across the state.

“Shelter on a day-to-day basis; food pantries and food assistance; clothing or other services,” he said. “But cash? No. Maybe gift cards from time to time.”

Seventh-day Adventist churches are not among the council’s membership.

The Rocky Mountain Council of Seventh-day Adventists says its members — 133 churches stretching from Wyoming to New Mexico — are similarly active helping the homeless, offering meals and warm clothing.

But there’s no mention of cash.

The participants in the program that live in the houses told The Denver Gazette that on occasion they’ve asked where they could attend a Maranatha service, in part to show their gratitude for free housing and the cash donations.

“I asked about it because at first we wanted to pay respects, go to it and do their services,” Stacey Fellows said. “We checked their address online and it ended up being an empty field in Aurora.”

Perplexed, participants said they tried to get more information but were frequently ignored or rebuffed.

The church’s website currently gives its address on East Hampden Avenue in Aurora, which is actually a church owned by a different denomination — New Hope Community Church, which is merging with EHills Church in Aurora.

Sonya Hommes, the executive pastor of EHills, told The Denver Gazette that Maranatha SDA was leasing the space for its Saturday services.

The other entity overseeing program participants in the houses is Better Living. Its address on East Iliff Avenue is little more than a cubicle on the fourth floor of a building with shared office space.

The two pastors listed on the church’s website as Maranatha’s leadership — Noldy Sakul and Robert Walean Jr. — told The Denver Gazette they were unaware of the program, the houses or the donations the residents were given.

“That would be a decision by the church membership, not the pastors,” Sakul said, providing no additional explanation or information.

Sakul referred the newspaper to Youdy Paduli, who is listed in state records as the church’s incorporator, as well as its registered agent. Paduli, 52, is also listed as the registered agent for Better Living, which operates the houses.

Paduli is also an elder at the church who frequently sings at services, according to the pastors.

Paduli did not respond to emails or phone messages from The Denver Gazette.