A Note from the Pastor

When I talk to people about Many Peoples Church and its ministry in Rogers Park, I often reference this passage from 2 Corinthians, chapter 5:
" All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us."

I believe that God has called Many Peoples Church to a ministry of reconciliation. The church embodies this ministry in two ways: we invite people to be reconciled to God, and we invite people to be reconciled to each other. It is common for churches to talk about our need for reconciliation with God, and rightly so. But we often don’t talk enough about the importance of being reconciled with each other.

I don’t think of this reconciliation as a one-time act, but rather as a continual attitude of being open to one another, and being willing to learn from and be shaped by those around us. At Many Peoples Church we try to practice this attitude, both because Scripture invites us to and because the diversity of our neighborhood requires it. We are a church of “many people” -- we want to welcome a wide variety of people into our fellowship and to be changed by their presence and participation.

It can be challenging to practice this attitude, and it forces us to back off of our expectations of what church is supposed to look like. Many Peoples Church is still learning what it means to be a place that is willing to be shaped by people from all different backgrounds, cultures and faith experiences. This isn’t easy, and we don’t always get it right, but we try.

When we struggle with this ministry of reconciliation, I find comfort in the emphasis that the Reformed tradition of Christianity places on the sovereignty of God. We believe that God is working through all things – through neighbor-to-neighbor interactions; through churches, schools, and governments; through an individual’s vocation; and through our everyday conversations with our neighbors. God is working through all things to make God’s deep love for this world more and more visible. Because we believe in God’s sovereignty, we can ask, “Where do we see God’s handiwork in this situation or this place, and how do we partner with God and one another in making God’s love evident?” As the body of Christ, we hope to join in the work of transforming this community, yet we also rejoice in the opportunity to be transformed by it.

I invite you to join us as we search for signs of God’s Kingdom here in Rogers Park.

-Pastor John Hoekwater