Emmanuel Christian Reformed Church has served the Chicago suburb of Sauk Village, Illinois, since 1968. As its neighborhood changed, The Banner reports, the church developed a bilingual English and Spanish ministry with church planter Richard Garcia under the vision "One Church, Two Cultures." Garcia was called in April, and his family moved to Sauk Village in June, after what the church describes as a serious process of discernment and prayer.
Jeff Hale, pastor at Emmanuel since 2017, told The Banner the church had a strong presence in the 1960s and '70s, when youth and children's ministries thrived. He said the sanctuary once held 285 chairs, most of them filled. The church lost a pastor to cancer in 2016 and attendance plummeted, and during the COVID-19 lockdown members wondered whether they would have to close. Instead they began paying attention to the community around them.
Two ministries had already been serving the neighborhood for 20 years, a food pantry and a thrift store. Hale called Sauk Village a food desert with no fresh food within walking distance, and through Emmanuel neighbors could get food, clothing and household items for little or no cost. Some Spanish-speaking families came to church, but language was a barrier. With support from Resonate Global Mission, the church began looking for a Spanish-speaking church planter to serve its multi-ethnic neighborhood.
Garcia was serving a church in Miami when Classis Illiana, the regional group of Christian Reformed churches to which Emmanuel belongs, asked him to consider Sauk Village. "I spent time visiting with families at the food pantry and thrift store, and that's when I learned that they wanted to grow in their faith," Garcia said. Over time he formed "Emmanuel Houses," small home-based groups for discipleship and Bible study. "God surprised us with his abundant response," he said. A family he met came to Christ and decided to open their own home to others, and another Emmanuel House is starting.
The growth has shown up on Sunday mornings. "Several weeks ago, we ran out of communion," Hale said, because the church had not accounted for how much the congregation had grown with the Hispanic families. The two groups worship together, using AI translation on screen and through audio for those who need it. Garcia said he is especially grateful to Mirtha Villafane, a church-planting coach with Resonate who walked with his family through the discernment process. "God is blessing us," Garcia said. "With vision, with support, with strategy. And it all started with prayer."
