Beacon of Love & Hope
In God’s sovereign and good plan, He ordained for the planting of a community center (Family Empowerment Centers) in Rogers Park for the purpose of being a beacon of God’s love and hope for the neighborhood. All the while, with the overarching mission of this community center in being a visible representation of the Church in the neighborhood. This has been the passion of Scott and Natalie Manke for over 20 years and by God’s grace the Lord has allowed for this planting effort to birth a community of disciples that worship and serve within an established local church, named Redemption Church or Iglesia Redención (for our Spanish speaking community).
The beauty of God’s timing has been evident in the past year, as our community center has been a beacon of hope for thousands of individuals that have recently immigrated to Chicago. And as the staff cared for the initial and more pressing physical needs of these individuals, the core motivation was for these families to experience the Gospel of Jesus Christ in tangible ways. These families moved through the initial care team and were invited to be cared in further wholistic ways, such as pastoral care. It’s been encouraging to see how Redemption Church has been a place for families to grow in their relationship with God and find a new family in this country.
In this short year, by God’s grace, Redemption Church has witnessed God moving in these individuals and families from this diaspora group. Some have professed faith in Christ for the very first time. Others have recommitted their lives to Christ and been baptized. Others have been engaging in discipleship groups through a Discover Bible Study series. The youth has also engaged in Alpha Youth (evangelistic tool for teens).
One way we have seen God’s redemptive work is through several couples that have been living together for many years but had never taken the step towards a committed relationship through marriage. In God’s prompting, these families have been stirred by the Holy Spirit to understand that they need to be obedient to the Lord in all ways, especially in their relationship as a couple. It’s been all for God’s glory to see these adult couples seek repentance for their co-habitation and move towards a Biblical model of marriage. Currently, we have 3 couples that are starting a pre-marital course lead by one of our pastors and with the prompted expectation to have a marriage ceremony within the Redemption Church family this summer at our Sunday worship gathering.
We praise God for all the facets of our ministry outreach and crisis response team. We pray that he continues to move as we disciple these families into a mature relationship with Christ. These families struggle with the daily needs of housing and work, yet they continue to experience the truth that God has not forgotten them and has enveloped them in His Church. With great expectation, our team is praying (Luke 10:2) and looking forward to how the Lord will raise new Kingdom workers through this diaspora group so that new disciples will be reached for His Glory!
-Rev. Carlos Perez