The story starts with two very different paths to faith—one raised in church but resistant to ministry, the other the first Christian in her family who woke up changed at seventeen. Those paths converged years later, when we compared dreams on a first date and said the quiet part out loud: we felt called to plant and pastor a church. The only mystery left was where. The answer became Chicago—its food, architecture, and energy, yes, but also its honest mix of beauty and brokenness. For Sarah, returning to her hometown felt impossible until a moment looking down from a departing plane turned resistance into a clear invitation: come back for redemption.They moved in 2019 with a solid plan—team, timeline, funding—and watched it collapse within months as the pandemic swept through the city. Our people left. Support paused. The playbook evaporated. What remained was presence: loving literal neighbors, sharing backyard meals, praying simple prayers, and letting a table culture do the work a stage couldn’t. That season changed our approach and our hearts. We traded a metrics-first mindset for formation-first habits, asking what God wanted to build in us before anything He might build through us. Humility, integrity, and self-awareness became non-negotiables, and a small daily prayer—“God, give me one connection”—kept us moving with faith instead of frenzy.Send us a textWe want to help you find your next steps in ministry.Connect here with EXCEL. Ministry Partner: Christian Community Credit Union

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