Why Albany Park? (part 1)

When people find out that we’re planning to move to Chicago to plant a church, we get a variety of responses. But when Chicagoans find out that we’re going to the Albany Park neighborhood, we only get one response: So, why Albany Park?

It’s a valid question.

Here’s the first part of that story:

God has been moving in our hearts for several years toward Chicago. My wife, Kim, was born and raised about an hour south of Chicago, and I have always loved going to visit the city. And our love for the city quickly turned into a love for the people of that city.

So in October 2010, we decided that instead of going to live in Chicago, maybe we should go in order to plant a church. After much counsel and prayer with and from several people, we knew that we needed to move forward. One of the first things we needed to decide was a specific neighborhood that we thought we should go to. We did a Google map search for churches in Chicago. The pins overwhelmed the map, but as I zoomed in, I noticed that there were two fairly naked spots. Pin-less, if you will. One of those neighborhoods was Albany Park. We planned a trip to the Windy City and explored both neighborhoods, seeking God’s direction along the way.

From the first day, we sensed that Albany Park did indeed need a stronger gospel presence. There were few churches and thousands of people. Along the way, we have received several confirmations, but I’m saving that for Part 2. Stay tuned.

 

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