Multi-Ethnic Church Plant Set for Chicago North Side

A new ministry is being planned in the Lincoln Park area of Chicago, thanks to the vision of a young Covenant pastor.

On June 10, Peter Hong attended his last Sunday service as associate pastor of worship at Deergrove Covenant Church in Palatine, Illinois. Hong, 33, is ending his two-year tenure at the church to pursue a major project he and his wife have been considering over the past three years - the planting of a new Covenant church on the north side of Chicago.

The proposed church has already been through a process of assessment and approval by the denomination, said Hong. The Central Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church is affirming the ministry and providing financial assistance.

Hong hopes to start small group meetings in July and begin a three-month series of preview services by the fall or early winter. He hopes to find space through a Hispanic congregation in a location readily accessible to residents of Lincoln Park and Logan Square.

"The mission of the church," explained Hong, "is to reach a particular group that, especially in the city, has not been reached by the typical church - mainly college students and post-college young adults. You don't see too many churches that have really exciting ministries for that age group."

According to Hong, the church will target individuals in their twenties or early to mid-thirties. Hong also has clear ideas about the ethnicity of his target group - he wants to appeal to all ethnic groups.

"Churches (in the city) tend to be ethnically homogenous," he said. "We want to build and establish a church where people from different ethnic backgrounds can come together to worship. It's crucial that the leadership reflects the community that we're reaching."

Hong has assembled an eight-member leadership team that includes Asian Americans, African Americans, Caucasians and Hispanics. Hong did not, however, simply recruit strangers to the end of having a diverse team. "They're friends of mine," he explained. "It isn't tokenism. That's something that people will notice when they come and see our church - there is genuine community within the group."

The ethnically diverse team also includes three women who, along with others, will share in the preaching, teaching and worship leading duties. He feels that gender equality is "especially important in ministering to our generation. Our views of women and their roles, in the church as well as the home, are completely different than those of past generations."

Among those on the leadership team with Hong is Stephen Sharkey, a graduate of North Park University. Sharkey pointed out that the musical style of the church also is going to be diverse. "We're aiming at a really diverse group of people and our goals aren't going to be too far to one extreme, but to meet in the middle so that we can reach the broad group that we're trying to reach," Sharkey explained.

"It's a tough challenge for us," Hong said. "We want to take what we know has been effective in one place or another and create our own worship culture."

Another innovative effort is making sure the church has a presence on several area college campuses. He hopes his church can partner with other area churches to reach students for Christ - but not at the expense of other congregations.

"I have a tremendous heart for college students and a desire to see them excited for the Lord," he said. "Eventually we want to have enough students in our church body that we'll be meeting in small groups on a regular basis on each campus."

(Editor's note: This article is used with permission of The Covenanter publication of the Central Conference.)

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