ORIGINS
In the spring of 2003, a group of 5-8 people came together, sharing a burden for the city of Chicago. We were all familiar with some of the challenges of urban life: gentrification; materialism and poverty living next door to each other; public schools in need of repair; systemic racial and justice issues; etc. But we could also vividly see the intrinsic beauty of the city: it was the birthplace for creativity and innovation, it was filled with a mosaic of all of God’s different people, and those who lived in the city were incredibly open to new things (including the life and message of Jesus Christ).
So this group formed together in covenant, trusting that God still wanted to do amazing things in our city. We formed a vision statement to be our spiritual compass (see the vision and plan of River City) and committed ourselves to the life that God called his people to. In Old Testament times the global cities were often ignored by Christians, because they carried enormous anxiety towards urban life. They feared that their culture and customs would be overpowered, that they would lose their sense of identity, and that their children would be swayed by the powerful current of city life. But the prophet Jeremiah relayed a message from God. In Chapter 29 (verses 4-11), he tells the Christians that they are to go to the most powerful global city of its day (Babylon) and give themselves to the needs of that city in the name of Christ. They were to start businesses, build homes, and even marry into the culture. The reason God gave this command was not so that they could profit from the economy of the city, but to serve the city. God tells his people to “seek the shalom and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you…” (V7 emphasis added). Seeking ‘shalom’ was a call to care for the city in a holistic way: spiritually, economically, and culturally.
The desire for River City from the very beginning was a commitment to seek the shalom of Chicago: to see it be a place where people were coming into relationship with God through Jesus Christ, where cultures came together in a way that glorified God, where justice and oppression were fought against, and where the children of our city could be protected and nurtured.
WHERE IN CHICAGO?
Once this group formed around a desire to seek the shalom of Chicago, the next question became: “Where do we meet?” We began to analyze each of the 77 neighborhoods in Chicago, looking for where God was looking to “carry us to.” One of our earliest discoveries was a reminder of just how segregated Chicago is. While as a composite it carries rich cultural and economic diversity, the different cultural-racial and socioeconomic groups rarely lived in the same neighborhood. We were committed to being in a truly multicultural neighborhood, so we felt that we needed to get creative.
What we decided to do was pick a location at the convergence of a couple of different neighborhoods, as opposed to our original intent to identify ourselves with just one. We formed a 1 mile circle, and the epicenter of that circle is Humboldt Park
To this day, if we want to give someone a picture of the type of person we want to reach through River City, we take them to the park. Here you will find people of every age, socioeconomic background, cultural-racial group, and educational background. The 1-mile circle (which goes to Fullerton on the north, Lake on the south, Damen on the east, and Pulaski on the west) gives us a defined geographical area that we are trying to reach, and within that circle you have parts of Bucktown, Garfield Park, Humboldt Park, Logan Square, Ukrainian Village, and Wicker Park.
THE LAUNCH
Once we had the neighborhood and venue selected, we could now concentrate on the preparation process for launching a church. We spent 6 intensive months recruiting and training a core of people that were either already passionate about our value system (or at least desired to be passionate about it). We also began to build relationships with other churches and ministries in the area to develop a team of partners that transcended denominational or philosophical background. Some people came and went during these 6 months, and eventually a core group of about 30 people (which we affectionately called “The Remnant”) bonded around this vision.
During this period we met in various locations before finally renting the River City Headquarters (2124 N. Milwaukee). These were really fun days, because at that point River City was nothing more than an idea in our heads, a moving ideal that we were trying to chase down. But we sensed in our hearts that God had gone before us, and that He had really called us to these passions and this neighborhood.
September 7, 2003 was a big date in River City’s history, for it was the day that we first launched our public worship services. At that point we were meeting in the historic Congress Theater and the building seemed to be an icon for the core group starting the church. The outside of the theater did not look like much, but once you entered you saw this beautiful and intricate piece of architectural workmanship. With a little bit of love and work we knew the building had great potential. This was also true of us. We did not look like much from the outside, but we trusted that once someone looked past the interior they would see a community of people who reflected God, and that with a little bit of love and work God could do great things in and through us.
AND THE STORY CONTINUES…
We met in the Congress Theater for about two years and had great memories there. But as we became more aware of the needs of our neighborhood – particularly of the needs of our families – we realized that a theater was not the ideal Sunday morning environment for us. It was at that time that one of the most established churches in the neighborhood extended an invitation to us to be in greater relationship with them. New Life Covenant Assemblies of God – pastored by Wilfredo DeJesus – is a 45 year old church that has been very instrumental in the transformation of the Humboldt Park community. They own a wonderful building at 1665 N. Mozart, but outgrew it around 2002. Their congregation now meets at Clemente High School on Sundays, and they graciously offered their church building on a rental basis to us for our emerging congregation. This was an incredible blessing. At the Congress Theater we had to clean up from the concert the night before, and set up all of the chairs and sound equipment. To make matters worse, our kids church was in a storefront across the street, meaning our treasured children had to cross Milwaukee Avenue every Sunday morning. At New Life we had an established church with facilities that were perfect for both our adults and next generation of children. They had never let another congregation rent their facility before, so we knew that God had really brought this relationship together.
River City Community Church has already undergone many evolutions as we attempt to become a community of faith that is pleasing to God and a blessing to our neighborhood. As God brings new members into our body it brings greater strength and diversity to our mission, and we look forward to having you part of our story!
