The ministry of La Villita church, from New Life Community Church (NLCC) in Chicago, performed a wedding ceremony in which six Venezuelan and one Mexican couple decided to “do things right” and formalize their relationships following Scripture, by way of marriage.
NLCC´s main pastor, Mark Jobe, preached and invited the couples to “live right before God’s eyes” in a clear call to other couples who are not wed yet. Responding to the message, several couples came forward to show their willingness to comply with God’s will for their lives.
New Life Centers is a community ministry of NLCC that provides help and services to the city of Chicago. They work jointly with the city in monitoring individuals in gangs. The city asked the church to support the immigrants who came to the area. Later, a special program was created so that the church became a host for immigrants’ support.
Florentina Guerrero, a member of the congregation, who had a profound desire to help couples in their walk of faith, became involved in the making of this collective wedding.
“What we live with these collective weddings is historic,” said Jose Guadalupe Guerrero, Florentina’s husband, who worked with his wife to organize the ceremony. “It is historic for everybody.”
The ceremony was the result of the collective efforts of several people from La Villita. Members and volunteers united to gather funds for the great wedding. Brides’ gowns, food and decorations were provided by the church and volunteers.
“I enjoyed seeing the response of the congregation and the community in general,” said José Guadalupe. “Each one contributed what they could. It was good to develop the logistics, from planning the wedding day, helping them with legal procedures, up to the banquet at the end.”
The couples were assigned godparents to help with ceremony preparations. These godparents will also have the responsibility to care for the newlyweds even after the ceremony, and “walk with them”.
At an event of this kind, it was also crucial to provide the couples with a Bible to help in their first steps. “When we heard of this need, we immediately decided to help”, says Iván León, who leads Biblia QR. Each couple received a copy of this new edition of the Bible that features 1,500 Principles to Live By in the form of commentaries and videos, alongside the Bible text. “We trust that these resources will help them establish their families in accordance with God’s design.”
“I was so glad, it was such a joy from God,” said José Guadalupe. “An answer to prayer, and the opportunity, not only for us as a congregation, but beyond that, for the city, to be part of this historic blessing.”
Pastor Paco Amador, who officiated the big ceremony, said that the experience was “a tremendous blessing.” “I had never done anything like this”, he added. “And to me, the most important thing is that it was a church effort.”
The couples took classes and workshops on marriage before and after the wedding, to be strengthened in their walk of faith. “One way in which we have been able to meet people to help them and serve them was through these regular pre-marriage classes”, said Pastor Amador. “We figured it would be a good way to disciple and impact people regularly.”
The ministry is getting ready to start a new “preparation for marriage” course, and eleven couples are already registered.
To those who make the choice to leave their country of birth in search of a better future, Florentina says, “Look to God, always. Do not let greed rob you of the blessing. Invest in your marriage and your family.”
José Guadalupe exhorts immigrants to join a church, as a way to help them make friends. “Try to congregate and participate so you can start to leave behind all the traumas that you went through in your journey, so you can become part of a community and grow, so you can find friendship and a sense of belonging in the community.”
The ministry not only helps Venezuelans, but also supports immigrants from Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Mexico. The church also helps an immigrant shelter for 225 people, and is seeking to expand their support to other shelters in the future.
Originally published on Diario Cristiano, Christian Daily International's Spanish edition.
