Joining Good Shepherd, an English-speaking congregation, were New Hope Korean Methodist Church and Centro Cristiano Amor & Vida Eterna.
The Korean congregation has rented the building from Good Shepherd for their Sunday afternoon worship since 2006. The Hispanic pastors, who are planting a church in the Plainfield area, have rented space in the church since mid-February. That congregation worships on Sunday evenings, which means the building is in use from early morning until late evening every Sunday.
The worship consisted of songs led by each congregation, scripture reading in all three languages – at the same time – and devotionals from each of the pastors, which were translated into the other two languages.
“We all felt the sense of unity in our worship of God, even if we didn’t understand all that was being said or sung,” said Pastor David Green, Good Shepherd’s lead pastor.
The service ended by singing the chorus, “Alleluia, Alleluia” as that word is the same in just about every language, Green added.
All three congregations were excited about worshiping together. “The service reflects our commitment to diversity, not just ethnically, but across denominational lines,” Green said.
“This was a powerful witness to our community of different languages worshipping the same God.”
Prior to the worship service, the congregations joined in a multiethnic potluck, enjoying lots of foods from many ethnicities.
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