Robby Sawyer- Church Visit #2

Iglesia Cristiana Nueva Esperanza

1825 College Ave Wheaton, IL 60189

February 9, 2014

Different Racial/Ethnic Demographic

Non-Denominational Spanish Speaking Service

Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?

            Visiting Nueva Esperanza was a very fun and exciting experience. It had a very similar western organization to the service that I am used to.  For example, it started with prayer, then the confession of the faith, sermon, offering, announcements, and finally, the benediction. However, the differences vastly outweighed the similarities. First of all, the service was two hours long, which according to some people at the congregation, was short. Secondly, Pastor Alberto Guerra was very animated in his sermon. The dynamism he brought with him when he spoke included many elaborate body motions, a massive vocal range, and a rapidly increasing pace of speech to communicate the living good news. One could tell he was physically getting tired towards the end due to his energetic speaking. It was awesome to be a part of, because I was able to witness the passion that ethnicity brought to the church.

What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?

            What I found most appealing about the worship service was the Latin American influence to the Servicio de Adoración (Worship songs). The music was fun to listen to and sing with. Also, the people who I was worshiping with were very friendly and inviting. Being a part of a Spanish speaking only service presented itself with many challenges and fears, but being competent in Spanish, and a sibling to a fluent Spanish speaker helped me out a ton. But, if I had to choose one thing that I loved above all else, it would be listening to the pastor sing and preach. Just to witness his love for his people, love for the Gospel, and love for communicating it, was truly inspiring and overall enjoyable to be a part of. I got the sense that the gospel was alive. People were very into it, interested, and energized.

What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?

            What I thought most disorienting and challenging was mentioned briefly in my last answer. I thought that the language barrier to understanding everybody challenged me more than I thought. There were times when Pastor Guerra would talk so fast with so much emphasis, partly being out of breath, that it made it very difficult to discern what he was saying. It was uncomfortable, as well, being in an environment where I was the clear outsider. I was clearly a white, predominantly English speaking, male from Wheaton College. I could tell they knew it. I would catch glimpses of people staring at me before and after the service. But, these are the things I live for. I think it is absolutely necessary for me to get outside my small bubble of comfort and experience something totally new and different whether it be hard or not. It was a challenging experience, but something I would not hesitate on if I was able to do it again. I learned a lot.

What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?

            During the service, I was reading the pamphlet describing the mission statement of the church congregation, and it was not much different than other non-denominational churches I know and have been to. But, listening to the pastor speak through Ephesians four, the effort and emphasis placed on Ephesians 4:4 (the unity of the body of Christ) was inspiring and refreshing. However, during the service the pastor took an unexpected turn to talk about understanding our vocations inspired through the knowledge of the holistic body of Christ. From here, he went on to talk about how we are obligated, knowing this, to following our specific vocations as a part of the body of Christ. This was illuminated within me due to my feelings of being “ethnically other” and another part of the whole Church. I probably would not have picked this message up as easily at my home church in Lombard because I would have easily dwindled into the background, understanding the message but not feeling it, like I did here at Nueva Esperanza.