Walking with Ken in Little Village: A Parish Pilgrimage Story
“Typically what you hear about Chicago is on the news — and it’s not good. Any chance I have to share about the good things, to help rewrite the narrative about what people have heard, I take it.” — Ken Alvarado
Ken Alvarado took a group of us on a Parish Pilgrimage walk through his Chicago neighborhood - Little Village. At one point someone asked, “When did God show up?” The truth is — God was always here. We’re simply jumping into what’s already happening.
One particular corner, like so many places in Little Village, holds more than one story. It’s where tension simmers between rival gangs. But it’s also where a woman named Laura gathered business owners at a restaurant called Nuevo León during the pandemic and said, “We need to get through this together.” Instead of competing, they pooled resources to help each other stay afloat and prioritized the common good, caring for one another like neighbors—not rivals.
Ken’s roots in Little Village run deep. Thirty-seven years ago, his parents started one of the first Christian churches in the neighborhood. Located on the dividing line between rival gangs, the church has been a consistent presence.
“The secret sauce is people sticking around,” Ken shares. And they did. Through gang violence, through COVID, when for three months straight, one person a week passed away—they stayed. They fed people. Prayed with people. Built bridges where others crossed the street. “Every issue in the neighborhood is our issue,” Ken said. “the church’s issue.”
The Parish Pilgrimage group walked down 26th Street, the vibrant corridor pulsing with culture and commerce—second only to Michigan Avenue in revenue for Illinois. At a local coffee shop, between bites of churros, Ken recalled a time when the church asked themselves, “Would our neighborhood care if we closed our doors?” At that point, the brutal answer was no.
That realization became a turning point. The church began asking different questions: “How are we positioned that we can actively love our community and represent Christ in these decisions, building tables, inviting others to the table?” Ken continued, “You can meet God anytime, not just Sunday mornings for 2 hours.”
So they got to work, leaning deeper into meeting tangible community needs.
Soccer Ministry: Ken used to travel to the suburbs to play soccer. He decided that instead of leaving the neighborhood to play he would bring the game to the neighborhood. They now have high-level soccer players come work with kids in their community.
Church Beyond Sundays: They prioritized small groups for people who couldn’t make it to Sunday services—recognizing that sacred connection doesn’t only happen in pews.
Gang Intervention Program: They built bridges to young people caught in gang life—offering not just programming, but presence. “We walk alongside the outskirts of the community,” Ken said, “to bring hope, love, and dignity to them too.” Kids that others would cross the street to avoid were being invited into the church, seen not as problems to fix, but as people to love.
Migrant Shelter: Today, the church and its non profit New Life Centers, collaborates across sectors to run the largest migrant shelter in the country and feeds 1,500 people a week..
Ken sits on the Little Village Community Council, helping shape decisions that impact the whole neighborhood and being in a position to actively love his community and represent Christ in those decisions.
“We build tables and invite others to the table, too. Whether or not they will hear the gospel,” Ken said, “they will see it.
