Soul City Church - Chicago, IL

What do you do when the things you thought were dead start coming back to life? In this message, Pastor Jon Jorgenson explores the tension between the old life we keep returning to and the new life Jesus offers. Because following Christ means putting to death the things that pull us away from God and embracing the identity, freedom, and future found in Him. Don’t resurrect what Jesus came to bury. So here’s the invitation. What do you need to leave behind so you can fully step into the life God has for you? 📍 Soul City Church | Chicago #Faith #NewLife #Resurrection #SoulCityChurch

What if everyone else has a plan for your money… except you? In this message, Pastor Jarrett Stevens explores God’s practical wisdom for money and why financial freedom starts with having a plan. Because when we live with a bigger perspective, we begin to build better priorities. Tomorrow’s potential is proportionate to today’s plans. So here’s the invitation. What would it look like to stop winging it and start trusting God with a plan? 📖 Proverbs 6 📍 Soul City Church | Chicago #Faith #Money #TrustGod #SoulCityChurch

What if the pressure you’re feeling was never meant to be carried alone? In this message, Pastor Jeanne Stevens reminds us that worry doesn’t make the burden lighter. It only makes it heavier. But when our perspective shifts toward the faithfulness of God, peace becomes possible even in the middle of pressure. 📍 Soul City Church | Chicago #Faith #Hope #TrustGod #SoulCityChurch

Is what you own really yours? In this message, Pastor Jon challenges the way we think about money, time, and everything we’ve been given. Because what if it’s not about ownership at all, but stewardship? Stewardship is making the most of what God has given. So here’s the invitation. What would it look like to shift from “mine” to “God, how do you want to use this?” 📖 Genesis 1, Matthew 25 📍 Soul City Church | Chicago #Faith #Stewardship #TrustGod #SoulCityChurch

What’s the difference between believing something and actually living it? In this message, Pastor Jarrett Stevens walks through James 2 and challenges the idea that faith is just something we believe. Because real faith doesn’t just stay in your head. It shows up in how you live. A faith that asks nothing of you changes nothing in you. So here’s the question. What are you actually doing with what you believe? 📖 James 2  📍 Soul City Church | Chicago #Faith #SpiritualGrowth #FollowJesus #SoulCityChurch

What happens when everything in life is built around your preferences? In this message, Pastor Jarrett Stevens explores how a culture of customization and consumerism can shape the way we approach church and faith. But God’s vision for the church isn’t something we consume. It’s something we belong to. You don’t just have a place here. You have a part to play. Every person has a part. Every part has a purpose. So here’s the invitation. What would it look like for you to step in and play your part? 📖 Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12 📍 Soul City Church | Chicago #Church #Faith #Purpose #SoulCityChurch

What if the life you’re chasing is costing you more than you realize? In this message, Pastor Jarrett Stevens explores how a culture built on comfort and convenience can shape a version of faith that asks very little of us and changes even less. But Jesus offers a different way. A way that leads to real life, even if it comes at a cost. A faith that asks little of you changes little in you. So here’s the question. What might the cross need to cost you this week? 📖 Luke 9 📍 Soul City Church | Chicago #Faith #FollowJesus #SpiritualGrowth #SoulCityChurch

What if the story you’re believing could change everything? Easter is the story of resurrection, new life, and the hope God is still writing today. In this message, Pastor Jarrett walks through the moment Mary stood at the empty tomb expecting the worst, only to discover something better than she could have imagined. When Jesus is who you’re looking for, it changes what you’re looking at. So here’s the invitation. In whatever you’re facing right now, what would it look like to look for Jesus in the middle of it? If you want to begin or grow a real relationship with Jesus, check out our Get To Know Jesus resource page. 📍 Soul City Church | Chicago #Faith #Hope #Easter #SoulCityChurch

What do we miss when we misunderstand Jesus? In this message, we explore how easy it is to shape Jesus around our own desires instead of aligning our lives with His Kingdom. On Palm Sunday, the crowd thought they knew who Jesus was. But they missed what His Kingdom was really about. And we can do the same thing today. Jesus isn’t meant to support our agenda. He’s meant to transform it. 📖 Matthew 21 📍 Soul City Church | Chicago Check out our Get To Know Jesus Resource Page: https://soulcitychurch.com/palmsunday/

What do we miss when we misunderstand Jesus? In this message, we explore how easy it is to shape Jesus around our own desires instead of aligning our lives with His Kingdom. On Palm Sunday, the crowd thought they knew who Jesus was. But they missed what His Kingdom was really about. And we can do the same thing today. Jesus isn’t meant to support our agenda. He’s meant to transform it. 📖 Matthew 21 📍 Soul City Church | Chicago

What if diversity was always God’s idea? In this message, Darryl Ford II, guest from Be The Bridge, shows how Scripture reveals God’s design for unity not by erasing our differences but redeeming them. The Church isn’t called to avoid difference. We’re called to be a preview of heaven. 📍 Soul City Church | Chicago

What happens when our IDEAL doesn’t account for what’s REAL? In this message from our Be The Bridge series, Pastor Brandon Henderson invites us to consider the difference between celebrating diversity and doing the real work of bridge building. Looking at Galatians 3:26–29, we see that unity in Christ doesn’t erase our differences or lived experiences. Instead, it calls us into the deeper work of reconciliation, humility, and understanding. Because the goal isn’t just cheap diversity where we simply share the same space. The invitation of Jesus is something greater: Kingdom diversity — a community where we do the hard work of becoming family. Sometimes moving toward the ideal vision of unity requires us to first confront what is real. 📖 Galatians 3:26–29 🎤 Message by Pastor Brandon Henderson 📍 Soul City Church | Chicago

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to forget what God has done? In this message, Pastor Jon explores the power of one simple word in Scripture: Remember. Throughout the Bible, God repeatedly calls His people to remember His faithfulness—because when life gets difficult, we tend to forget. When fear rises, when reality feels overwhelming, and when we begin to doubt… remembering what God has already done can restore hope and perspective. Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do in a difficult moment is this: Tell your reality what you remember about God. 📍 Soul City Church | Chicago #Faith #TrustGod #Remember #SoulCityChurch

For the past two years, we’ve declared: We are a Bridge Building Church. But what does that actually mean? In this opening message of our Bridge Building series, Jeanne unpacks why racial reconciliation is not optional for followers of Jesus — it’s central to the gospel itself. Bridge building isn’t a side conversation. It’s not a political issue. It’s not a bonus calling for a few. It’s part of what it means to follow Christ. This message sets the tone for the series and invites us to see bridge building not as an initiative, but as an identity. If we’re going to be people shaped by Jesus, we must also be people committed to reconciliation. 📍 Soul City Church | Chicago #BridgeBuilding #RacialReconciliation #SoulCityChurch

What do you do when you’ve done what you shouldn’t have done? In this message, Pastor Jon walks through 1 John 1 and reveals a simple but powerful truth: when we try to manage our sin, we damage our soul — but when we come clean, God comes close. Confession isn’t about shame. It’s about freedom. If you’ve been carrying guilt, regret, or hiding from God, this message is for you. If you will confess, God will forgive. 📖 1 John 1
📍 Soul City Church | Chicago

Why does God allow suffering? It’s one of the hardest questions of faith. And in Job 38–42, God finally responds. But Job doesn’t get an explanation. He gets an encounter. In Week 3 of A Sufferer’s Guide to God, Pastor Jon explores what we do when there are no answers — and how God meets us not with reasons, but with presence. If you’re walking through grief, loss, confusion, or pain that doesn’t make sense, this message is for you. God doesn’t always give a reason for suffering. But God never lets suffering go unanswered. 📖 Job 38–42 📍 Soul City Church | Chicago

When someone you love is hurting, the pressure to say the “right thing” can feel overwhelming. What if the best thing you can offer isn’t words at all? In this message, Jon Jorgenson walks through the story of Job and shows how well-meaning friends said many true things… that still caused deep harm. And how the most powerful help they gave happened before they ever opened their mouths. If you’ve ever thought, “I want to help, but I don’t know how,” this message will change how you show up for people in pain. Because grief doesn’t need answers. It needs presence. 📍 Soul City Church — Chicago 🔔 Subscribe for more messages on faith, suffering, and real life

Where were you when the world broke? That moment you got the call. The text. The diagnosis. The news that changed everything. In this teaching, Jon walks through Job 1 and introduces a powerful, often forgotten biblical practice called lament — crying out in grief while still holding on to God. Because the promise of faith was never that we would avoid suffering, but that we would have help walking through it. If you’ve ever felt the tension between being honest about your pain and trying to stay faithful, this episode offers language for both. You can be heartbroken and hopeful at the same time. Scripture: Job 1:20–22

Prayer is not confined to the moments when we bow our heads or find the right words. What we say in prayer matters, but some of our most powerful prayers are spoken through how we love, forgive, give, serve, and show up in the world. This week, we will learn what it means to embody and live out prayers that go beyond words.

Praying for others is about more than merely saying words. It is participation in the in-breaking Kingdom of God. When we slow down long enough to see the people around us, to notice their need, their pain, or their longing, we step into the same Kingdom reality Jesus announced and demonstrated. This week we explore a Biblical vision of why praying for others' matters and what the broader implications of our prayers are. Taught by Pastor Brandon Henderson.

Much of our fear and resistance to prayer is rooted in the stories we tell ourselves about prayer. That it has to be a certain way. That it has to last a certain number of minutes. That it should be answered immediately. And rather than showing up…we give up and miss the gift of prayer. This message shows us not only the value of private/personal prayer…but a simple way to pray simply throughout our day until it becomes a practice that serves us for life. Message taught by Pastor Jarrett Stevens.

As a church, we want prayer to be our first response, not our last resort. So as a church, we want to start the new year in prayer together. This Sunday we will leaned into different prayer postures and practices together as a community in order to begin the year by encountering God in new and powerful ways.

All of Scripture, and the entire Christmas story, culminates in one simple truth: God gave us Himself. In Jesus, we receive the fullness of God’s love, grace, and presence. He is Emmanuel (God with us) not just once in Bethlehem, but now and forever. This message centers the Christmas season back on the person of Christ, inviting us to reflect His character, embody His love, and offer His presence to a world longing for hope. Check out this powerful message "It's Giving...JESUS" from Pastor Brandon Henderson!

At Christmas, we celebrate the generosity of the God who so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son. The incarnation is the ultimate act of divine generosity, and it invites us to live open-handed lives in return. In a season where consumerism and scarcity mindsets often dominate, we’re reminded that giving isn’t about how much we have but how much we trust the One who provides. Check out this powerful message "It's Giving...Generous" from Pastor Jarrett Stevens!

The night Jesus was born, heaven declared “peace on earth.” But this peace wasn’t merely the absence of conflict. It was the presence of wholeness, reconciliation, and rest for weary souls. In a season often marked by chaos and hurry, Jesus offers us a peace that the world can’t give and circumstances can’t take away. This teaching explores how receiving God’s peace allows us to become people who bring peace in a world that desperately needs it. Taught by Pastor Jon Jorgenson.

We don’t choose to walk away from God — we drift. In this message, Pastor Jon reframes repentance not as guilt or punishment, but as a loving invitation to return home. If you feel far from God, this one’s for you.

Soul City Church celebrates 15 years of transformation in the heart of Chicago! What began as a prayer and a dream has become a movement of people saying “yes” to Jesus — seeing lives, families, and our city transformed by His love.

We explore the “Paradox of Power” — Jesus’ upside-down teaching that true greatness isn’t found in control, status, or being in charge, but in choosing to serve others. Through Matthew 20 and real-life examples, we’re challenged to lay down our power, resist the world’s pursuit of control, and follow Jesus’ way of humility, service, and love. When the world goes high, we go low — not so with you. Taught by Pastor Jarrett Stevens.

Constant notifications, endless scrolling, and digital noise have become modern idols—things we reach for more often than we reach for God. This week’s teaching invites us to reclaim silence, turn down the noise, and make room for the voice of God to bring peace, clarity, and renewal in a distracted world. Taught by Pastor Jon Jorgenson.

We live in a “You can do it”, “Believe in yourself” culture. While these positive messages can be inspiring and helpful to a point, they can also lead us to depend on our self, rather than depend on God. This week, we will confront the ways that we have come to rely on our own strength, smarts, and abilities, and instead choose to rely on God first and foremost for all of it. Check out this powerful message "The gOD of SELF" from Pastor Jeanne Stevens!

The Bible tells us that to be “in Christ” is to be a new creation. But what most people don’t realize is that being a new creation comes with a new calling. That calling is to join with God in the work of “reconciling” the world to God. This week, we will learn what it looks like to take the message that has transformed us and share it with others so that they can experience that same transformation. Message taught by Pastor Brandon Henderson.

Check out the new episode of Transformation Conversation: Latino Heritage Month Edition on our YouTube and podcast channel! Our hope is simple: to celebrate stories, honor voices, and learn together as a church. Latino Heritage Month invites us to honor the richness and diversity of Latino culture while also acknowledging the adversity facing the community today. You’ll hear stories of beauty, resilience, and faith—stories that reveal how Latino heritage has shaped both individuals and culture.

Even in seasons that feel heavy with despair, the people of God are not called to deny the darkness but to overflow with hope in the midst of it. This hope is not rooted in the circumstances, but in the unshakable promise of a Jesus who has overcome the world. Join us this weekend to discover a hope that overflows in the midst of hopelessness.

This Sunday we look at God's justice. A lot of us view justice as “an eye for an eye” or someone “getting what they deserve“. What in the Bible, we see God embodying a very different vision of what it means to do justice. A vision that is far less about retribution against others, and more about restoration for and with others.

Faith was never meant to end with us. In this four-week series, we’ll discover how following Jesus leads to a life that pours out into the world around us. We’ll explore how God has uniquely gifted each of us to serve, how sharing our story can lead others to hope, how biblical justice is a vital expression of God’s heart, and how generosity reflects the abundance of God’s love. This series invites us to move from spiritual consumption to spiritual contribution. So join us as we move from a faith that comes TO US to a faith that flows THROUGH US.

We watched 75 people publicly declare YES to Jesus during Baptism Sunday! Soul City Church exists to lead people into a transforming relationship with Jesus. We’re a local church with a global vision. We want to lead an “Only God” movement that transforms the soul, the city, and the world. We’re glad that you’re here. We hope you’ll SUBSCRIBE to our channel and join us for our weekly worship gatherings online.

Get ready for another story in the Bible you never skip, because every time, they deliver.

Judgment, both external and internal, affects us. Learn how we can move from judgment to grace, using good judgment while leaving condemnation behind. Don’t miss this thought-provoking message on mercy, freedom, and the transformative love of Jesus. Message brought by Pastor Kelly Skiles.

Everyone loves the story of the walls of Jericho tumbling down on the seventh day. But we don’t love the story as much when in our lives, we feel like we’re on the fourth day, or the sixth day. When we’ve been walking and waiting, but God hasn’t moved yet. This week, we will be encouraged to stay obedient, even when it might not make sense. Taught by Jon Jorgenson

VOICES concludes today with Dave Gibbons. Pastor, author, global advisor—and a voice for the misfits, creatives, and outsiders. This is a Sunday you don’t want to miss!

Today, we continue our VOICES series with Latasha Morrison—author, speaker, and founder of Be the Bridge. Latasha is a trusted voice on unity, reconciliation, and cultural intelligence, helping people and churches grow in racial literacy and the way of Jesus. If you care about building bridges, loving your neighbor, or leading with empathy—this is a Sunday you don’t want to miss!

We’re kicking off our VOICES series today with Jamie Kern Lima—founder of IT Cosmetics, bestselling author, and a voice of faith and resilience. She built a billion-dollar brand from the ground up—and discovered her true worth in God along the way. Entrepreneurs, leaders, and dreamers—don’t miss this powerful start to VOICES.

Sometimes it looks like anger. Sometimes it looks like stress. Sometimes it looks like hurting others, hiding from others, or numbing ourselves out. Overwhelm has many disguises. But when it lives in us, it always finds a way to come out. This week, we will hear God’s invitation reaching through our overwhelm and inviting us to rest.

What if God actually has a different perspective on our grief, and even a different plan for it? Today, we will take time to grieve what has been lost, and also receive what God has for us.

As a bridge-building church, we take time to remember—and to listen. This Juneteenth, we’re sharing a conversation about freedom, faith, and what it means to keep moving forward together. Hosted by Brandon Henderson, Transformation Pastor at Soul City, with guests: Tamara Dervin Taylor Howard Carl Wilson, MA, LPC Jarrett Stevens, Founding Lead Pastor at Soul City Church Watch the full conversation and explore more at soulcitychurch.com/resources #BridgeBuildingChurch #Juneteenth #SoulCityChurch

If there were a buzz word for the 2020s, it might be ANXIETY. Anxiety is no longer something that pops up from time to time. It is now the constant undercurrent of our culture. But God did not create us for an anxious life. God created us for a full life. This week, we will learn to see our anxiety through a different lens, and discover the invitation within.

We’re diving into what it means to live a life full of Holy Spirit encounters — not just at church, but everywhere we go.

Pastor Jon Jorgenson challenges us to reflect on whether we’re choosing God with commitment or only when it’s convenient. Through powerful parallels between marriage and faith, he unpacks what it means to Decide, Declare, and Demonstrate your “yes” to Jesus—inviting listeners to take their next step through baptism.