Rich Pérez is a unique storyteller and thought-leader in the Hispanic-American experience. His life has layers, and he has put time into understanding how they’ve shaped who he is and what he cares about. From 2011 to 2020, Rich and his family planted Christ Crucified Fellowship in his hometown neighborhood (Washington Heights). Rich is also the author of Mi Casa Uptown: Learning to Love Again. 

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“It’s difficult to not think of your life outside of the home or reduce it to just your nuclear home. You know what I’m saying? So that was my upbringing, but as I grew older it started to get more complex for sure, because I realized that I was the product of a few things.”

Rich Pérez is made up of layers—like you and me—and realizes that those layers make him unique. From 2011 to 2020, he was a New York City church pastor at the Christ Crucified Fellowship, a community-first church founded in his own home with his friend Andy Mineo. Since the pandemic, his life has taken a different direction and even led him to relocate to Atlanta, Georgia, where he’s discovered the importance of reimagining himself while still functioning in the gifts that God has given him. 

In this episode, Rich and I discuss his parents’ journey to America as immigrants and how they found a community in Washington Heights, New York; his previous life as a New York City pastor, and how he’s been dealing with that part of his life coming to a close; and the importance of learning to embrace all the things that make him who he is today. We also talk about losing his mother, who he credits with leading him on his journey to Christ, and how he’s honoring her legacy. And we wrap up our conversation by reflecting on how the pandemic has left an indelible mark on him and finding beauty and purpose in loss. 

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