How does a pastor guide a community facing real threats, real fear, and real need?

In this powerful continuation, Pastor Paco Amador joins Tara Beth Leach and Mark Quanstrom to share how his congregation in Chicago’s Little Village is responding to the immigration crisis with courage, compassion, and prophetic witness. From offering tamales and prayer outside a migrant shelter to confronting the fear of deportation in his pews, Paco embodies the gospel as both resistance and hope.

🎙️ In This Episode:

• The harrowing journey of migrants through the Darién Gap
• How the church in Chicago became a sanctuary of love and welcome
• The rise of fear and persecution amid ICE detentions
• How Paco’s preaching has changed to meet a scattered and suffering flock
• The unbreakable hope of a church that refuses despair

⏱️ Timestamps:

00:00 – What it means to be a Hispanic pastor in Chicago today

04:00 – The migrant journey through the Darién Gap

07:00 – Prayers, tamales, and the birth of a street-side church

13:00 – Organizing mercy: how the church met the need

17:00 – Stories of separation and injustice

21:00 – Fear, invisibility, and the immigrant experience

28:00 – The church as prophetic resistance

34:00 – Preaching for a scattered people

38:00 – Seeds of the gospel in persecution

In a city divided by politics and fear, Pastor Paco Amador reminds us that the Church’s truest power is love.

When systems fail and families are torn apart, the gospel still takes root on sidewalks, in shelters, and through the songs of a people who refuse to lose hope.