Rev. Chris Cano to Serve as Pastor of Evangelism and Discipleship

With gratefulness to God, Living Hope Church welcomed Rev. Chris Cano in its ministry on Sunday, June 12, along with his wife, Kim, and their two children, Karissa and Joseph. As part of the pastoral installation, Pastor Sam Hamstra read the charges to Rev. Cano to administer the Word and sacraments as well as provide leadership and governance to the church. It also included a time of questions, during which Rev. Cano affirmed his call to the Living Hope congregation, his belief in the Old and New Testaments, and promise to exercise the office faithfully by living a Godly life while submitting to sound doctrine and the church’s ecclesiastical structure.

“The installation service of a pastor parallels that of a marriage ceremony,” said Pastor Hamstra. “It is the official union of a pastor with the people. As such, it carries great significance for it calls both pastors and people to renewed commitment to Christ and His Church. Hence, the installation service can only end one way: with prayer for God’s grace that we be found faithful.”

Rev. Cano, ordained in the Reformed Church of America in 2009, received his Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary (Pasadena, CA) that same year. He grew up in Northern California and was previously on staff at Emmanuel Reformed Church in Paramount, California, where he and Kim gave their lives to Christ. At Emmanuel, Rev. Cano volunteered in the junior high ministries, and later provided leadership for both student ministries and congregational care teams. Rev. and Kim moved to the Chicagoland area in the fall of 2010 as part of a job transfer for Kim, who is a human resources director for Boeing.

“I am very excited to pastor Living Hope around the areas of discipleship, mission, and evangelism,” said Rev. Cano. “Together we are going to journey forward in pursuit of God's purpose for us as a church that offers living hope to each other and the community around us. It is my goal that we would see a number of leaders rise up from within our congregation to be true disciples of Jesus Christ who seek to make disciples of Jesus Christ. It is my desire that I continue to grow as a follow of Christ (by submitting myself to on-going discipleship) and in turn disciple others.

“I am excited to watch God do for people in this region what He has done in my life. God's redeeming plan and power has completely changed my life and my family, and I want Living Hope to be a part of God's redemptive work in many lives again and again! I believe this is why God has called me here and I believe we will all be in awe of what God does in us and through us as believers and as a church.”

After the pastoral installation on Sunday, the Living Hope congregation celebrated over lunch at the Cano home.     

“It was such an honor to be installed as a pastor of Living Hope church,” said Rev. Cano. “Living Hope is a beautiful congregation of people who love God well and each other well. This was demonstrated by the beautiful installation service and the extended family celebration held at my home afterwards. We feel like we don't just have a church community but a family wrapped around us at Living Hope.”

Outside of Rev. Cano’s church responsibilities, he enjoys spending time with his family, exercising, and playing and watching all kinds of sports.

“In my mind, there is no better way to explain Chris’ presence with Living Hope Church than as a gift from the Lord,” Pastor Hamstra concluded. “He is the right person at the right time at this moment in the life of our congregation. I thank the Lord daily for leading Chris and his family to Living Hope Church.” 

View a complete photo gallery from the pastor installation via a public facebook album.