Each Sunday, the doors of the former St. Andrew Methodist Church open to welcome New Zion Ministries’ congregation. Jimmy Allen Thomas, New Zion Ministries’ founder and senior pastor, envisions that anyone who walks through the sanctuary’s doors will be met with the life-changing message of Christ. 

Thomas and his wife Pamela Thomas, whom he pastors alongside, felt it was time to shift to Homewood to continue to build and grow their congregation. Since May, the congregation has been worshiping in the former St. Andrew Methodist Church which disbanded last year. 

New Zion Ministries’ first worship service was held in October 2009 at King of Glory Tabernacle Church of God in Christ. In 2012, the church found a permanent home in Alsip after purchasing a building for worship located at 12147 Cicero Ave. After more than a dozen years in Alsip, the congregation relocated to Homewood. 

Thomas, who moved to Homewood in 2006, has a family home just one minute away from St. Andrew’s building. 

“We passed this church regularly everyday… I never had in my mind that this would be the house where my ministry would be couched, so it’s interesting how God moves,” Thomas said. 

Thomas has been pastoring for 37 years and pastored four Methodist churches prior to founding New Zion Ministries. He felt God led him to create a non-denominational worship experience where all are welcomed. 

“I think that’s one of the reasons God has us here,” Thomas said. “We have a wonderful opportunity to be the hub of a place for resources for people.”

Weekly worship service begins at 10 a.m. on Sundays. The service consists of a blend of contemporary and traditional gospel with a mix of hymns led by Thomas’ children Paighton and Justin Thomas. 

In addition to Sunday morning worship service, New Zion also meets for a midweek service, Tuesday Night Teaching or “T.N.T.” at 7 p.m., and also offers ministries for members to engage in. 

The church houses an active music and men’s ministry. Pastor Thomas also hopes to develop a comprehensive counseling center where people can address their needs with a trained spiritual counselor. 

New Zion Ministries also has a history of community outreach, like health and clothing drive initiatives, that Pastor Thomas looks forward to continuing in the Homewood-Flossmoor community. 

“I think part of the gifts that God has given to me has been able to look at all of the community stakeholders wherever I’m located and begin to bring them all together so that we can look at how each of us can bring what it is that we do to the table that will benefit all of us, the entire community,” Thomas said. 

Thomas hopes that by reaching the community, more families will come to Christ and want to call New Zion Ministries their church home. 

“We don’t intend to be a congregation or a community of faith that are just behind these walls,” Thomas said. “We’re going to radically try to come up with ways where we can reach the community.”