Happy Tuesday Reader,

What a Sunday.

A full room. An engaged online audience. The Word hit, and the people received it.

This is what it looks like when a hybrid church moves as one body.

Whether you were in the building or watching from your living room, you were part of something real.

Honoring Rev. Jesse Jackson

Today we honor the life and legacy of Jesse Jackson.

Rev. Jackson was a towering voice for justice, dignity, and economic opportunity. For decades, he challenged systems, opened doors, and reminded America that faith must walk hand in hand with action. His leadership stretched across generations and movements, always rooted in the belief that every person deserves respect and a fair chance.

He was not perfect, but he was present. He showed up in the streets, in the pulpit, and on the world stage. His courage helped shape conversations that still matter today.

We extend our deepest condolences to his family and all who were impacted by his work. May we honor his memory not only with words, but with continued commitment to justice and service.

Rest well, Reverend. Your labor was not in vain.

Overview of Sunday’s Message: “The Unattainable Dream”

Big Idea: The racial wealth gap exists because federal policy actively built white wealth while systematically denying it to Black families. The effects compound to this day.

Scripture: Leviticus 25:23, Jeremiah 29:5 (NLT)

Three Takeaways:

⓵ The gap was designed. The FHA refused to insure mortgages in Black neighborhoods. They called it redlining. Between 1934 and 1968, 98% of government-backed home loans went to white families. The wealth gap is not a mystery. It is a receipt.

⓶ A denied loan is a denied inheritance. When the government blocked Black families from buying homes, they did not just block a purchase. They erased a timeline. Every generation after that denial starts further behind.

⓷ God’s economy has a reset. Leviticus 25 says land goes back every 50 years. No family was meant to be permanently locked out. God refuses to let one generation’s greed become the next generation’s ceiling.

This week’s practice: Find a redlining map of your city at the University of Richmond’s Mapping Inequality project. Look up your neighborhood. See what grade the government gave it. Then ask: What is one thing I can do this week to build what they said I could not?

Watch the full sermon replay:

▶️ Missed it? Watch the Full Sermon Replay​

​

New Book: When Faith Feels Far

My new book just dropped on Amazon in paperback and Kindle.

When Faith Feels Far: Finding Hope In Hard Seasons is for anyone who has ever wondered if God forgot their address. It is what happens when a pastor stops performing and starts being human.

Get your copy now: When Faith Feels Far on Amazon​

🗓️ Announcements

Life Groups

Life Groups are now in session. This is where real connection happens. If you want to go deeper, text LIFEGROUP to 33777 to join.Year-End Giving

This Sunday

Date: February 22, 2026

Time: 10:30 AM CT

Location: Online only

Series: A Feature, Not a Bug (Week 4: The Price of Admission)

This Sunday’s service is online only.

Where: Online at MarsHillChicago.org
​Watch on Facebook: @MarsHillChicago​
Watch on YouTube: ClarenceStowersTV​

You’re Invited: In-Person Worship at Mars Hill Anywhere

Date: Sunday, March 15, 2026​
​Time: 10:30 AM Central
​Location: 7941 47th St., McCook, IL
​Online: Live on YouTube and Facebook

We’re gathering this Sunday, and you’ve got two ways to be part of it:

✅ Log on and worship with us live online from wherever you are

However you show up, don’t miss this moment. God is speaking, and faith is being rebuilt.

Bring your family. Invite a friend. Get in the room or tap in online.

Let’s go after God together.

How to Support Mars Hill

Your generosity fuels everything we do, from in-person gatherings to digital discipleship. If you’ve been encouraged by this ministry, here are a few simple ways to give and get involved:

Give:

Support the mission securely at marshillchicago.org/giving, in our mobile app, or by texting MHGIVE to 33777. You can also mail checks to:

Mars Hill Baptist Church
PO Box 6159
River Forest, IL 60305

Serve:

Use your gifts to make a difference online or in person. Visit our site to see current serving opportunities.

Pray:

Lift up our leaders, our church family, and the people we’re reaching. Prayer is a powerful form of participation.

Invite & Share:

Send this email to a friend, invite someone to service, or repost something that encouraged you. Every share matters.

You’re helping us reach people with hope, truth, and love, whether they’re across town or across the country.

🔥 Your Move This Week

Until next time, keep building. Keep planting. Keep refusing to let the red lines define your family’s future. God did not design you to be locked out. God designed you to be the builder.

See you Sunday (online)!

With love and conviction,

Pastor Clarence E. Stowers, Jr.

P.S. I want to hear from you. After you look up your city’s redlining map this week, tell me what you found. What neighborhood did your family live in? What grade did the government give it? And what did it feel like to see that with your own eyes?

I read every reply. This is a conversation, not a broadcast.

Hit reply. Let’s talk about it.

Mars Hill Family,

You were there.

Some of you were in the room when we announced the building was gone.

Some of you watched from a screen, wondering if the church you loved was over.

Some of you joined after, never knowing the full weight of what this family walked through.

I’ve never told the complete story. Until now.

Two things in this email. Both of them are invitations to stop doing faith alone.

⓵ The Story We Never Fully Told

My new book, When Faith Feels Far, is the official account of what happened when Mars Hill sold our building and became Mars Hill Anywhere.

Not the highlights. Not the cleaned-up testimony. The real thing.

The night I couldn’t sleep because I didn’t know if the church would survive. The silence from God lasted longer than any sermon could cover.

The fear I never let you see. The loneliness of carrying something I couldn’t explain to anyone.

And the slow, stubborn, painful process of rebuilding my faith from the foundation.

This is our story. If you lived through it, you’ll finally see the parts that happened behind closed doors. If you’re new to Mars Hill Anywhere, this is where we come from. This is the fire that forged us.

​The book is available now on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats.

​Get the Book on Amazon →​

And we’re not just reading it. We’re walking through it together.

Life Groups are launching around all 16 chapters. A room full of people having the conversations most churches avoid. Not a lecture. Not a Bible study with easy answers. A space where you can say “I’m struggling” and someone across the table says “Me too.”

Life Group details, dates, times, and how to join, are coming soon. If you want in, stay close. This is going to be different.

This Sunday is Valentine’s Weekend Worship at Mars Hill Anywhere.

⓶ Valentine’s Day Weekend: Pull Up or Log On

This Sunday is Valentine’s weekend. And the best gift you can give yourself or someone you love is to be in a room where God is moving.

We want you with us.

Sunday, February 15, 2026

10:30 AM CST

Pull up in person:

7941 W. 47th St., McCook, IL

Bring your valentine. Bring your kids. Bring yourself. Come as you are.

Log on from anywhere:

• ​Watch on YouTube Live​
• ​Watch on Facebook Live​

Our series “A Feature, Not a Bug” continues with Week 3. Whether you’re in the building or on the stream, you belong here.

How to Support Mars Hill

Your generosity fuels everything we do, from in-person gatherings to digital discipleship. If you’ve been encouraged by this ministry, here are a few simple ways to give and get involved:

Give:

Support the mission securely at marshillchicago.org/giving, in our mobile app, or by texting MHGIVE to 33777. You can also mail checks to:

Mars Hill Baptist Church
PO Box 6159
River Forest, IL 60305

Serve:

Use your gifts to make a difference online or in person. Visit our site to see current serving opportunities.

Pray:

Lift up our leaders, our church family, and the people we’re reaching. Prayer is a powerful form of participation.

Invite & Share:

Send this email to a friend, invite someone to service, or repost something that encouraged you. Every share matters.

You’re helping us reach people with hope, truth, and love, whether they’re across town or across the country.

With love and expectation,

Pastor Clarence E. Stowers, Jr.

P.S. I held this story for years. Not because I was ashamed of it. Because I wasn’t ready to tell it right.

Now it’s written. Now it’s in your hands. And now we get to walk through it together.

So tell me: When was the last time your faith felt far? And what, if anything, brought you back?

I read every reply. This is a conversation, not a broadcast.

Hit reply. Let’s talk about it.

More From This Week:

• Substack: clarencestowers.substack.com​
• Podcast: Listen on Buzzsprout​
• Instagram: @clarence.stowers​
• Mars Hill: marshillchicago.org​

Happy Hump Day Reader,

This Sunday is Valentine’s Weekend Worship at Mars Hill Anywhere.

Bring your sweetheart. Or come as you are.

Either way, you belong here.

We are continuing Week 3 of our “A Feature, Not a Bug” series, and this message is one you will not want to miss. But more than that, this is a moment to gather. To be present. To worship together.

Valentine’s Weekend Worship

Sunday, February 15, 2026

10:30 AM Central

Mars Hill Church

7941 S 47th St, McCook, IL 60525

Whether you are married, dating, single, divorced, widowed, or complicated, this Sunday is for you. Love is not a relationship status. It is the heartbeat of who God is. And you are invited.

Pull up in person. This one is better live.

Can’t make it in person? Log on online.

Join Us This Sunday

What: Sunday Worship (In-Person & Online)

When: Sunday, February 15, 2026, at 10:30 AM CST

Where: Online at MarsHillChicago.org
​Watch on Facebook: @MarsHillChicago​
Watch on YouTube: ClarenceStowersTV​

We’re gathering this Sunday, and you’ve got two ways to be part of it:

✅ Pull up and join us in person at our McCook campus

✅ Log on and worship with us live online from wherever you are

However you show up, don’t miss this moment. God is speaking, and faith is being rebuilt.

Bring your family. Invite a friend. Get in the room or tap in online.

Let’s go after God together.

Last Sunday’s Message Rewind: Why America Has No Universal Healthcare

If you missed it, here’s what we unpacked:

Big Idea: Keeping Black people out of white hospitals was more important to Southern politicians than providing poor whites with the means to get medical treatment.

Scripture: Amos 5:24, Luke 10:25-37

Key Takeaways:

⓵ What feels like a healthcare crisis is actually a healthcare design.

⓶ God does not honor systems that protect privilege while people suffer.

⓷ The refusal to expand healthcare today is the direct descendant of the refusal to integrate hospitals yesterday.

This Week’s Practice: Text one person this question: “Did you know that Southern politicians blocked universal healthcare in 1945 because they refused to integrate hospitals?” Then send them this sermon link.

Missed Last Week? Catch the Replay

If you missed Week 2 or want to watch it again, the sermon-only version is live now:

📲 Catch the Replay & Devotional

I strongly encourage you to spend time with this timely message this week! You can catch the full replay and continue studying this theme:

• Study Deeper: We made a special 5-Day Devotional based on this message. It is available now on our church app, our website, and our YouTube channel.

▶️ Missed it? You can watch it here​

​

The Full Story: They Chose Segregation Over Saving Lives

After Sunday’s message, I wrote a deep dive into the timeline that connects 1945’s Hill-Burton Act to today’s Medicaid expansion refusals.

You will see the maps, the death counts, and the direct quotes from governors who had the money to save lives and said no anyway.

This is not theory. This is documented history.

​[Read on Substack →]​

How to Support Mars Hill

Your generosity fuels everything we do, from in-person gatherings to digital discipleship. If you’ve been encouraged by this ministry, here are a few simple ways to give and get involved:

Give:

Support the mission securely at marshillchicago.org/giving, in our mobile app, or by texting MHGIVE to 33777. You can also mail checks to:

Mars Hill Baptist Church
PO Box 6159
River Forest, IL 60305

Serve:

Use your gifts to make a difference online or in person. Visit our site to see current serving opportunities.

Pray:

Lift up our leaders, our church family, and the people we’re reaching. Prayer is a powerful form of participation.

Invite & Share:

Send this email to a friend, invite someone to service, or repost something that encouraged you. Every share matters.

You’re helping us reach people with hope, truth, and love, whether they’re across town or across the country.

🔥 Your Move This Week

⓵ Pick one podcast episode and listen during your commute or workout.

⓶ Read one Substack article and try the practice.

⓷ Write your one God-truth sentence and say it out loud every morning.

You cannot live a new life with the same old story running in your head. This week, we’re rewriting it.

See you Sunday (online)!

With love and expectation,

Pastor Clarence E. Stowers, Jr.

P.S. When was the last time a hospital bill or insurance denial made you feel powerless? Or maybe you have great coverage but watched someone you love struggle. Either way, you have seen this system up close.

Reply and tell me: What is one healthcare story you carry that finally makes sense now?

I read every response. This is a conversation, not a broadcast.

Hit reply. Let’s talk about it.

More From This Week:

• Latest Substack article: https://clarencestowers.substack.com
• Full sermon series info: https://www.youtube.com/@clarencestowersjr

Happy Thursday Reader,

They lied to you.

Your teachers lied.

Your textbooks lied.

Your government lied.And the worst part?

You believed them.You believed racism was a bug in the system that good people were trying to fix. You believed if we just elected the right leaders, passed the right laws, had the right conversations, it would get better.

But what if I told you the system isn’t broken?

What if the system is doing exactly what it was built to do?

Last Sunday, we opened our new series “A Feature, Not a Bug” with a message that named what many feel but few will say: the crises we keep calling “failures” are actually features of a system designed to protect racial hierarchy over shared prosperity.If you missed it, this is the message you need to hear.

Last Sunday’s Message Rewind: The System Is Working (Just Not for Some)

Big Idea: Racism in America isn’t a bug in the system—it’s a feature. These outcomes aren’t accidents, they’re the predictable result of a system designed to protect racial hierarchy over shared prosperity.

Scripture: Acts 17:26, Psalm 68:5-6, Isaiah 58:6-12, Amos 5:24

Key Takeaways:

① Racism in America isn’t a bug. It’s a feature, designed, implemented, and protected. When hospitals refused to integrate, when Reagan defunded universities the moment Black students enrolled, when the FHA wrote “Do not lend to Black neighborhoods” into federal policy that wasn’t incompetence. It was a plan.

② If you keep treating a feature like a bug, you’ll never fix the system. Stop being shocked when the system does what it was designed to do. Start being strategic. Build wealth anyway. Educate your children anyway. Vote anyway. Organize anyway. Create anyway.

③ God didn’t design you to endure injustice. He designed you to dismantle it. Isaiah 58 says: “You will be known as a rebuilder of walls and a restorer of homes.” You’re not a victim waiting for rescue. You’re a rebuilder. You’re a restorer. You’re a threat to every system designed to keep you down.

This Week’s Practice: Learn one piece of Black history that was hidden from you and share it with someone. Don’t lose hope. We’ve endured worse.

Missed Last Week? Catch the Replay

If you missed Week 3 or want to watch it again, the sermon-only version is live now:

📲 Catch the Replay & Devotional

I strongly encourage you to spend time with this timely message this week! You can catch the full replay and continue studying this theme:

• Study Deeper: We made a special 5-Day Devotional based on this message. It is available now on our church app, our website, and our YouTube channel.

▶️ Missed it? You can watch it here​

​

New Podcast Series Launched for 2026

You look successful on paper. You’ve built a career, proven yourself, earned your seat at the table.

But your peace is fragile. Your decisions feel heavier. And you’re tired of advice that doesn’t match the complexity of your life.

This week’s podcast episode is for you.

👉 Listen Now: Episode 41: Start Here: Is This Podcast For You?​

In 7 minutes, you’ll learn:

• Who this podcast serves (and who it doesn’t)
• What makes it different from every other leadership podcast
• The exact structure of every episode
• How to use it to grow 1% clearer every week
• Why there’s no hype, no fluff, and no church clichés here

If you’ve been curious about the podcast but didn’t know where to start, this is your episode.

Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever you listen.

🗓️ Announcements

Join Us This Sunday

This Sunday: “The Color of Care: How Segregation Poisoned America’s Healthcare”

What: Sunday Worship (Online Only)

When: Sunday, Sunday, February 8, 2026, at 10:30 AM CST

Where: Online at MarsHillChicago.org
​Watch on Facebook: @MarsHillChicago​
Watch on YouTube: ClarenceStowersTV​

You’re Invited: In-Person Worship at Mars Hill Anywhere

Date: Sunday, February 15, 2026​
​Time: 10:30 AM Central
​Location: 7941 47th St., McCook, IL
​Online: Live on YouTube and Facebook

We’re gathering this Sunday, and you’ve got two ways to be part of it:

✅ Pull up and join us in person at our McCook campus

✅ Log on and worship with us live online from wherever you are

However you show up, don’t miss this moment. God is speaking, and faith is being rebuilt.

Bring your family. Invite a friend. Get in the room or tap in online.

Let’s go after God together.

How to Support Mars Hill

Your generosity fuels everything we do, from in-person gatherings to digital discipleship. If you’ve been encouraged by this ministry, here are a few simple ways to give and get involved:

Give:

Support the mission securely at marshillchicago.org/giving, in our mobile app, or by texting MHGIVE to 33777. You can also mail checks to:

Mars Hill Baptist Church
PO Box 6159
River Forest, IL 60305

Serve:

Use your gifts to make a difference online or in person. Visit our site to see current serving opportunities.

Pray:

Lift up our leaders, our church family, and the people we’re reaching. Prayer is a powerful form of participation.

Invite & Share:

Send this email to a friend, invite someone to service, or repost something that encouraged you. Every share matters.

You’re helping us reach people with hope, truth, and love, whether they’re across town or across the country.

🔥 Your Move This Week

⓵ Pick one podcast episode and listen during your commute or workout.

⓶ Read one Substack article and try the practice.

⓷ Write your one God-truth sentence and say it out loud every morning.

You cannot live a new life with the same old story running in your head. This week, we’re rewriting it.

See you Sunday (online)!

With love and expectation,

Pastor Clarence E. Stowers, Jr.

P.S. Don’t forget to “Log on” with us online this Sunday at 10:30 AM Central for our online service. Set your reminder now! ⏰

Last Sunday, I challenged you to learn one piece of Black history that was hidden from you and share it with someone.

This isn’t just a history lesson. This is war against erasure. This is resistance against the lies that keep systems in place.

So tell me: What piece of Black history did you learn this week that you never knew before?

I read every reply. This is a conversation, not a broadcast.

Hit reply. Let’s talk about it.

More From This Week:

• Latest Substack article: https://clarencestowers.substack.com
• Full sermon series info: https://www.youtube.com/@clarencestowersjr

Happy Thursday, Mars Hill Family,

Last Sunday, I said something that made some of you uncomfortable: Your calendar is preaching a sermon your mouth does not agree with.

You say God is first. Your schedule says He’s an afterthought.

You say family matters. Your calendar says they get leftovers.

You say rest is important. Your time says you may be lying.

This week, we’re fixing that.

Overview of Sunday’s Message: Your Calendar Is Lying to You

Big Idea: Time is proof of your priorities. When you let God reorder your time, you move from constant hurry to intentional, peaceful progress.

Scripture: Ephesians 5:15-16

Key Takeaways:

⓵ Your calendar is preaching a sermon your mouth does not agree with. Your time never lies. It records what you actually did, not what you meant to do.

⓶ Wise living is not about managing time. It’s about redeeming it. You cannot build a life of meaning with leftover minutes. Stop giving God your leftovers.

⓷ The way you schedule your time reveals what you actually worship. Fools fill their time. Wise people steward their time. Your calendar either proves or exposes your priorities.

This Week’s Practice:

Time-block your next seven days. Put God, rest, and your top priorities on the calendar FIRST. Then fit everything else around them.

🎥 Watch The Replay →​

​

This Sunday: NEW SERIES LAUNCH

A FEATURE, NOT A BUG: The Deliberate Design of American Inequality

For Black History Month, we’re launching a 4-week series that goes beyond the surface.

These crises aren’t accidents. They’re features, not bugs, the predictable result of choices made to protect racial hierarchy over shared prosperity.

Week 1 (Feb 1): The Color of Care

How healthcare segregation created today’s Medicaid crisis.

We’re tracing the line from blocked universal healthcare to Southern states refusing Medicaid expansion today.

Same political logic: racial hierarchy matters more than poor people’s health.

Core Scripture: Amos 5:24 (NLT) — “Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living.”

Sunday, February 1, 2026, at 10:30 AM CST

📺 Online only.

​Watch on YouTube | Watch on Facebook​

Podcast: Why Your New Year Feels Like a Remix of the Last One

You keep changing the calendar, but your patterns stay the same.

New year. Same problems. Same habits. Same results.

The issue is not your plan. It’s your mindset. Motivation fades. Mindsets stick. And you cannot outwork broken thinking.

In this 15-minute episode, I break down why patterns persist, why motivation will not save you, and the daily replacement practice that actually rewires your brain.

This year does not have to be a repeat. But only if you stop blaming circumstances and start changing the mental software you’ve been running.

​Listen Now →​

Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever you listen.

🗓️ Announcements

Here’s What You Need to Know This Week:

You’re Invited: In-Person Worship at Mars Hill Anywhere

Date: Sunday, February 15, 2026​
​Time: 10:30 AM Central
​Location: 7941 47th St., McCook, IL
​Online: Live on YouTube and Facebook

We’re gathering this Sunday, and you’ve got two ways to be part of it:

✅ Pull up and join us in person at our McCook campus

✅ Log on and worship with us live online from wherever you are

However you show up, don’t miss this moment. God is speaking, and faith is being rebuilt.

Bring your family. Invite a friend. Get in the room or tap in online.

Let’s go after God together.

How to Support Mars Hill

Your generosity fuels everything we do, from in-person gatherings to digital discipleship. If you’ve been encouraged by this ministry, here are a few simple ways to give and get involved:

Give:

Your generosity fuels every sermon, every livestream, every resource we create.Give Securely →

You can also mail checks to:

Mars Hill Baptist Church
PO Box 6159
River Forest, IL 60305

See you Sunday (online)!

With love and expectation,

Pastor Clarence E. Stowers, Jr.

P.S. I want you to be honest with yourself this week.

Look at your calendar. Really look at it.

What’s the one thing you keep saying matters but your schedule keeps proving doesn’t?

Prayer? Your marriage? Rest? Your calling?

Name it. Reply and tell me.

I read every response. This is a conversation, not a broadcast.

Hit reply. Let’s talk about it.

More From This Week:

• ​Subscribe to the Podcast​
• ​Read my Substack​
• ​Connect on Instagram​