Pastor Samuel Mendenhall founded Hope Church Bronzeville, a nondenominational church, in December 2022.  Pastor Sam’s goal is for Hope Church to be a “church without walls,” that seeks to do ministry by serving the Chicagoland community and making a holistic difference in the lives of the residents through the Gospel, service, and action.

Prior to pastoring at Hope Church, Pastor Sam served as the pastor of two churches in the Englewood and Bronzeville areas here in Chicago. While pastoring in Englewood, Pastor Sam created partnerships with Clara’s House, Woods Elementary School, and Alden Wentworth Nursing Home.  These efforts included monthly fellowship dinners with the residents of Clara’s House, holiday gift giving and mentoring at Woods Elementary, and gift giving and visiting the seniors at Alden Wentworth.

While pastoring in Bronzeville, Pastor Sam created a partnership with Chicago Public Schools through their Safe Haven Program, which provides after school tutoring and meal services to Chicago Public School students. He also partnered with Jackie Robinson Elementary School and provided them gifts during the Christmas holiday season. He also started an outreach ministry to Tent City, which provided coats, clothing, underwear, and toiletries to the homeless and those in temporary shelters.

Additionally, Pastor Sam is a partner in the international law firm of Winston & Strawn LLP.  He represents numerous Fortune 500 companies, as well as governmental agencies, in a wide variety of legal matters.  Pastor Sam has consistently been selected an Illinois Super Lawyer and a Leading Lawyer, honors given only to the top five percent of lawyers in Illinois. He was recently honored as one of the Most Influential Minority Attorneys in Chicago by Crain’s Chicago Business.

He is married to Keely Canty Mendenhall and they are the proud parents of two wonderful children, Natalie and Thurgood. 

Pastor Sam holds several degrees, including a Master of Divinity degree from the University of Chicago Divinity School and a law degree from the University of Illinois College of Law.