“This is more than a leadership course. My burden is to see God’s Kingdom expand through leaders who are privately healthy and publicly fruitful.”
Pastor Al Toledo, Lead Pastor of Chicago Tabernacle, with his wife Chrissy, pioneered the multi-ethnic, vibrant church in 2002. Al, who spent his early years in New York City preparing for a promising career as a professional baseball player, gave his life to Jesus while on a baseball field at the age of 17. His Major League journey ended shortly after being drafted by the Chicago White Sox, as God started to direct Pastor Al along a path towards the ministry. He left baseball and began attending a church a short distance from the apartment he grew up in, The Brooklyn Tabernacle. It was there where he would meet Chrissy, the daughter of Lead Pastor Jim Cymbala and his wife Carol.
Pastor Toledo served in various ministries and shortly thereafter responded to the call to full-time Christian service. This led Pastor Al to Omaha, Nebraska, where he pastored a thriving Assemblies of God church. He later returned with Chrissy to The Brooklyn Tabernacle to support the growing work before, finally, moving to Chicago.
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Pastor Al lives with a fervent desire to see people become all God has called them to be. An expression of this desire is the DNA of a Leader, a leadership training launched in 2012 to staff and lay leaders at Chicago Tabernacle, emanating from his over 25 years of ministry experience. Since then, DNA has been taught globally, in multiple seminaries, and in various cities.
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Al and Chrissy have three children – Susie, Annie and Tommy – and three grandchildren – Wesley, James and Roman.
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