We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chris Bellanger a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Chris, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I didn’t grow up with a safety net. Poverty, instability, and survival mode were my reality. But even then, I saw something powerful—people with incredible potential they didn’t believe they could reach.
In 2020, after George Floyd’s death, the Twin Cities were broken. The air was thick with smoke, glass crunched underfoot, and grief hung over our streets. Businesses were gone, communities divided, and hope was fading.
That’s when we launched Unite Twin Cities—an outreach bringing churches together across races and denominations to serve side-by-side. We set up food and clothing drives in the heart of destroyed neighborhoods, prayed with people in parks, and rebuilt not just buildings, but trust and unity.
We weren’t just meeting needs—we were walking with people step-by-step, creating a path toward purpose. I knew it would work because I had lived that transformation.
For me, this isn’t a nonprofit. It’s personal. It’s legacy. And it’s the answer to a problem I’ve been preparing my whole life to solve.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

For those who haven’t met me yet, my name is Chris Bellanger, and my story is one of transformation both my own and the lives I’ve been called to impact. I grew up in poverty, facing instability, scarcity, and the constant grind of survival. Those early years taught me resilience, faith, and the unshakable belief that your starting point doesn’t define your destiny.

My path into ministry and community leadership wasn’t mapped out in a career planner it came from lived experience and a conviction to create what I wish I had when I was younger: people and resources that meet you where you are, help you discover your purpose, and walk with you as you live it out.

In 2020, after the riots that followed George Floyd’s death, I founded Unite Twin Cities, an outreach ministry that brings churches together across races, denominations, and neighborhoods. We focus on unity, healing, and tangible impact—hosting food and clothing drives, organizing prayer gatherings, and working on community restoration in the very places that were damaged. Our heartbeat is to not just respond to crisis, but to build lasting change.

What We Provide
Community Outreach: Large scale events, street ministry, and neighborhood revitalization efforts that meet both spiritual and practical needs.

Church Collaboration:
Helping congregations break down silos and work together toward shared goals.
Purpose Coaching: Guiding individuals to identify their God-given gifts and create actionable steps to live them out.
Opportunities for Engagement: Connecting volunteers, donors, and leaders with on-the-ground work that makes a visible difference.

The Problems We Solve:
Too often, churches and communities work in isolation duplicating efforts, missing opportunities, and failing to reach those most in need. We bridge that gap. We create spaces where people from different backgrounds can stand together, serve together, and see transformation together. We tackle both the immediate needs like food insecurity and clothing shortages and the deeper needs of purpose, hope, and unity.

What Sets Us Apart:
We don’t just hand out resources we build relationships. We don’t just preach unity we practice it by partnering with churches and organizations that don’t look, sound, or worship exactly like us. And we don’t just talk about change we bring it to the very streets where pain and division have lived for too long.

What I’m Most Proud Of:
I’m most proud of the moments when I’ve watched walls come down when someone receives prayer in a park where violence once ruled, when churches that had never worked together start serving side-by-side, when a young person realizes they have a future worth fighting for.
What I Want People to Know

This isn’t just a ministry; it’s a movement. Unite Twin Cities is proof that when the Body of Christ comes together, the city changes. My brand is about hope with hands and feet love that is seen and felt. We exist to bring light where there’s darkness, unity where there’s division, and purpose where there’s despair.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Leaving the corporate world wasn’t part of my original plan. For years, I worked the traditional 9–5, climbing ladders, meeting deadlines, and checking the boxes that society says define “success.” On paper, it looked good steady paycheck, predictable schedule, the security of knowing what tomorrow would hold.

But in my heart, there was a restlessness I couldn’t ignore. Every time I looked around my city especially in the wake of George Floyd’s death and the riots that followed I saw brokenness that no corporate title could fix. I felt this deep pull to do something more… something that wasn’t just about earning a living, but about changing lives.

It wasn’t an easy decision. Walking away from stability into ministry meant trading certainty for faith. It meant giving up a job that was safe for a calling that was risky. But I knew if I didn’t step out, I’d be settling for less than the life God was calling me to live.

So I retired from my corporate role and launched Unite Twin Cities, an outreach ministry that brings churches together to serve and heal our communities. It was a complete pivot from business meetings to block outreaches, from office walls to the streets of Minneapolis and St. Paul. And while I left the corporate paycheck behind, I gained something far greater: purpose, unity, and the privilege of watching lives transformed every single day.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think what’s helped me build my reputation is simple but rare: showing up consistently, listening before speaking, and following through on my word.

In ministry and community work especially after something as raw and painful as the George Floyd riots people can spot the difference between someone who’s there for the photo op and someone who’s there for the long haul. I’ve worked hard to be the latter. I don’t just drop into neighborhoods during events; I build relationships that last.

Another thing that’s built trust is collaboration instead of competition. Too often, churches and organizations work in silos, but I’ve made it a priority to unite people across denominations, races, and zip codes. That willingness to bridge gaps and give others the spotlight has opened more doors than self-promotion ever could.

And finally, my story itself has helped. People know I’ve lived the struggle I’m trying to help them overcome. I’m not speaking from theory I’m speaking from experience. That authenticity resonates, and it’s why leaders, volunteers, and entire communities have been willing to partner with me.

At the end of the day, my reputation hasn’t been built on flashy branding or big budgets it’s been built on relationships, consistency, and results people can see with their own eyes.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://UniteTwinCities.com