GUILDERLAND — A Pentecostal church has opened in Park Guilderland Shopping Center in Guilderland Center.

Called Word of Reconciliation International Ministry, it is run by Pastor Peter Hamilton, 49. The church focuses, he said, on healing, deliverance, and salvation of souls.

“We are not here to make money,” he said in rounded Caribbean tones with a slight lilt, “but to tell the people who Christ is.”

Currently, there is one two- to three-hour service on Sunday morning service, although he hopes to add another service during the week.

Hamilton is originally from Trinidad and Tobago — a Caribbean twin-island nation near Venezuela — and came to the United States 13 years ago. Hence the “international” in the name, he said.

His vision for the church is international; he describes it as “reconciling men and women from every culture and nation through ... the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Hamilton previously headed his own church in Queens. He moved to the Capital District 13 years ago when “God opened a door.” It was not his choice to come to the United States, he says; this was where the Lord brought him to do God’s work.

When Hamilton first came to the Capital District, he worked full-time as a builder; he is now an independent contractor. His wife has a job during the week as well, and then helps with the work of the church.

The cost of living was very high in New York City, Hamilton said: he paid $3,100 for the combined rent on his church and apartment. He rented out part of his property to another church to help pay the rent.

He now pays $1,200 less than that. He and his wife live in the adjacent Park Guilderland Apartments.

In New York, he ran a food pantry every Saturday, which served over 20 families, he said, adding, “We are our brother’s keeper.”

He would like to do that again, perhaps by combining forces with an existing pantry.

“There’s one on Western Avenue at Hamilton — ” he said, searching for the phrase Hamilton-Union Presbyterian Church. “I don’t know if we are related,” he quipped. “Because I am a Hamilton.” The church was named for the Hamilton settlement in Guilderland.

Another vision that he has for the future involves offering home-improvement classes — in areas such as electrical work or plumbing — for free.

Services started in September. There are 72 chairs in the plaza space that was most recently an Italian restaurant, but a lot of them are still open. The congregation currently has just two families besides the Hamiltons.  

Asked if he is hoping for more parishioners, Hamilton said, “The Bible says it is the Lord that will add to the church. Everything is up to the Lord.”

A sign on the door says “Welcome home,” Hamilton pointed out. “People should feel at home, comfortable. We welcome everybody.”