Village Bible Church || Aurora | Indian Creek | Sugar Grove | IL

Chicago Mission Team -  Monday, June 29 

The crisp air of a Monday morning met the nine eager students at 7AM as the team gathered in the parking lot of Grace Bible Church. After packing the van with luggage and VBS supplies, we were ready to assemble for prayer. A short devotion from Philippians 1 reminded all present that our manner of living should be worthy of the gospel of Christ. As “Christians,” we should bring glory and not shame to the name of our Lord. After few goodbyes and heartfelt hugs, we boarded the van bound for Chicago, service, and discovery of ministry.

After an hour and a half, we arrived at Higgins Elementary School which is a facility that the Salvation Army is allowed to use to conduct sports camps, community clean-up projects, green camps, Wednesday night bible studies, and Sunday morning church services. We met Vincent Johnson, a dear brother in the Lord, a reverend, a Salvation Army Sergeant Major, and former gang member. He knows the city well, and the people in it love him. His friendly attitude and ability to identify with anyone is a real example of Christ’s love for all people. He then led us to the Salvation Army office where we saw the vision for how TSA plans to impact the community with the Gospel of Christ.

Ray Kroc founded McDonalds, and financially succeeded. After he passed away, his wife, Joan Kroc donated 1.5 Billion dollars to the Salvation Army to build and operate community centers in strategic areas that could impact the lives of those living in the nearby communities. The project will create jobs, sports training, outreach opportunities, educational potential, and an alternative to street activity. Major David Harvey, our other week-long guide, presented this project to us to give up a picture of the long-term incarnational ministry that is planned. After this, we ate breakfast in the McDonalds conveniently and ironically located right next to the office. We found out later that one of the men we greeted at breakfast was a gang leader in the area. We would see him again soon.

We then drove back to the school where we prepared 30 lunches to give to the people we would meet at the VBS that would take place later that morning. After looking at the park located next to the school, we noticed that there were no children playing because the Park District was repairing the playground. The children of the area instead played at Cooper Park down the road. (This is where the Health Fair and Concert Outreach will occur on July 25^th. You and your family are invited.) After arriving there and setting up, we played a game of partner-tag and made a craft which each illustrated that God created us to be with Him. We then performed a puppet show that showed how Christ died to pay the penalty for sin that humans can’t pay. By this time a crowd of other people gathered, some of who we later discovered were gang members. Because they agreed with the way we were trying to make an impact in the community, they called their gang leader to organize a safe zone at the park to ensure that no dangerous activity would occur.

Our next task was to complete a work project cleaning up an abandon house’s intensely overgrown lawn several blocks from the school and future community center. This was not only to reach out to the neighborhood, but also to show the alderman of the community that The Salvation Army is serious about working hard to impact the area and to help in real, tangible ways. This experience was incredible because neighbors in that culture view themselves as individual threads of a relational fabric. They spend time outside their houses with people, instead of inside alone or focused on media. The entire team from Grace was astounded to see the way that people in that area care for the others around them.

That night we traveled a short distance from our house to Major Harvey’s. A former White Sox pitcher lived in the house before Major Harvey did, which was interesting for the majority of the team without other MLB loyalties. While Remember the Titans audibly played from the basement, we ate tacos and discussed the events of the day and other observations about the culture and politics of Chicago. The Harveys, who are both TSA majors, had recently written a chapter in a book about how to reach the inner-city. Emily and David already had the book signed by most of the 20+ authors, many of whom they knew from their experiences at Moody Bible Institute. Following this, Major David gave a presentation on the many programs and ways they use to reach the community. We then thanked the Harveys profusely and headed back home to discuss and process the events of the day, to worship in song, and to again offer ourselves as living sacrifices through prayer.