In our walk through the book of Jeremiah, we’ve been confronted with the both the harsh realities and promised hope of living in a post-Christian world. Here’s a picture of how our members are being salt and light to a lost generation.
The Student Ministry Chicago Mission Journey | Armitage Church Garfield:
Prayer Needs:
3 Life Skill Teachers to Teach Tuesday and/or Thursday morning and nights
3 Job Skills Teachers to Teach Tuesday and/or Thursday morning and nights
Recently, 88 students returned from Chicago where they worked with Armitage Church Garfield, a Hope for the World Missions Offering partner, to reach the Garfield Park Community.
In the fifth year of their summer partnership with Armitage, our students hosted a Vacation Bible School at four different locations and hosted two block parties where 200 children, from babies to teenagers, came. The block parties took place in the neighborhood where church members lived, which gave them an opportunity to meet and reach out to their neighbors.
Amy-Jo Girardier, Girls and Student Missions Minister, said, “As a result of our work, relationships were deepened. Our students got to see that firsthand. They are continually processing everything about the trip—from challenging themselves to asking how they can live more dangerously. One student said they thought they were living dangerously, but they realized living dangerously actually meant to live as a Christian in this world.”
Armitage Church Garfield, led by Pastor Jamie Thompson, is an inner-city congregation that works to meet contemporary issues and urban needs. This Hope for the World Missions Offering partner works to reach the Garfield Park Community and was birthed out of Armitage Church, a large multi-ethic congregation in inner-city Chicago.
Something to think about…
If you have 5 minutes:
Listen to “God of the City” by Chris Tomlin.
If you have 30 minutes:
Do a Bible search using tools like Libronix or Bible Gateway (BibleGateway.com) to find passages that talk about God and city. There are more than 1,250 uses of the word “city” in Scripture. Read these passages about how God sees “The City” and pray for Chicago— the least churched city in the U.S.
If you have a day:
Go serve and engage with the homeless who live in our city at the Nashville Rescue Mission, or contact our Missions Ministry to get involved with this work in Nashville.
If you have a week:
Read the book A Theology As Big As the City by Ray Bakke.
