Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Olympic Sized Outreach?

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Will Chicago Get the Bid for the 2016 Olympics?



Over 2000 churches in Chicago are being asked to partner strategically in a project to be coordinated with the 2016 Olympic Summer Games. We will know the decision regarding the Olympics and Chicago in October of 2009 when the announcement is made in Denmark. However, we have been presented an opportunity to come together as the churches of Chicago in a citywide initiative asking God for this major evangelistic outreach. And we have been given the time to do the hard work of preparation and prayer to make this outreach effective.

We know God is working all the time around us and when we are in prayer, seeking His direction on our lives, we can align ourselves with what He is already doing. No greater joy can be experienced in the life of His people when they are in the center of His will and when we see lost people make a life-changing decision for Jesus.

We are looking for creative support, which will empower a new experience for evangelism over the next years. Any projects we undertake must be diverse in approach to unify the multi-cultural heritage we enjoy in Chicago. Language and culture must be respected for the people from the many nations of the world, which are found in this city.

What Will Happen

Some estimates are that the Olympics in Chicago will draw 30-million visitors to the city. Airlines are applying for new routes to Olympic participants' countries expecting a swell of business. The 20,000 participants and 16,000 press will begin arriving weeks before the Olympic Games to prepare for events. The city is spending millions to get the games.

Chicago's infrastructure will increase as to the number of taxicabs, service employees and construction. All of the many stakeholders who will want to be part of the events will add to the numbers. The buzz on the street is already growing and will become everyday conversation.

We are seeing a rise in the use of public transportation as gas prices skyrocket, and that usage will only grow as the prospect of an Olympic torch is raised in Chicago. More trains and faster trains are on the drawing board to cinch the city bid.

With about 100,000 available hotel rooms, Chicago will fall short and we will have an opportunity to offer short-term housing in homes and churches for visitors to the city. What an opportunity to share your faith.

No Centralized Campaign

Dwight Moody held many small meetings during the 1893 Chicago World's Fair in three zones; north, south and west of the Chicago River. Metro Chicago has now grown to a size greater than 4000 square miles and participation would be expected from Gary to Kankakee and from Rockford to Milwaukee.

People from 200 language groups will be coming to Chicago for the games. Chicago is the only candidate which is representative of these language groups and has the primary infrastructure in place to accommodate the activities. Our diversity is singular in the world.

One thing we have learned is that the geography of the city is difficult. Major evangelistic revival meetings with a 'big name speaker' will not be the model for this outreach in Chicago.

www.PrayTheLoop.Info

PrayTheLoop is a cooperative initiative, which will reach into the secular culture and demonstrate our love for each other, the city and for sharing the Good News. Lay people will be led by their pastors to pray. "What unspeakable grace to pray to God in intercession for the needs of a city and the world!" Evangelism is not church growth and is not just the work of professionals. Growth is an important priority in each congregation but now, can we move out of the building and share the greatest story ever told with those who have never heard.

Only 5% of young people will every step inside of a Christian church. Sunday morning attendance in evangelical churches today has flat lined and in many denominations, the growth pattern is negative. The fact is that if we assume that we will reach the growing population in the world through the church, we are mistaken.

Now we must pray and prepare. Moody Church has been praying since 2007 for ' the event of the century.' Many churches and groups have been meeting for prayer for years, 'weeping over the city.' There are already prayer groups praying for the Olympics in churches and businesses all over Chicago.

What Does It Look Like

Our efforts will include a global web presence, which would attract interest from around the world. The website would focus on the Olympic interest and tell the stories of Christian athletes in many languages. Chicago churches would be linked with other churches, colleges and evangelism websites around the world.

Technology will be quite different in 2016. Eight years is like a 100 of the years of the past. Young people will use texting and 'always-on' communication rather than email. Social networking will be common, and we will no longer be bound to a stationary computer. All of the wonders of the Internet will be available in our hands and perhaps as part of our peripheral vision as wireless comes of age. 'Push technology' by zip code and perhaps even by neighborhood will re-created marketing. You can now look at your house and your neighbors through the use of Google street view. RFID tags will be everywhere.

MOBS will come together for prayer and for instant communications; sites will link those who support evangelism and Christian ministry; the norm will be online resources, on-demand video and direct communication. Print-On-Demand materials will be common as traditional printed matter and media will continue to fade.

Reverse the Flow

The most promising potential benefit of the entire outreach is to reverse the flow of ministry so that it bubbles up from below and does not depend on a flow down from the top.

The sad fact is that only a small fraction of believers are active in ministry and most members of churches have no interest in becoming involved at all. The good news is that a large percentage would say yes, if someone would ask them to serve. The role of leadership is to empower people. Spiritual leadership introduces people to a saving knowledge of Jesus and the infilling of the power of the Holy Spirit. Far to many remain 'parked in the pews' because they are never released to share that message with others.

If God's people can capture the vision of what He is already doing in Chicago churches and individual lives, we can be empowered to live lives that are changed. God is faithful in all that we are willing to give him. What we hold back and refuse to give to God is what drags us down.

In spite of the opposition we face today, God is confirming His church and empowering His people to make evangelism their lifestyle. We should use this opportunity to demonstrate respect for others who serve the Lord and build up each other's dignity as we share the truth of the gospel.

I am looking for churches that connect with this vision and join us at the table from the beginning. In order to have wide support of the outreach idea, each participating church will need to make the decision to become involved in the prayer initiative and allow the Holy Spirit to guide the level of effort to which the church is called.

===> Check out http://www.BlessYourBlock.org for a creative strategy to get your congregation out of their seats and into the streets ...
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Monday, November 24, 2008

Urban Plunge into Chicago's Neighborhoods

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SCUPE’s CityVoices

A resource of the Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education

Seminary Students Explore Chicago’s Changing Neighborhoods

SCUPE held a “Seeing the City through Prophetic Imagination” community tour weekend for seminary students on Saturday and Sunday, November 1st and 2nd. Designed to introduce students to SCUPE’s Graduate Theological Urban Studies program and the wonders of the city. The two-day event also sought to introduce students to the challenge of community development at the neighborhood level. Students explored different community development models as they visited the Cabrini-Green and Auburn-Gresham neighborhoods, two different African American communities.

Cabrini-Green is a pubic housing area that is being redeveloped by outsiders who are economically displacing residents by the high cost of the new housing that is being built there, while Auburn-Gresham is a middle class neighborhood that being developed from the inside-out by residents living in the area with help from congregations like the Faith Community of St. Sabina, Catholic church leading the way.

Overall, 16 Master of Divinity students participated in the urban community exploration weekend. Students came from Western Theological Seminary (Holland, MI), Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY), and Luther Seminary (St. Paul, MN). The seminary students gathered at the Walter Payton High School parking lot on a chilly Saturday morning and walked to nearby Cabrini-Green. Their community guide, Cynthia Stewart, a community activist and educator, who wrote her graduate thesis on the comparisons of community transformation between the top-down approach in Cabrini Green and the bottom-up faith-based approach of the Auburn Gresham community. She was informative, personable and very well connected with the churches in both communities. Dave Frenchak and Carol Ann McGibbon of SCUPE, also joined the group on their journey and helped to guide student reflections.

After touring Cabrini, the students visited with Rev. Chuck Infelt, pastor of Holy Family Lutheran Church, a local church located in the Cabrini Green neighborhood. Pastor Infelt gave a great historical overview of the community’s change from a high-crime, low-income, public housing to a quickly changing high-income, townhouse and homeownership-based ($300,000 and up) community. Students were exposed to each community’s history, as well as solid sociological, political, and theological analysis as they walked through the two neighborhoods.

The group began with Cabrini-Green in the morning and then traveled south by public transportation to Auburn-Gresham, where they dined at the Perfect Peace Café, an economic development project of St. Sabina Church. After a tour of the housing, senior complex, school and church, students returned to SCUPE for Chicago deep dish pizza and a time of theological reflection on the experience. Students were inspired by the community development work in Auburn-Gresham and several students expressed interest in learning more about urban ministry and SCUPE’s programs. Sunday morning, students had the choice of worshipping at one of several SCUPE internship sites - Bethel Lutheran Church, Fourth Presbyterian, the Faith Community of St. Sabina, New Life Community Church, LaVillita Community Church, Faith Tabernacle Baptist Church, and Trinity United Church of Christ. The weekend ended with lunch and a final debriefing before they headed home. The experience was such a good one that SCUPE will plan another community tour in the spring.

INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT CROSS-CULTURAL MINISTRY?
CONTACT US AT: URBANMIN@SCUPE.COM OR 312-725-1200.

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Thanks for Reading SCUPE’s CityVoices!

For further information about SCUPE, or CityVoices newsletter, contact:
SCUPE’s CityVoices, 200 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 502, Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 726-1200 phone / (312) 726-0425 fax

roger@scupe.comHome Page

Copyright 2008 SCUPE, Chicago, Illinois



===> Check out http://www.BlessYourBlock.org for a creative strategy to get your congregation out of their seats and into the streets ...
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Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Share the Faith on CTA Platforms

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Chicago Transit Authority Affirms Right to Preach on Platforms

CHICAGO, November 13, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Mauck & Baker, LLC, and the Thomas More Society in Chicago have announced that they reached an out-of-court settlement after joining forces to preserve the constitutional right of Moody Bible student Matthew Rivera and his classmates to share the message of Jesus on Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) train platforms.

In July, Rivera was told by a CTA security guard that he could not preach at a subway platform without a permit. He was told he would need to pay a $10 fee, wear a badge and do his preaching in a small designated area where he may or may not have an audience.

Rather than risk arrest, Rivera stopped talking about God and offering people reading material. Another Moody student with Rivera was also evangelizing on the platform. He was told that his Texas driver’s license was not acceptable identification to obtain a permit and that he would need an Illinois license or ID card to be licensed.

Mauck & Baker attorney John Mauck exchanged communications with Eugene Munin, the CTA's first deputy general counsel, seeking a peaceful accommodation. Mauck convinced Munin to send a letter confirming that preaching is allowed on the platforms and not subject to licensure. The attorney emphasized that it is important to be able to preach where people congregate and that the First Amendment protects preaching.

In the end Munin acquiesced and provided a letter that states that “preaching” does not constitute “oration” (which requires licensure under a CTA ordinance), thereby confirming that Rivera and those who wish to spread the truth of the Gospel will be able to continue to preach without fear of arrest.

Rivera, Moody Bible Institute students, Jews for Jesus and other groups who wish to evangelize should now carry both the letter from the CTA and a supplemental letter from Mauck & Baker with them, said Mauck, which will ensure that there are no further incidents.

“Our objective,” said the attorney, “is always to preserve and extend the freedom to communicate the great message of God’s love rather than litigate. This experience with the CTA demonstrates that sometimes good communication and good will on both sides can avoid costly and time consuming court battles.”



===> Check out http://www.BlessYourBlock.org for a creative strategy to get your congregation out of their seats and into the streets ...
---> Receive periodic updates on new One Great City postings: Email phil@nppn.org / Subject: OGC Updates
---> Type keywords in the "Search This Blog" box above