Welcome to RADIANTBRIDE.org!
"...and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless." Ephesians 5:27
News
January 30th, 2010 - Our first "graduating class." We gathered with our Solex College students to bid a fond farewell to the first two students who both arrived and departed from Solex while theCommunity@Solex has been on the campus. They are two students who faithfully participated in our Bible Studies and special events. It is our prayer that they will be Christians of the unusual variety - truly missional Christians who understand that no matter where they go, they go bearing the only Light which penetrates the darkness of a lost world.
December 25th, 2009 - Christmas Day Open House in Maywood. Several college students and neighbors joined us for a Christmas celebration. The food and fellowship was wonderful albeit a brief retreat from all the trials of life! This is an especially difficult time for village with all the recent economic pressures that further burden people who were already having a hard time getting by. So, having the opportunity of taking our guests before the throne of grace in prayer was the best of all.
November 28th, 2009 - Gloria and John hosted "family-less" students at their home for an evening of dinner and fellowship. For most in attendance, this was their very first holiday dinner in America! It was a joy to introduce them to American traditions, but what was even more exciting was having many opportunities to talk about various spiritual matters and THE spiritual matter - JESUS.
November 26th, 2009 - On Thanksgiving Day, the Korean Christian Reformed Church (one of our ministry partners at Solex) hosted a Thanksgiving Day celebration which included a grand luncheon. Solex students were the special guests! It was clear that students had a great time, and that they felt loved and welcomed. What a blessing to find a local church and pastor that is committed to collegiate ministries.
November 25th, 2009 - theCommunity@Solex hosted about 40 students, faculty and staff of Solex College who came out for a Pre-Thanksgiving luncheon. It was an excellent time of meeting lots of new students as well as familiar ones. We also gave out 19 New Testaments! Also, having the opportunity to get acquainted with and serve the folks who work at Solex was an extra treat, too.
November 11th and 12th, 2009 - John had the privilege of twice sharing about theCommunityinMayood at the 2009 Illinois Baptist State Association's Annual Meeting in Springfield. First, he presented a report on behalf of the Baptist Foundation which had generously provided academic scholarships while John was in seminary. It was an opportunity to formally express gratitude for the BF's past support and also to inform them that their support has ongoing repercussions as he and Gloria press on in Maywood for the Kingdom. Second, with this year's focus at IBSA's Annual Meeting being on Illinois churchplanting, he briefly shared about the work in Maywood. In addition, he presented this prayer requests before the people of God. "Pray that the type of cultural Christianity that inhibits authentic and relevant discipleship in our community and yours would receive the death blow that it deserves!" We can only assume that our hearts and those of the delegates were united since John's prayer request was met with applause! Hopefully, it will be met with prayer.
November 2009 - The Yi family had a wonderful time visiting and reconnecting with our ministry partners in Tulsa, Oklahoma and the Dallas and Fort Worth areas of Texas. The Lord certainly gave them favor in their meetings as existing partnerships were shored-up. As well, new partnerships were enlisted. Already, we are on track to enlist even more mission teams for 2010 than we had in 2009!
October 2009 - It is cause for great encouragement to know that many continue to stand behind the Work of theCommunity in prayer, material support, incarnational ministry, and by advocating for missional strategies for engaging their own communities! It is exciting to see new partnerships develop and old partnerships strengthen as existing partnerships are deepened. Also, it is thrilling to provide the news that the support of a local church has been enlisted as they will help us house our visiting mission teams at a location nearby Maywood. It is hoped that that additional local partnerships will continue to develop which will certainly further the impact of ongoing ministry in Maywood.
With the colder months upon us, outdoor ministries are obviously hampered, so the attentions is increasingly shifted to collegiate ministries. We also anticipate new collegiate ministries to begin on additional campuses as persons-of-peace relationships are revealed and fostered by God.
September, 28th 2009 - Sometimes it takes the testimony of others to appreciate what God is doing through you. Case in point, we often have a difficult time celebrating and enjoying the good stuff that is going on around us. Often our own eyes are so fixated on the hopes-of-dreams-to-be-fulfilled which are surely coming on the horizon that we fail to even notice the hopes and dreams that God is fulfilling already and now. Regrettably, we confess that our far-sightedness about the Kingdom is strangely and stubbornly self-imposed.
Thanks to a dear friend, who has recorded what her eyes have seen, we're better able to appreciate the beauty of what is indeed near - the Kingdom of God - unfolding right now! Here is what she sees:
September, 25th 2009 - Received exciting news! (For some interesting background, read Aug 13th's entry below). The President of Triton College has appointed John to take a seat on her Community Advisory Board. Unofficially, John's seat represents the faith-based constituency of the 25 towns and villages that are served by Triton's community college district. He is honored to serve his neighbors in this capacity. We praise God for opening the doors of opportunity to places where the people of God can be salt and light in the world. The Lord is creative in the the ways he gets his people relevantly engaged with the larger community around them!
September, 23rd 2009 - A dozen of us from the Community@Solex spent the afternoon taking in the sites in Evanston, IL, the Northwestern University campus, and Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette. What great time to hang out away from the daily pressures of classes. What a combination, beautiful surroundings, the company of friends, pleasant fall weather, and buffalo wings!
See the slideshow at the top of our Events page.
September, 19th 2009 - Look what we found at the library this week! Our ministries to our neighborhood got a write-up in our local paper. Several people mentioned that they had read about our work in the news, but no one seemed to be able to tell us when and where they read it. Well, we found the article and you can read it right here! As usual, the story doesn't capture the details, but we're happy to receive the positive press.
Proviso Herald Article
Labor Day 2009 - A group of eight including students from Solex College headed out to Warren Dunes State Park in Sawyer, Michigan for a day of fun in the sun! What a gorgeous day the Lord provided and the great fellowship made it even better! Check out a few of the photos in the Solex Slideshow.
Late August and Early September 2009 - Surveying, evangelism, and follow-up work has so far yielded at least 4 new professions of faith (possibly 5)! What is even more exciting is the promise of discipling relationships that will result! As of September 6, 2009, we have seen no less than 55 professions of faith since arriving in Maywood 18 months ago! Now, if only 1/4 of these were also being discipled. Now that would REALLY be exciting!
August 21st 2009 - The Concert of Prayer saw fewer attendees than hoped, but the activities of the evening were none the less powerful. Those who did gather prayed together for the Lord to work mightily through His people in Maywood - work that would bring about transformation at the very foundations of our village and in those who are entrusted to serve and lead the citizens of Maywood. We continue to throw the ball into God's court while also making ourselves available for His service.
Special thanks to the pastoral staff of the Proviso Community Church who generously provided a sound system for the evening. Also, we are grateful for the ongoing hospitality demonstrated to us by the Maywood Park District, its director, and his staff!
August 17-18th 2009 - We've devoted the brunt of the summer to kids and youth ministry. Monday we shifted gears by directing our focus on the adults in our neighborhood. Tuesday, we prayed with two adults who received Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives! Two others are at the cusp of eternal security, so you know we'll be visiting them again very soon! There are angels rejoicing with the Father in heaven today! We've also prayed with countless others for various needs that are in their lives and in their blocks. Also, we've had some amazing conversations with a slew of adults who have expressed a desire to study God's Word with us! Pray that many will follow through! Even more have promised to join us at Friday's Concert of Prayer and Praise!
Can't wait to see what the Lord has awaiting us the rest of the week!
The week of August 16th 2009 - A mission team from the Hope Community Church in Ypsilanti, Michigan will be joining us for a week of one-on-one "street evangelism." Plus, they will help us host a Concert of Praise and Prayer! We'll be celebrating God's faithfulness to hear our prayers and keep the village peaceful this summer!
After an unsually violent winter and spring of 2009 (seasons that are usually very peaceful), many villagers dreaded the approach of summer (the season of the year which traditionally sees the most violence). Many nervously sat at the edge of their seats wondering when the shooting sprees and killing would breakout. Still, many were surely praying (some) against hope that the Lord would spare us. Well, the Lord is gracious and he is good for Maywood has enjoyed of the quietest summers in recent history! We dare say that we heard more gunfire in the months of January through March than from April 'til now! While there is no doubt that the our local law enforcement personnel were certainly hard at work, we know that Maywood has few small problems. All of her problems are God-sized! Therefore, our heavenly Father deserves the glory and the praise! Before anyone attempts to hijack the honor and praise, we are giving it all to HIM!
August 13th, 2009 - A funny thing happened today regarding Triton College. First, think back to March of 2009 (see below) when we were essentially kick out by Triton's Vice President in the midst of our student survey and outreach activities. As those who actually read our news already know, over the course of 18 months, virtually every wave of outreach has resulted in disappointment, yet the Lord would not remove the burden for Triton's campus off of our hearts.
Today, John has been invited to consider assuming a seat on the Triton College's President's Community Relations Advisory Board! It's rather humorous that the vice-president asked us to leave in the Spring, and now the president has rolled out the red carpet in the Summer! Praise God, that we didn't literally make a federal case out of it; some suggested that we could have and should have. Anyway, someone from the president's office was on the Maywood Housewalk Tour in July, and not only did she like our house, but during the tour, others apparently commented on the work we've been doing in the community. Then she recalled a news article she had read about our work with neighborhood kids in the parks. She put one and one together, and thought John would make a good candidate for the advisory board. And to think we almost backed out of being on the Housewalk because we were so tired!
Well, it's not a done deal, yet, since John will need to be interviewed, and formally invited. Then he'd have to actually accept the appointment. Whatever happens, it continues to affirm that our approach to reaching the broader community on a platform of conscientious and relevant expressions of Christ's love is indeed inviting the world's appropriate regard for the Bride of Christ. We've long been confident that the fruit would of our labors would become evident in time. We just couldn't have guessed that the fruit would be so grand, and that the regard for the Bride would be so positive!
The week of August 9th 2009 - A mission team from Celebration Church in New Orleans, Louisiana will join us for ministry at Solex College and in Maywood. On Wednesday, the 12th, we served free hotdogs and trimmings to Solex students, faculty, and staff. The executive director of the school made a surprise appearance and presented John with a Solex. I guess that makes John an honorary member of the Solex family! It was great. We got to meet a bunch of new Solex people, and some of our regulars had the opportunity to serve their fellow students. Thank you Celebration Church for everything!
July 31st - Just finished our VBS/Sportscamp. Here are the stats as best
as we can figure.
~5 days of ministry
~over 150 different kids served
~many adults met
~8 professions of faith
~10 Bible lessons taught
~5 mission teams of about 40 missionaries
~over 100 hot dogs and 100 PB&J s served
~over 120 gallons of drinks provided
~1 dark and desperate community served with the light of the ONE and
ONLY Savior! Thank you Jesus!
Special thanks to five missions teams who gloriously reflected the brightness of our Jesus this week in Maywood.
~Anna FBC - Anna, IL
~Bellview BC - Paducah, KY
~Cornerstone BC - Lexington, KY
~Korean BC - Schaumburg, IL
~Tyrannus BC - Glenview, IL.
It is the Bridegroom who prepares the Bride so that He should present her to Himself RADIANT (Eph. 5:27)! All praise and glory belongs to you, Lord Jesus!
July 29th - John sat in with other missionaries to help a brand new convert (not one hour old) share the Good News with her close friend, who then accepted JESUS as LORD and SAVIOR, too!
Do you know what that means, folks? She had her first evangelistic encounter with a lost person in the first hour of her NEW LIFE! I don't want to make anyone feel bad - Aww, who am I kidding? Yes, I do! - but shame on the rest of us who have been involved in HOW MANY after HOW MANY MONTHS/YEARS of following Jesus?!
John also prayed with five (5) teenagers who prayed to receive Christ. All told, we had eight (8) professions of faith in Jesus Christ today (that we know of)! Good thing it was sunny today. Since he was wearing sunglasses, no one had to watch this grown man wipe the "mysterious something" that suddenly got into his eye." That makes 51 souls who have been plucked from the clutches of hell's fiery flames since we arrived in Maywood in January 2008.
July 26th 2009 - Our PowerPlant missionaries from Bellview Baptist Church in Paducah, KY and Cornerstone Baptist Church in Lexington, KY arrive in Maywood. They will join with even more missionaries from the First Baptist Church of Anna, IL. Together, they come alongside us for ministry in Maywood's neighborhoods and parks. Also, we have the privilege of hosting two local mission teams from the Korean Baptist Church of Schaumburg, Illinois and the Tyrannus Baptist Church of Glenview, Illinois.
July 12th 2009 - Our home participated in Maywood's popular Housewalk. Many strangers viewed our home and offered many nice compliments. It was also an unexpected way to get neighbors who had turned down previous invitations into our home to now come as spectators of sorts. Perhaps some will return and be more accepting our hospitality in the future. Although we were aprehensive about participating at first, it was a cool experience, and we're glad to have been involved!
June 26th 2009 - After many requests by both kids and parents for continued VBS-type programs through the remaining summer weeks, a new Backyard Bible Club (BBC) will meet twice a week in a local park! Then three mission teams from southern Illinois and Kentucky will help us wrap up the summer with a week-long VBS and Sportscamp at the end of the summer! We've already seen dozens of kids come out, and we're already getting request for DAILY BBC! We'd love to oblige, but we just don't have the material and human resources to take on such a tremendous endeavor! That's where you and your church can come to our side as we expand our outreach into Maywood.
The weeks of June 14th and 21st 2009 - John had the privilege of serving with Youth On Mission by serving over 300 hundred missionaries from places like Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky, Idaho, Texas, and others! They blessed a number of Chicagoland's churches and ministries as well as countless individuals! All of this serves to remind us that God still call speople of all ages to join Him in the work that He is already doing all around us!
The week of June 7th 2009 - We had a mission team come alongside for ministry and outreach in two of Maywood's parks. Thanks to the support and favor we found at the Maywood Park District and with the help of FUEL, the youth choir from the FBC of St. Charles, MO, we put on a VBS-Sportscamp for the kids of our neighborhoods. We saw approximately 120 different kids from ages 4 to 13 come out for a great time of games, Bible lessons, crafts, and food! On the last day, we had about 90 local kids come through! One evening, FUEL put on an awesome program; its theme challenged people to submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ. John also gave his first "sermon" in a public Maywood forum. Pointing to the 48 Anglo-missionaries he said to the mostly Black audience, "No offense to all these White kids, but I envision a day when Maywood will not be receiving missionaries, but sending them out." The audience responded with applause and cheers! Our team had numerous opportunities to meet and minister to both children and adults while also ministering to the needs of the missionary's needs. The best part of all was that no less than 20 kids prayed to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord!! What a God-sized week!
June 1st 2009 - Our Missionaries-interns have arrived! Ashley and Kendra will be staying with us until early August. They've come to stand beside us as we work to penetrate the lostness and darkness of Maywood with authentic and relevant ministry to our neighbors. Ashley comes to us from St. Louis, MO. Kendra returns to us after a short-term visit in March with her BCM hails from Tulsa, OK. Pray that God would use them for the glory of the Bridegroom, for the radiance of the Church, and the reaping of His harvest field.
May 2009 - We saw our very first parent come out who also stayed with his child for Backyard Bible Club! This is HUGE! While many children come and go, few parents do much more than drop their kids off with us. As far as they know, we're the smiling Asian strangers that will hopefull take good care of their precious children. Of course, we will love them as our own!
April 2009 - We've launched the Community @ Solex, an ESL Bible study for international students. at Solex COllege in Wheeling. Currently, all the students are Korean, but we pray that God would draw other Asians and many of the eastern Europeans who make up the student body to fellowship with us! This our "Ends of the Earth" piece in our Acts 1:8 strategy for missional ministry. Currently, more than half of our international students intend to return to their homelands in Asia and Europe.
March 2009 - 28 Oklahomans from the Baptist Collegiate Ministries of the University of Tulsa and the Tulsa Community Colleges descended upon Maywood, Wrigleyville, Solex College, Triton College, and Northeastern Illinois University. This mission team had the special opportunity to taste a variety of Chicagoland's ministry contexts and they seemed to fit in wherever they went! Thank God for those who share Christ's compassion for the Shepherd-less sheep in Chicago's pastures! We pray that many will be called and many will answer the call to return. If there was one disappointment, it was at Triton college where the Vice-President personally asked us to cease our outreach activities and leave the campus. He was courteous and professional, and we didn't make a federal case out of it even though we certainly had grounds for it. After all, we seek to find persons-of-peace (P.O.P.s) and make disciples, not adversaries.
December 25th, 2009 - Christmas Day Open House in Maywood. Several college students and neighbors joined us for a Christmas celebration. The food and fellowship was wonderful albeit a brief retreat from all the trials of life! This is an especially difficult time for village with all the recent economic pressures that further burden people who were already having a hard time getting by. So, having the opportunity of taking our guests before the throne of grace in prayer was the best of all.
November 28th, 2009 - Gloria and John hosted "family-less" students at their home for an evening of dinner and fellowship. For most in attendance, this was their very first holiday dinner in America! It was a joy to introduce them to American traditions, but what was even more exciting was having many opportunities to talk about various spiritual matters and THE spiritual matter - JESUS.
November 26th, 2009 - On Thanksgiving Day, the Korean Christian Reformed Church (one of our ministry partners at Solex) hosted a Thanksgiving Day celebration which included a grand luncheon. Solex students were the special guests! It was clear that students had a great time, and that they felt loved and welcomed. What a blessing to find a local church and pastor that is committed to collegiate ministries.
November 25th, 2009 - theCommunity@Solex hosted about 40 students, faculty and staff of Solex College who came out for a Pre-Thanksgiving luncheon. It was an excellent time of meeting lots of new students as well as familiar ones. We also gave out 19 New Testaments! Also, having the opportunity to get acquainted with and serve the folks who work at Solex was an extra treat, too.
November 11th and 12th, 2009 - John had the privilege of twice sharing about theCommunityinMayood at the 2009 Illinois Baptist State Association's Annual Meeting in Springfield. First, he presented a report on behalf of the Baptist Foundation which had generously provided academic scholarships while John was in seminary. It was an opportunity to formally express gratitude for the BF's past support and also to inform them that their support has ongoing repercussions as he and Gloria press on in Maywood for the Kingdom. Second, with this year's focus at IBSA's Annual Meeting being on Illinois churchplanting, he briefly shared about the work in Maywood. In addition, he presented this prayer requests before the people of God. "Pray that the type of cultural Christianity that inhibits authentic and relevant discipleship in our community and yours would receive the death blow that it deserves!" We can only assume that our hearts and those of the delegates were united since John's prayer request was met with applause! Hopefully, it will be met with prayer.
November 2009 - The Yi family had a wonderful time visiting and reconnecting with our ministry partners in Tulsa, Oklahoma and the Dallas and Fort Worth areas of Texas. The Lord certainly gave them favor in their meetings as existing partnerships were shored-up. As well, new partnerships were enlisted. Already, we are on track to enlist even more mission teams for 2010 than we had in 2009!
October 2009 - It is cause for great encouragement to know that many continue to stand behind the Work of theCommunity in prayer, material support, incarnational ministry, and by advocating for missional strategies for engaging their own communities! It is exciting to see new partnerships develop and old partnerships strengthen as existing partnerships are deepened. Also, it is thrilling to provide the news that the support of a local church has been enlisted as they will help us house our visiting mission teams at a location nearby Maywood. It is hoped that that additional local partnerships will continue to develop which will certainly further the impact of ongoing ministry in Maywood.
With the colder months upon us, outdoor ministries are obviously hampered, so the attentions is increasingly shifted to collegiate ministries. We also anticipate new collegiate ministries to begin on additional campuses as persons-of-peace relationships are revealed and fostered by God.
September, 28th 2009 - Sometimes it takes the testimony of others to appreciate what God is doing through you. Case in point, we often have a difficult time celebrating and enjoying the good stuff that is going on around us. Often our own eyes are so fixated on the hopes-of-dreams-to-be-fulfilled which are surely coming on the horizon that we fail to even notice the hopes and dreams that God is fulfilling already and now. Regrettably, we confess that our far-sightedness about the Kingdom is strangely and stubbornly self-imposed.
Thanks to a dear friend, who has recorded what her eyes have seen, we're better able to appreciate the beauty of what is indeed near - the Kingdom of God - unfolding right now! Here is what she sees:
September, 25th 2009 - Received exciting news! (For some interesting background, read Aug 13th's entry below). The President of Triton College has appointed John to take a seat on her Community Advisory Board. Unofficially, John's seat represents the faith-based constituency of the 25 towns and villages that are served by Triton's community college district. He is honored to serve his neighbors in this capacity. We praise God for opening the doors of opportunity to places where the people of God can be salt and light in the world. The Lord is creative in the the ways he gets his people relevantly engaged with the larger community around them!
September, 23rd 2009 - A dozen of us from the Community@Solex spent the afternoon taking in the sites in Evanston, IL, the Northwestern University campus, and Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette. What great time to hang out away from the daily pressures of classes. What a combination, beautiful surroundings, the company of friends, pleasant fall weather, and buffalo wings!
See the slideshow at the top of our Events page.
September, 19th 2009 - Look what we found at the library this week! Our ministries to our neighborhood got a write-up in our local paper. Several people mentioned that they had read about our work in the news, but no one seemed to be able to tell us when and where they read it. Well, we found the article and you can read it right here! As usual, the story doesn't capture the details, but we're happy to receive the positive press.
Proviso Herald Article
Labor Day 2009 - A group of eight including students from Solex College headed out to Warren Dunes State Park in Sawyer, Michigan for a day of fun in the sun! What a gorgeous day the Lord provided and the great fellowship made it even better! Check out a few of the photos in the Solex Slideshow.
Late August and Early September 2009 - Surveying, evangelism, and follow-up work has so far yielded at least 4 new professions of faith (possibly 5)! What is even more exciting is the promise of discipling relationships that will result! As of September 6, 2009, we have seen no less than 55 professions of faith since arriving in Maywood 18 months ago! Now, if only 1/4 of these were also being discipled. Now that would REALLY be exciting!
August 21st 2009 - The Concert of Prayer saw fewer attendees than hoped, but the activities of the evening were none the less powerful. Those who did gather prayed together for the Lord to work mightily through His people in Maywood - work that would bring about transformation at the very foundations of our village and in those who are entrusted to serve and lead the citizens of Maywood. We continue to throw the ball into God's court while also making ourselves available for His service.
Special thanks to the pastoral staff of the Proviso Community Church who generously provided a sound system for the evening. Also, we are grateful for the ongoing hospitality demonstrated to us by the Maywood Park District, its director, and his staff!
August 17-18th 2009 - We've devoted the brunt of the summer to kids and youth ministry. Monday we shifted gears by directing our focus on the adults in our neighborhood. Tuesday, we prayed with two adults who received Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives! Two others are at the cusp of eternal security, so you know we'll be visiting them again very soon! There are angels rejoicing with the Father in heaven today! We've also prayed with countless others for various needs that are in their lives and in their blocks. Also, we've had some amazing conversations with a slew of adults who have expressed a desire to study God's Word with us! Pray that many will follow through! Even more have promised to join us at Friday's Concert of Prayer and Praise!
Can't wait to see what the Lord has awaiting us the rest of the week!
The week of August 16th 2009 - A mission team from the Hope Community Church in Ypsilanti, Michigan will be joining us for a week of one-on-one "street evangelism." Plus, they will help us host a Concert of Praise and Prayer! We'll be celebrating God's faithfulness to hear our prayers and keep the village peaceful this summer!
After an unsually violent winter and spring of 2009 (seasons that are usually very peaceful), many villagers dreaded the approach of summer (the season of the year which traditionally sees the most violence). Many nervously sat at the edge of their seats wondering when the shooting sprees and killing would breakout. Still, many were surely praying (some) against hope that the Lord would spare us. Well, the Lord is gracious and he is good for Maywood has enjoyed of the quietest summers in recent history! We dare say that we heard more gunfire in the months of January through March than from April 'til now! While there is no doubt that the our local law enforcement personnel were certainly hard at work, we know that Maywood has few small problems. All of her problems are God-sized! Therefore, our heavenly Father deserves the glory and the praise! Before anyone attempts to hijack the honor and praise, we are giving it all to HIM!
August 13th, 2009 - A funny thing happened today regarding Triton College. First, think back to March of 2009 (see below) when we were essentially kick out by Triton's Vice President in the midst of our student survey and outreach activities. As those who actually read our news already know, over the course of 18 months, virtually every wave of outreach has resulted in disappointment, yet the Lord would not remove the burden for Triton's campus off of our hearts.
Today, John has been invited to consider assuming a seat on the Triton College's President's Community Relations Advisory Board! It's rather humorous that the vice-president asked us to leave in the Spring, and now the president has rolled out the red carpet in the Summer! Praise God, that we didn't literally make a federal case out of it; some suggested that we could have and should have. Anyway, someone from the president's office was on the Maywood Housewalk Tour in July, and not only did she like our house, but during the tour, others apparently commented on the work we've been doing in the community. Then she recalled a news article she had read about our work with neighborhood kids in the parks. She put one and one together, and thought John would make a good candidate for the advisory board. And to think we almost backed out of being on the Housewalk because we were so tired!
Well, it's not a done deal, yet, since John will need to be interviewed, and formally invited. Then he'd have to actually accept the appointment. Whatever happens, it continues to affirm that our approach to reaching the broader community on a platform of conscientious and relevant expressions of Christ's love is indeed inviting the world's appropriate regard for the Bride of Christ. We've long been confident that the fruit would of our labors would become evident in time. We just couldn't have guessed that the fruit would be so grand, and that the regard for the Bride would be so positive!
The week of August 9th 2009 - A mission team from Celebration Church in New Orleans, Louisiana will join us for ministry at Solex College and in Maywood. On Wednesday, the 12th, we served free hotdogs and trimmings to Solex students, faculty, and staff. The executive director of the school made a surprise appearance and presented John with a Solex. I guess that makes John an honorary member of the Solex family! It was great. We got to meet a bunch of new Solex people, and some of our regulars had the opportunity to serve their fellow students. Thank you Celebration Church for everything!
July 31st - Just finished our VBS/Sportscamp. Here are the stats as best
as we can figure.
~5 days of ministry
~over 150 different kids served
~many adults met
~8 professions of faith
~10 Bible lessons taught
~5 mission teams of about 40 missionaries
~over 100 hot dogs and 100 PB&J s served
~over 120 gallons of drinks provided
~1 dark and desperate community served with the light of the ONE and
ONLY Savior! Thank you Jesus!
Special thanks to five missions teams who gloriously reflected the brightness of our Jesus this week in Maywood.
~Anna FBC - Anna, IL
~Bellview BC - Paducah, KY
~Cornerstone BC - Lexington, KY
~Korean BC - Schaumburg, IL
~Tyrannus BC - Glenview, IL.
It is the Bridegroom who prepares the Bride so that He should present her to Himself RADIANT (Eph. 5:27)! All praise and glory belongs to you, Lord Jesus!
July 29th - John sat in with other missionaries to help a brand new convert (not one hour old) share the Good News with her close friend, who then accepted JESUS as LORD and SAVIOR, too!
Do you know what that means, folks? She had her first evangelistic encounter with a lost person in the first hour of her NEW LIFE! I don't want to make anyone feel bad - Aww, who am I kidding? Yes, I do! - but shame on the rest of us who have been involved in HOW MANY after HOW MANY MONTHS/YEARS of following Jesus?!
John also prayed with five (5) teenagers who prayed to receive Christ. All told, we had eight (8) professions of faith in Jesus Christ today (that we know of)! Good thing it was sunny today. Since he was wearing sunglasses, no one had to watch this grown man wipe the "mysterious something" that suddenly got into his eye." That makes 51 souls who have been plucked from the clutches of hell's fiery flames since we arrived in Maywood in January 2008.
July 26th 2009 - Our PowerPlant missionaries from Bellview Baptist Church in Paducah, KY and Cornerstone Baptist Church in Lexington, KY arrive in Maywood. They will join with even more missionaries from the First Baptist Church of Anna, IL. Together, they come alongside us for ministry in Maywood's neighborhoods and parks. Also, we have the privilege of hosting two local mission teams from the Korean Baptist Church of Schaumburg, Illinois and the Tyrannus Baptist Church of Glenview, Illinois.
July 12th 2009 - Our home participated in Maywood's popular Housewalk. Many strangers viewed our home and offered many nice compliments. It was also an unexpected way to get neighbors who had turned down previous invitations into our home to now come as spectators of sorts. Perhaps some will return and be more accepting our hospitality in the future. Although we were aprehensive about participating at first, it was a cool experience, and we're glad to have been involved!
June 26th 2009 - After many requests by both kids and parents for continued VBS-type programs through the remaining summer weeks, a new Backyard Bible Club (BBC) will meet twice a week in a local park! Then three mission teams from southern Illinois and Kentucky will help us wrap up the summer with a week-long VBS and Sportscamp at the end of the summer! We've already seen dozens of kids come out, and we're already getting request for DAILY BBC! We'd love to oblige, but we just don't have the material and human resources to take on such a tremendous endeavor! That's where you and your church can come to our side as we expand our outreach into Maywood.
The weeks of June 14th and 21st 2009 - John had the privilege of serving with Youth On Mission by serving over 300 hundred missionaries from places like Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky, Idaho, Texas, and others! They blessed a number of Chicagoland's churches and ministries as well as countless individuals! All of this serves to remind us that God still call speople of all ages to join Him in the work that He is already doing all around us!
The week of June 7th 2009 - We had a mission team come alongside for ministry and outreach in two of Maywood's parks. Thanks to the support and favor we found at the Maywood Park District and with the help of FUEL, the youth choir from the FBC of St. Charles, MO, we put on a VBS-Sportscamp for the kids of our neighborhoods. We saw approximately 120 different kids from ages 4 to 13 come out for a great time of games, Bible lessons, crafts, and food! On the last day, we had about 90 local kids come through! One evening, FUEL put on an awesome program; its theme challenged people to submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ. John also gave his first "sermon" in a public Maywood forum. Pointing to the 48 Anglo-missionaries he said to the mostly Black audience, "No offense to all these White kids, but I envision a day when Maywood will not be receiving missionaries, but sending them out." The audience responded with applause and cheers! Our team had numerous opportunities to meet and minister to both children and adults while also ministering to the needs of the missionary's needs. The best part of all was that no less than 20 kids prayed to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord!! What a God-sized week!
June 1st 2009 - Our Missionaries-interns have arrived! Ashley and Kendra will be staying with us until early August. They've come to stand beside us as we work to penetrate the lostness and darkness of Maywood with authentic and relevant ministry to our neighbors. Ashley comes to us from St. Louis, MO. Kendra returns to us after a short-term visit in March with her BCM hails from Tulsa, OK. Pray that God would use them for the glory of the Bridegroom, for the radiance of the Church, and the reaping of His harvest field.
May 2009 - We saw our very first parent come out who also stayed with his child for Backyard Bible Club! This is HUGE! While many children come and go, few parents do much more than drop their kids off with us. As far as they know, we're the smiling Asian strangers that will hopefull take good care of their precious children. Of course, we will love them as our own!
April 2009 - We've launched the Community @ Solex, an ESL Bible study for international students. at Solex COllege in Wheeling. Currently, all the students are Korean, but we pray that God would draw other Asians and many of the eastern Europeans who make up the student body to fellowship with us! This our "Ends of the Earth" piece in our Acts 1:8 strategy for missional ministry. Currently, more than half of our international students intend to return to their homelands in Asia and Europe.
March 2009 - 28 Oklahomans from the Baptist Collegiate Ministries of the University of Tulsa and the Tulsa Community Colleges descended upon Maywood, Wrigleyville, Solex College, Triton College, and Northeastern Illinois University. This mission team had the special opportunity to taste a variety of Chicagoland's ministry contexts and they seemed to fit in wherever they went! Thank God for those who share Christ's compassion for the Shepherd-less sheep in Chicago's pastures! We pray that many will be called and many will answer the call to return. If there was one disappointment, it was at Triton college where the Vice-President personally asked us to cease our outreach activities and leave the campus. He was courteous and professional, and we didn't make a federal case out of it even though we certainly had grounds for it. After all, we seek to find persons-of-peace (P.O.P.s) and make disciples, not adversaries.
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