On Saturday, February 27, more than 200 undergraduate and seminary students from Moody Bible Institute will join forces with the Chicago Mayor’s Office of Community and Faith-Based Initiatives, Campus Crusade for Christ, World Vision Inc. and The Greater Chicago Food Depository to serve people in some of the most hurting and impoverished neighborhoods of Chicago.
As part of the annual Service in the City (SITC) day, students and faculty will partner with and encourage local churches and para-church ministries, demonstrating Christian compassion in the laboratory of the city. They will volunteer their time to connect with the homeless and disabled as well as with at-risk youths and seniors in 12 Chicago neighborhoods through a variety of urban ministries, including By The Hand Club For Kids and Citylight International Assembly.
“Every year, SITC provides students with priceless opportunities to practically apply what they are learning in the classroom to real-life ministries in neighborhoods where violence is prevalent, poverty is a way of life and the Word of God needs to be proclaimed,” said Dr. John Fuder, Professor of Urban Studies at Moody Theological Seminary (MTS). “This event allows students to come alongside local ministry organizations with the tools required to meet the needs of the people they minister to creatively and on a larger scale than would otherwise be possible.”
Students will be assisting a diverse group of organizations with a range of activities, including facilitating a special meal for senior citizens, pantry families and the homeless; conducting maintenance work at a local church; hosting a carnival for at-risk youths; visiting seniors and assisting with difficult home chores, and helping organize a worship service. All of these service opportunities will give students the chance to share the Gospel and pray with the people they meet.
This year, the event includes a number of new players, which will allow students to reach more people more effectively. Moody students will be joined by more than 40 Campus Crusade students from a variety of Chicago-based colleges and universities. Additionally, Moody has partnered with the Mayor’s Office to broaden the scope of the event and target those areas of the City that the Mayor’s Office is burdened to see changed. Through a relationship with the Mayor’s Office, World Vision and the Chicago Food Depository will be donating food, hygienic items and household cleaning supplies to more than 300 families.
“We have always been encouraged by the support SITC has received over the years, and it is a special blessing to have the support of Campus Crusade, World Vision, the Chicago Food Depository and the Mayor’s Office in 2010,” said Connie Koo, a MTS student and the SITC coordinator. “With their help and with the dedication of our students and faculty, we will be able to make a sizable impact for God’s Kingdom in these Chicago communities. It is our prayer that we are the love of Jesus to the people we serve and that He is glorified through our work on this day.”
SITC was started eight years ago by MTS with the primary goal of applying classroom learning in the context of the City of Chicago. It is held during the spring semester, complementing the MTS Fall Retreat, which focuses on personal spiritual development. The first SITC took approximately 150 students into four communities.