By Dan Lee
As a part of the ministry at George Mason University called "UChurch," we went on a mission consisting of 18 students to a partnering church in the city of Chicago. Our mission was to engage the campus of Northwestern University. We stayed at "The Church in West Ridge" lead by Pastor Chad Runge. He helped encourage us as we went on campus to do the God Test, a tool used to create conversation about Jesus.
The Holy Spirit led us completely off of our original schedule in order to be a part of His plan. Instead of distributing cotton candy, we shared the Gospel through "Jam sessions" and sidewalk chalk questions/pictures. We even had to the chance to support Pastor Chad's son, Caleb, at a baseball game. There we brought the love (and cheers) of Christ to the parents of the players in the game. We brought that same energy to their Sunday service and by the gifts of our team we may have brought a new season of worship for their congregation.
After getting to talk to our team individually, there was a common encouragement of how they were each being used as a part of the body of Christ. Even for those who did not have a chance to God Test students, they were satisfied by serving in small ways so that the rest of us had the time and energy to God Test students on campus.
At the end of our trip we served Pastor Chad and his church by cleaning up, cooking out, and tending to minor tasks that helped him and his family out in a major way. Through the prayer and support of the church body we broke through some tough walls in Chicago and Northwestern University! Our team was activated and encouraged to continue planting seeds and extending the kingdom on their respective college campuses. The power and authority of Jesus was proclaimed through 18 students sent to the one of the most diverse cities in the nation. Every nation was represented and we never had to leave the states.
The city of Chicago and the campus of Northwestern University are in need of help, like how Chicago's finest law enforcement do their best to keep the streets safe. We have faith that our team will be the first of many missionaries that we've given the nickname "Chicago's finest."