Throughout our Disciple Series at HMCC of Chicago, we learned that “to be a Christian is to be a disciple.” God placed on the hearts of many church members the desire to take up Jesus’ call to “follow me” by acting to tangibly serve the community of Chicago.  Consequently, the Spring Break Missional Initiative (SBMI) was born, and a team of 19 students from both the University of Illinois in Chicago and Northwestern University decided to use spring break in order to intercede for our city.

We spent the week partnering with Breakthrough Urban Ministries, a homeless shelter tucked away in the west side of Chicago. While Breakthrough largely operates by building relationships with those in their community through meal provisions and children afterschool programs, much of our service was behind-the-scenes—staining gazebos, organizing the storage attic, uprooting and replanting a garden, and cleaning the vans that transported the children. Throughout it all, we were reminded to serve “not by way of eye-service” but with “sincerity of heart…as for the Lord” (Col 3:22-24)

Anthony Tsao: “I felt intensely challenged to understand what it really means to serve with a God-centered integrity and with the sincere and honest heart of a true servant.  In contrast with my missions experience with the Community Summer Missions Project (CSMP) this past summer, SBMI had fewer opportunities to interact with the people we were serving at Breakthrough Urban Ministries, and the tasks that we had for each day were mostly mundane and repetitive manual labor.  One of the main jobs that I specifically worked on was coating the wooden gazebos outside the men’s homeless intervention center with a drippy, transparent water sealer liquid.  In the process of doing the task, I noticed how easy it was for me to grumble inside and to question the significance and impact of all that we were doing.  Since the water sealer went on clear on the wood, it was a struggle to fight the desires of wanting to see progress and noticeable change in what we did and wanting to have the affirmation of other people.  Interestingly, the stillness and silence of working on the gazebos afforded an open space to wrestle with these thoughts, to pray to God against my own rebellious heart and also to ask Him for the sober-mindedness to worship Him first and seek His greater kingdom purpose. Grace came soon afterwards.  When a fellow brother and I took a break from painting, we sat on the bench and started to just share with each other about our attitude and heart.  Shortly after, we were randomly approached by James, one of the residents at the Breakthrough shelter.  After the brief exchange of getting to know him and having a friendly and genuine conversation with him, I was left with a feeling of heaviness—from truth, rebuke and encouragement.

Through God’s gentle reminder, I reflected over my own weakness in faith and strength to love and was drawn to the reality of God’s greater steadfastness in His promises.  It was easy to just say in the beginning, God, I will serve you in whatever capacity and whatever way You call me to, but I had evidently failed to follow through.  Still, God had humbled me to recognize again that it’s His grace that sustains me and is sufficient in my life, and that it’s also the core reason why there is even an SBMI in the first place.  From that realization and reorientation back to His gospel came a greater passion and intentionality for the remainder of the trip and even for my life now.  Even if our efforts in this past week remain unacknowledged by the eyes of others, I’ve learned that there is definitely a greater gain in understanding how much better it is to shift the focus away from ourselves to serve the only One who matters, the God who is worthy of all worship, praise, acclaim and esteem.”

Irene Grace Park: “With the sun scorching those who worked outside and a ‘dust storm’ enveloping those who worked inside, it was difficult to refrain from grumbling in one’s heart while working. I am guilty for volunteering with this mind-set; I was blind to the greater vision of the menial tasks. However, I praise God for reminding me of the Cross. During my personal quiet time, I was rebuked by this verse because I did not work at it [whatever I do] with all my heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. I realized that due to my tendency to be task-oriented, I got caught in the moment with the task at hand. For example, my only goal while staining the gazebo was to paint the wooden structure with transparent chemicals where the fruits of my labor were literally invisible. I worked without any other thoughts passing through my mind and this reflected in my expressionless demeanor. The following day I intentionally recited this verse in my mind repeatedly [Col 3:22-24] and by God’s grace I found enjoyment in carrying heavy items to the dumpster… Ultimately, it came down to working for the kingdom of God.

I praise God for how He is working through members of HMCC-Chicago. This was a reminder that it is only by the grace of God that I am saved and that even engaging in conversations required me to invest all of my energies to the task. Being in close quarters with members from both sites and across LIFE groups inevitably led to deeper relationships with one another. I praise God for the opportunity to grow together and to be united. I am encouraged and reminded to live a fully devoted life for Christ and for the glory of God, and it is my prayer that I do whatever I do ‘with all [my] heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since [I] know that [I] will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ [I] am serving.’”

In the end, though much of what we did might be considered menial in the eyes of the world and pointless—mere manual labor as we moved heavy objects amidst clouds of dust and the “fruitless” act of painting invisible paint—we were reminded that seeking first His Kingdom is worth the effort, because His Kingdom is worth it (Matt 13:44-46). It was a privilege to be able to partner with Breakthrough and help them with their efforts to meet the needs of the community, a service based on the Gospel and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Maybe no one will notice that the gazebos are painted with invisible sealant or the organized storage space hidden in the shadows of the attic, but if the protected gazebos provided a place for visitors to rest and an orderly attic facilitated greater stewardship of Breakthrough’s resources, then we praise God because of the opportunity afforded for the Gospel to move forward as one more visitor to Breakthrough is quietly blessed.

When we literally worked with our hands, God worked on our hearts. SBMI gave us only a glimpse of what it means to serve in the name of Jesus Christ, who first set the model of True Servanthood. Our prayer is that SBMI is the start for more missional initiatives, as we learn to see, with eyes of compassion, the needs of our communities in Chicago and strive to reach out, as Christ did to us.

Here’s a video of our work with Breakthrough Ministries:|
Spring Break Missional Initiative, March 2012, Breakthrough Ministries, HMCC-CHI

- Grace Lyu

By Kathleen Yi

This past October, HMCC had its first Harvest Fest for the children in our church and their friends. What started out as three moms talking over some coffee about how they wanted an alternative for Halloween for their kids grew into an event greater than we had intended.

Originally, we were only going to invite the children of HMCC to someone’s house and have small activities for them. So, the three moms went on planning various activities and started penciling down some details of the event. However, after a meeting with the some of the Covenant leaders, more ideas were presented such as having all three Covenant groups coming together and also using the event as an evangelistic opportunity.

Rather than a house, the location changed to the Transformation Center and the purpose of the event morphed into an opportunity to reach out into the community, where Covenant members were encouraged to invite families with whom they have relationships. This provided an avenue for many families & married couples to invite their friends to an event that wouldn’t be too intimidating for pre-Christians, as it often is if they were invited to LIFE groups or Sunday Celebration.

On the day of the event, what was so amazing was how so many people were willing to help out with decorating and setting up the Transformation Center for Harvest Fest. From undergraduates to single adults and married couples, all were working together. Different people were in charge of the activity stations, such as pumpkin decorating, cookie decorating, and face painting. Other stations included a photo booth & apple
bobbing, which morphed into a spontaneous game created by some of the undergrad volunteers. It was truly a beautiful sight: people from different life stages using their gifts and talents to serve.

The whole process of Harvest Fest, from its conception to the actual event, was a reminder of how God simply used available hearts and how beautifully the body of Christ is when different parts work together. Harvest Fest really brought all the different life stages of our church together to create something memorable and beautiful. It was so memorable for the children that my oldest son kept talking about it for a whole week! Nothing brings more joy to a parent than seeing his/her child having fun. I can only imagine how God feels when He sees His children working together and having fun while doing it.