Today, we met our "guide" for the week. Serena is in charge of college ministry for the state of Illinois. Here they lump church planting and college/student ministry together. The entire state of Illinois only has 1000 SBC churches compared to the state of North Carolina which has 4000. That equates to 1 church for every 12,900 people in Illinois. North Carolina has a 1 to 2,345 ratio. WORKERS are needed here.






Today we had our first encounter with Chicago style deep dish pizza. YUM! May we recommend Giodiano's Pizza if you're ever in town!





Our original plans were to attend an Ethiopian service at Chicagoland Community Church (C3) but our group was late arriving and we weren't able to do so. Once we left the airport, we had a 45 minute commute on the L train and then had to walk 4 blocks with our luggage to get to the hotel and check in. We tried to hurry to get to the service (which was to start at 3pm) but with city traffic, it just takes time.Even though we missed out on the Ethiopian service, we were able to meet Andre, a college student who is serving as a semester missionary at the church. We were able to hear his story, tour the church, and see how God is using C3 to minister to that community. Pray for Andre as he continues to serve here. We then walked through the Lakeview area and saw the many needs there. Just a few roads over, you find Halsted St. (also known as Boys Town) This area is saturated with adult stores, bars/clubs, palm readers, and is known for its homosexual reputation. You'll find the "rainbow" symbol on street posts and windows down that particular road.













We were so close to Wrigley Field, we just had to walk by!

Join us in prayer this week as we lift up the many needs in Chicago and as we set out to seek the lost and share the hope we have found in Jesus. Pray that we would minister well and that we are able to encourage the others on our team. Pray for our guide, Serena, as she assists us this week and as she transitions into her new role with the Illinois Baptist Convention. Pray also for the church planting teams who are already in the Chicago area and for those about to launch new churches. Look for more updates on our work with these church planters in the next few days!