Jes Junion gets baptized.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. … Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, 8

What an incredible couple of weeks it has been here in Chicago. On Sunday, June 25th, Roger Parlour issued a challenge to the 19 disciples that had already moved in. He called us to faithfully reach out to at least 20 people everyday for the week leading up to our inaugural service. As soon as we began to share our faith, the fear and intimidation of Satan was gone and we were filled with more faith and boldness. Hundreds were reached out to and asked to study the Bible or come to church that week. Many of us were sharing our faith like never before. One of our campus students, Joel, handed out 95 cards in one day. Brittany, one of our high school students said that she was learning how to be more effective while sharing her faith and not to be focused on results. Others, like myself were convicted because we hadn’t shared our faith like that in years. It reminded me of Revelation 2:5 where Jesus calls those who had lost their first love to “Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.” Our goal was not just to invite people to service but to truly share our faith in God with them. The more we shared, the more we began to get into deep conversations with people.

On Friday, June 30, the Chicago International Christian Church mission team met for a devotional in Oak Park, just a few blocks from where we would be having our inaugural service. At the devotional that morning, I preached a lesson entitled Love Never Fails…Period. Without love, our attempts to preach the word and evangelize this great city would be only a resounding gong or a clanging symbol. As I preached, I was bothered by a very loud noise coming from the construction site across the street. It was then that I realized God was simply giving us an audible example of how we would sound if we shared our faith without the love of Christ. The points of the class were,

1. Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:1-9)
We fail when we fail to love. We need to speak the truth in love and inspire others to know Jesus!

2. Only God makes it grow (1 Corinthians 3:7).
We are only servants through whom people come to believe in God. That takes the pressure off of us and allows us to watch God’s power! Only God makes things grow, therefore it is all to God’s glory!

3. Victory through Humility (Philippians 2:3-11).
We need to consider others better than ourselves and get ourselves out of the way.

4. Everything without complaining and arguing. (Philippians 2:14-16).
In order to shine like stars, we need to remember Jesus’ humility and sacrifice for us!

When you combine these points together, they spell L.O.V.E. That is the heart of God - a heart that will allow God to work miracles in this beautiful but spiritually dying city. After our devotional, we continued to share our faith with the lost of Chicago. When July 2nd came, we had a great sense of peace. We planted and watered (1 Corinthians 3:7) and God blessed us with 122 at our first service! We were greatly encouraged to see so many visitors who were met by disciples that week! Theresa and I were having lunch with the Parlours on Tuesday at Panera Bread, where a woman warned us to watch our bags as she had just had hers stolen. Unfortunately she didn’t find her bag, but she and her husband were both at church on Sunday.

Chris and Kerri-Sue Adams are currently leading the Mohawk Valley mission team in Central New York (CNY). Chris met Greg Biggs who became a Christian and came with us on the team. Reneè Rindinoni was the first baptism of the Mohawk Valley planting. She is also with us on the mission team for the summer. The Adams were sharing their faith Saturday night and met a couple who came to service the next morning! Chris and Alba Williams arrived in town Saturday and were very encouraged to see Olga, the mother of a disciple in Portland, come to service. Pat and Pam Boea lost the house they were trying to buy just days before moving to Chicago. God blessed them with another great house to rent, and their landlord came out to service. Their son Patrick met a man in the middle of the road whose motorcycle had broken down. After helping him roll his bike to a nearby garage, Patrick invited him to Church. He came to service and brought his wife with him. God blessed Jocelyn with 3 women who came to church and are very open to studying the Bible. Also Jocelyn’s brother and his best friend came out to service. Jordan, her brother, was so moved by seeing her share her faith on the train that he wanted to go share his faith! He wants to attend the Central New York Church of Christ (CNYCOC) when he returns to Syracuse. And these are just some of the victory stories over the last week. God is moving powerfully!

This mission team would not have been possible without the incredible love, devotion and support of the CNYCOC. We are bonded through not only the blood of Christ, but also through seven years of working together to build God’s Kingdom in CNY. They have sacrificed so much to see this planting happen, and they alone have provided the financial support for this team. Their sacrifice will not be in vein as they will share in the joy of new souls being added to God’s kingdom.

Monday night we saw another miracle as Jes was baptized into Christ. What a way to begin our first official leaders’ meeting! We know that there are many more people in this city who need the incredible gift Jes received that night. As of this Sunday, the entire mission team has arrived. With the Restoration of Dave Cadell and our new sister Jes Junion, God has increased our number to 32 “sold-out” disciples. Truly His Love Never Fails… Period!
Chris Broom

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