Taking it Home

Part of the reason we love CSM is that we get to serve alongside ministries
and people who are working to improve the lives of the urban poor. It’s exciting for us to be able to supply these organizations with manpower through the youth
groups who do trips with us.
However, serving the needs of the city is only part of CSM’s mission. We
also want to have an impact on the groups who are doing mission trips with us.
Most of the groups are from suburban and rural areas and have never been
exposed to the poverty and struggles of city life. We do our best to guide their time with us in a way that begins to awaken them to injustice in the world. We hope that groups will then take their experiences in the city home and get involved in serving the needs of their own communities.
We recently received a note from Mike Fitzpatrick, youth pastor of La Croix
UMC in Cape Giradeaux, MO whose group is doing just that:
“One of our students, Cori, was so moved by her experience in Chicago that she
decided that she wanted to do a VBS for kids in the poorer section of our town. So in less than three weeks, she organized everything, from lining up Bible story
teachers and volunteers, to developing a schedule, to getting small groups to
commit to provide food, to shopping for all the supplies, to getting her friends to do everything (games, crafts, etc.). She had anywhere from 12-20 kids attend each of the four days. I couldn't be more proud of her!”

-Tim and Kelly Reed, CSM Chicago City Directors