Love in Action

It is amazing when the local church comes together to support the needs of the community. It reflects the heart of Jesus to see a need and put love into action to assist others.

We are celebrating the one-year anniversary of the LIFT Center. Located in Lombard, the LIFT Center includes a LIFT Market to provide food and care items, legal assistance, an English Conversation Cafe, budgeting and job skills. The LIFT Center supports schools and children in the community as well as offers World Relief English as a Second Language classes.

In its first year, the LIFT Market has provided groceries to 3,537 guests. That includes 6,000 eggs, 5,000 gallons of milk and 2,000 pounds of fresh produce every week to support 600 families. The LIFT Market is supported by financial giving to Christ Church as well as filling up the green grocery bags available at all Christ Church venues and donating food and personal care items. In addition, the LIFT Center was able to purchase a van to help with food pick up and create outdoor gardens to offer fresh produce. The LIFT Market has also recently been approved as an agency of the Northern Illinois Food Bank, which will provide access to better prices and food.

You can learn more here about LIFT Center programs, volunteer opportunities and ways to give to support the market and other offerings.

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. –1 John 3:18

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Translating
gifts into
Gospel messages

The first quarter was an exciting time as $600,000 was sent out to places near and far by check, bank transfers and some even hand-delivered to churches in the area and around the world. Through the congregation’s willingness to give Above + Beyond their normal giving in praise and thanksgiving for the 60^th year of Christ Church, projects are underway to go into all the world with the life-changing love of Jesus.

One of those gifts was sent to Project Video, one of Christ Church’s global missions partners. The organization has teams create video and audio recordings in local languages throughout Asia to spread the Gospel. According to Project Video, 25 million people in Asia are without access to Christian resources for reasons such as geography, government persecution of Christians, cultural rejection of Christianity as a white man’s religion, no resources in their language or illiteracy. This testimony from Project Video is just one example of how God is using these gifts to reach more people for His Kingdom.

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Going Above + Beyond with God

As 2026 gets underway, checks will be sent to 60 local, national and global churches and ministries.

In celebration of the 60^th anniversary of Christ Church we were invited to prayerfully consider giving Above + Beyond what we had planned on giving in 2025. Our prayer was that we would give an additional $600,000 above the $12.5M budget so that we could give it to churches and ministries where God was already at work.

Some heard God telling them their Above + Beyond gift was to be the number of years they have attended Christ Church multiplied by 100. One couple who was married at Christ Church multiplied the number of years they’ve been married by 1,000. Others included 60 in their gift and others made a sacrificial gift by giving something up so God’s Gospel could be shared boldly. 

We can't wait to share how God moves in the churches as they put a new roof or floor in their building, use a new sound system and instruments for worship, train leaders to teach and spread God's love, mercy and grace.

Above + Beyond is another example of the missional heart of the people of Christ Church to live out the Gospel message from Mark 16:15, inscribed on the cornerstone of the original Sanctuary to “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation.”

Resources

         

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Partnering with God 

Throughout the past three months we have been partnering with God to meet the needs of others and grow faith at church, in our neighborhoods and across the globe.

Throughout the summer months Family Ministry hosted camps playing sports, swimming, rock climbing, canoeing alongside worshipping and small group time to grow closer to God. Hundreds of kids and students participated, and some brought friends who were hearing about God for the first time.

In August we had a Global Outreach Team of seven go to Romania to serve with our mission partners at Missio Link International who equip church leaders, multiply churches and advocate for and support vulnerable youth, including through Deborah House, a safe haven for girls rescued from trafficking or severe abuse.

“Our team served simply by spending time with the girls at Deborah House. We partnered with God by allowing His spirit to work in us and through us to offer our presence, time, attention and love,” says Heather Franklin who was part of the GO Team.

In September we celebrated the LIFT Center Grand Opening. There are so many ways volunteers are partnering with God providing prayer, resources, legal support, language courses, food and household products to those in need.

We walked together through the Given to be Given series throughout August and September exploring our unique spiritual gifts and opportunities to volunteer. You can continue to explore spiritual gifts or find volunteer opportunities here.

In celebration of all the ways we have been blessed to partner with God not just this quarter but over the 60-year history of Christ Church, Pastor Steve Carter announced our hope to go Above + Beyond the annual $12.5M budget to bless 60 other churches in the surrounding area and across the world. There are needs for church building repairs, building projects, pastor training, generators and other items to support the spread of the Gospel into all the world. You can contribute by giving a gift here.

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Experiencing God in new places

Christ Church is experiencing a season of flourishing. From our youngest disciples who just finished their first year of preschool to the opening of the new LIFT Market at the Butterfield campus that provides food and resources to those in need. The generous giving from the congregation makes it possible for people in the congregation to grow in faith, help meet the basic needs of those in our surrounding neighborhoods and provide life-changing love to others across the country and around the world.

Here are just two accounts of how God has moved in the lives of others in the last few months:

Radiating hope in Kenya

I had the privilege of visiting Mathare Community Outreach (MCO) Schools in Nairobi, Kenya, where Dotun Modupe, one of our global partners, is serving. Mathare is one of Nairobi’s oldest and most densely populated informal settlements, with most of its residents surviving on less than $2 a day.

As we stepped inside the classrooms, the sounds of life surrounded us—the scent of street food in the air and children’s laughter echoing between tin-roofed buildings. Inside those classrooms, I was met with bright eyes, and a chorus of children reciting Scripture with passion. As I looked at those children, I found myself asking, “How can they lack so much and still be so full of life?” Almost on cue, the class began reciting Jeremiah 29:11. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” At that moment, I realized that these children are not defined by poverty, but by dignity. For in a place so often labeled “hopeless,” they radiate hope. They carry dreams—for their education, for stability and for a better life. But more than that, their story carries a strength that made the walls around them feel like a sanctuary.

—Maryclare Beche, Director of Global Relationships

Growing through prayer

As a newer member of Christ Church, I have signed up to serve in ways that I can give back what I have so freely been given. Hearing about the volunteer opportunities in the LIFT Market, I thought hospitality would be where God wants me to serve. He knows how much I love people and how much I love to smile. 

I attended a training session where we talked about how important it is to make guests feel welcomed and comfortable and, as we sat and talked with the guests, to ask if there was anything they needed prayer for. I felt so bad but had to ask, "what should I do if they do want someone to pray for them?" I did not know how to do this, and it made me nervous. I was told to let one of the leaders in the room know and they would gladly come over to pray with the guest. 

I was introduced to one of the first guests and we sat down at a table waiting for her name to be called. After explaining the market process to her, I asked if there was anything or anyone we could pray for and she said yes, she just lost her sister and her nephew to illness. I was a bit taken aback, overwhelmed with sadness. We gracefully reached out for each other's hands over the table, I closed my eyes and asked God to please come into my heart and speak through me. I could not believe how I knew exactly how to pray over her! I was not nervous, and I knew God was with me. I feel a bit more comfortable each time God gives me the opportunity to pray over someone. He is so amazing! —Linda Olszewski, LIFT Market volunteer

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We are Easter people living in a Good Friday world.  –Barbara Johnson

For 60 years the people of Christ Church have believed our world is brimming with redemptive potential. From Sunday mornings, to student gatherings and small groups, God has been doing His work in and through us for the sake of others.

Since January, across all our Sunday gatherings and family ministry offerings we have seen 1,450 more people than last year participate in worship. This past Easter 10,407 worshipped with us in person and online. Something beautiful is happening in our midst!

The first church saw every Sunday as a mini Easter—a reminder of what only God can do. Our prayer is that our friends, family and neighbors who joined us will come back on Sundays and take their next step of faith—finding a hope and love that changes everything!

We’re grateful to all of you who call Christ Church home and the way you open doors, move to the center of your row or pew and make others feel welcome. It’s exciting that in the early months of 2025 we had 142 people locking arms with us as new members—bringing God’s good news to Chicagoland and beyond.

We are looking forward to the days ahead and the beauty, goodness and truth that God will reveal.

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For He is Good!

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story …”   –Psalm 107: 1-2

It is a joy to pray about a vision for the church’s future, come together as the body of Christ and to look on in awe at all He has done.

Two years ago, the church leadership presented the LIFT Initiative to catalyze the future to which God was calling us. On January 5, 2025, we paused to celebrate and tell the story of all the Lord has done. If you missed it, you can watch it here. 

The #1 goal of the initiative was to invite everyone who calls Christ Church home to LIFT their own faith and discipleship so they can be equipped to LIFT others.

Some of the growth we saw includes:

• Hundreds of elementary, middle and high school students meeting Sundays in big and small group gatherings.
• Almost 500 women gathering on Tuesdays to learn more about Jesus and build life-changing relationships with one another.
• Sunday worshippers have grown in both our Classic and Contemporary expressions.
• Our congregation sacrificed, followed God's leading and gave more than $31.9 million to His vision for our future.

Each number tells a story. Each number is a soul. So many people have shared how God is transforming their lives through the people and ministries of Christ Church. Ryan drew closer to the Lord through challenging circumstances and Lisa experienced the best day of her life when she was baptized. Don't miss these stories–watch them here. 

We paid down debt so that we could invest more in ministry. The Christ Church Preschool was relaunched making way for discipling the littlest among us. We made improvements in our meeting and gathering spaces at both campuses.

• The kid's and student spaces were updated, made more accessible for those with disabilities and reconfigured for safety.
• We expanded our commitment to helping families with disabilities by growing our Disability Ministry. We built up our buddy program, added sensory rooms and headphones in worship spaces, included a sensory-friendly hour to the Oh What Fun! Christmas Party and so much more.
• The gym at the Butterfield campus was remodeled, making it a great space for people of all ages to gather and play.
• The Acorn and Oak rooms at the Oak Brook campus were updated to make more room and more beautiful spaces for our congregation and guests.
• The Sanctuary lighting was improved and a leak repaired in the steeple.
• The sound projection systems in the Fellowship Halls in Oak Brook were upgraded.
• Plans are underway to create a LIFT Center at the Butterfield campus to meet the needs of the under resourced and most vulnerable in the surrounding communities.
• And we increased giving to some of our 70 local and global mission partners.

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Meeting the Needs of Others 

Lift Center to provide services to the under resourced

For 20 years we have used our time, resources and gifts to serve the under resourced in surrounding neighborhoods. Over the years there has been a desire to expand our efforts beyond the once-a-month Food Pantry to provide services to meet the spiritual and material needs of the individuals and families in our community.

Through the LIFT initiative a vision for a LIFT Center including a food market, legal ministry, the English Conversation Cafe and educational services began to take shape. Plans are underway to make this a reality and reconfigure the Butterfield campus to house the LIFT Center.

Giving to Christ Church and the LIFT initiative is allowing us to respond to God’s call to reach the needs of more people and LIFT them to their God-given potential.

 

 

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LIFTing the Faith of the Next Generation

We are more than halfway through our commitment to LIFTing 10,000 people by the close of 2024 and we see the evidence of how God has been moving in and through us all around. What is equally remarkable is that we know that our good and gracious God is transforming lives in ways that we cannot see or imagine.

Our hearts are overflowing with gratitude for those who have invested their time and talents, as well as their financial gifts. And it is with holy anticipation that we look toward the fall, and the many opportunities to LIFT others. Within our church and community, we can help children and students grow a vibrant and vital faith–one that knows deeply a grace greater than the gravity of life.

Here are just a few ways you can help:

Become a buddy

One of the goals of LIFT is to build a Disability Ministry so everyone feels welcomed, known and loved as they cultivate a relationship with Jesus. We need volunteers to buddy up with our children, students, and adults with disabilities to help them participate fully in Sunday and mid-week ministry groups. No special skills are necessary, just a loving and caring heart and a willingness to learn and help. Visit here for more information or to fill out a Volunteer Interest Form.

Volunteer for Kids Club

Last year we launched a mid-week group for kids in grades 1–5 at the Butterfield campus. Parents and kids alike loved the program. Our hope is to expand it to the Oak Brook campus this fall. To do that, we need volunteers to support the variety of activities each week. The programs will run from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. on Wednesdays. Visit here for more information and to fill out a form expressing interest. Someone from our team will reach out soon.

Christ Church can reach more kids and students with the life-changing love of Jesus because of the generous way our congregation give, serves and LIFTs others.

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