Partner Stories
Neighborhood Cornerstone
Some churches move to the suburbs for safer, more comfortable surroundings. Some remain in urban settings, where neighborhoods are deteriorating and crime is rising. In Chicago, Illinois, Citywide Community (Alliance) Church, formerly known as Ebenezer Christian Center, has brought both worlds together with an innovative approach–sacrificing the comfort and convenience of the 'burbs to share the love of Christ in a dangerous and spiritually needy area of the inner city.
Pastor Angel Collazo wants to reach the lost in Chicago. “Our motto is ‘one church many sites,’ ” says Collazo, who has pastored the church for 13 years. Since joining the Alliance, Citywide has planted four churches, including a Spanish-speaking congregation, and has adopted one into the C&MA family.
Chicago is divided by 77 communities, and church leaders have mapped out the city by communities. “Our vision is to plant two churches in each community, giving us a total of 154 churches by the year 2020.” It is the plan for each church to draw people within walking distance of the facility.
“Most of the older church buildings within Chicago do not have parking lots,” says Collazo, “because when they were built, the churches served neighborhood people. Our dream is to stand outside on Sunday mornings and see many families in the streets walking to the church,” he says.
One inner–city woman is eternally grateful for the church's welcoming and accepting spirit. The first time Lymarie attended Citywide, she received Jesus as her Savior. “Lymarie lived on the ‘wild side’ with her boyfriend, Tony,” says Collazo. “Excited about her new faith, she rushed home to tell Tony about her experience and wanted him to come see for himself.”
Tony, a large gang member whose life was filled with alcohol and drugs, was not happy with the changes in Lymarie. He decided to come to the church but not with the intention of participating in a service “Tony's plan was to confront me,” says Collazo.
But when Tony arrived he was touched immediately by the Holy Spirit and surrendered his life to Jesus. Today, Tony and Lymarie are married with four children. Lymarie is a teacher, and through discipling and spiritual mentoring, Tony now serves as an elder and a pastoral-care pastor.
Developing spiritually healthy believers is as important as planting new churches, and Citywide is prepared to reach each community in a variety of ways. A daycare center is ready to open for enrollment to serve a designated area. Similar boundaries will apply to a preschool and summer camp in other neighborhoods.
Also, the church provides computer training for kids and has received FCC approval for a low–power radio station with a three–to–five–mile range. Round–the–clock programming is being scheduled. “In addition,” says Collazo, “Citywide is the only church within the community that allows local high school students to complete mandatory community service, and this is impacting kids' lives.”
The outreach of Citywide Community Church already has been noticed by Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley and Chicagoans. “I've met with the mayor,” says Collazo, “and he has come to the church.” The meeting led to a gift from the city. “A former crack house was given to the church with the agreement that it must be renovated within a year,” he says, “and used for non-profit purposes–specifically low–income housing.”
With assistance from Alliance Development Fund, renovation of the old church building and the crack house will begin soon. “We plan on promoting this partnership throughout the neighborhood,” Collazo says, “and we hope that the city will provide many more opportunities like this in the years to come.
“Our church members understand that the work of the church is accomplished by each individual using his or her gifts throughout the week and that Sunday mornings are simply a celebration of what God has done,” says Collazo. “We are fully dependent upon prayer. It is the cornerstone of all that we do.”
