Illinois Updates
|  About 500 people gathered in April for the 10th annual Motorcycle Sunday in Aurora, IL, which is part of the LC2C partner known as Love Fox Valley. The day is designed as a mainstream motorcycle rally, with a festival stage, rock and blues bands, motorcycle merchandise vendors and food vendors. Of those attending, more than 300 were bikers. The centerpiece of the day was the bike blessing. Riders went to their bikes, where they were joined by friends of Motorcycle Sunday, and Pastor Randy Schoof led a prayer from the stage, thanking God for His blessings, asking for His protection, and inviting His presence to be known in each person's life. Bikers were visibly moved, as they were led in an expression of faith in Jesus - many of them for the first time in their lives. | |
| Love Fox Valley is a church-by-church, event-by-event expression of Loving Our Communities to Christ, but, in the process, more and more pastors are becoming connected in meaningful relationship. City leader Tony Delhenka is inviting seasoned city transformation leaders from across Chicagoland to join in a Stewarding Taskforce to better network, coordinate and facilitate the Chicagoland Transformation efforts. The task force is described as a servant-type effort to join hands, hearts, and ears to better hear God's voice for what He is doing and wanting to do in Chicagoland now and in strategic days ahead.
In the Aurora area of the Fox Valley, the monthly Pray Aurora gathering is going well. Recently 18 pastors, marketplace leaders, and nonprofit leaders came together to pray for God's work in Aurora. An ongoing monthly prayer meeting with the mayor of Aurora and his staff also takes place. In February, about 1,000 Christians from dozens of churches in the area watched a premiere of the documentary movie "Furious Love." The movie tells the story of a film director and his friends as they travel to spiritually dark places around the world. The goal was to see if God's love would break through intense spiritual darkness as believers prayed on-site. It was an effective prayer encouragement and training event. | |
|  Aurora IL Pastors Pray for Citywide Reconciliation: Worshippers from more than 20 area churches, and pastors from nearly every major church in Aurora, gathered for Celebrate Jesus Together in August to pray for citywide reconciliation. Nine pastors offered prayers of peace and unity for Aurora's residents, and participants gathered around elected officials present to pray for them. By the end of the event, about 25 pastors were on their knees pledging to renew their commitment to the church, the city and the Lord. Aurora is one of the cities in the Fox Valley, a Loving Our Communities to Christ partner.
Fox Valley Church Baptizes 140: The Orchard church in the Fox Valley, an LC2C partner region, baptized 100 people at a Barbeque and Baptism event in September. In addition, the next week, the church held a spontaneous baptism where 40 more were baptized. | |
| |
 |
The Elgin Christian Development Corporation (ECDC), a partnership of 19 churches, completed its sixth annual "Blitz Build," a week-long construction rehabilitation project. With donated supplies, about 100 ECDC volunteers renovated two apartment buildings. In exchange for these repairs, building owner Tamara Srdanovich will allow the ECDC to use four of her units as temporary housing for families served by the ECDC, a nonprofit organization that brings holistic Christian community development to different areas across the country. |
| |
| | Love Fox Valley Puts Fifth Sunday to Good Use: For more than 10 years, every time there are five Sundays in a month, Christ-followers from many local Aurora IL churches join together for a time of worship, baptisms, and communion. In May, the Fifth Sunday Celebration was hosted by First Christian Church. Ten people were baptized, including a member of a local hard-core motorcycle club. Through ongoing relationships that began with Motorcycle Sunday years ago, some members of this club have become believers. The entire membership of the club attended, cheering on their friend as he publicly confessed Christ. The gospel is transforming lives, as God's people pray, care, and share Christ in relevant ways! The Fifth Sunday gatherings are showing a growing sense of love between people from different local churches as they spend time together. | |
|
|
|