Inside Out

Excited in the Greater Elgin Area

                  (Greater Elgin Area) - I am a serious, somber, business-like type of guy. Sometimes I feel like I should be excited, but I’m not. However, to my surprise, watching Inside Out take shape for the Greater Elgin Area has me excited--honestly, deeply excited, without any effort on my part.

Thirty neighborhood project groups have caught the vision of uniting our communities one neighbor at a time and are already reaching out to the needs of people on their streets. By intentionally reaching out, these simple acts of kindness are softening hearts to God.

A Willow member was casually talking to his elderly neighbor and discovered he was afraid of not being able to pay his heating bills this winter. The need was brought to the neighborhood project group and they decided to insulate his attic. This loving act will hopefully move an aging man toward God.

I’m excited that the neighborhood groups get to decide what acts of service God is leading them into. Inside Out is designed to be a grass roots type of serving where ministry is put into the hands of Willow members who are living near where the needs are.

Elgin is a unique town. It’s one of the oldest communities in the area and has long standing boundary lines between ethnic and socioeconomic groups. We have amazing opportunities to build cross-cultural bridges with the hope that God can make this diverse area a true community, where His kingdom can be seen on Earth.

Other unique features about the Greater Elgin Area are the two state-run youth correctional facilities where 600 kids (ages 13 – 18) are incarcerated for the darkest of crimes. The common thinking is that these centers house the monsters of society. The reality is that these are humbled, submitted teen-agers locked down in a double razor wire vault. Most never get a card, call or visit from family. Many prefer jail to their own homes.

The Elgin Blitz (Nov. 12 & 13) is focusing on these broken kids. If we can be God’s hand of love to them, think of the transformation that could occur. There are enough Willow people who live near these facilities that each one of those kids could be “adopted” during their time of incarceration. With God’s help we will make a noticeable difference and get the attention of the world. I am excited.

I’m depending on God and his people to lead the charge for Inside Out. I’m enjoying not being the take-charge field general. My hope is that one day we’ll wake up and notice our communities are better, more united and we will celebrate what God has done.

By the way, this is fun…and did I mention I’m very excited?

Tom Jensen
Greater Elgin Area Leader

Inside Out In The Greater Barrington Area

(Greater Barrington Area) - This past year of getting the Neighborhood Ministries off the ground has been very exciting. As we unfold Inside Out, I am seeing that serving our neighbors is really at the heart of what we’re praying for: to change entire communities one neighborhood at a time.

While meeting with mayors and village leaders, I was stunned at the amount of need in the Greater Barrington Area. We were told about homes in Carpentersville that had zone violations and the owners couldn’t afford to make the revisions, about a single mom with so much mold leaching into her basement it was making her sick and a teacher at a lower income school whose students have never been on a field trip because the school couldn’t afford it.

People from these very neighborhoods volunteered to serve and now the homes are getting repaired, the mold is being removed and a class of second graders has gone on their first field trip – to the Brookfield Zoo.

The initial design of the serving projects was that each neighborhood would find one need and figure out a way to meet it. But what’s happening is that each and every project team is taking on multiple projects. It’s not the staff that is coming up will all these amazing ideas; it’s the teams.

I was surprised to learn that we have, in just our area, over 500 senior citizens who are shut-ins. They are totally dependent on others to come to their aid. For the Barrington Blitz, (Oct. 22&23) we filled boxes with cards, books, gloves, socks, lotion and much more to give to these people so they know they are loved. We’re hoping that out of this, more opportunities will emerge to offer care to these elderly men and women.

The wonderful thing about Inside Out is that it’s about simple ways of serving our neighbors. And people usually aren’t threatened by acts of kindness.

One of my greatest joys these days, is finding out how the serving projects are going. And from what I’m hearing, we’ll be seeing the fruit of Inside Out for years to come.

Andrea Minor
Greater Barrington Area Leader

Greater Schaumburg Area Amazement

(Greater Schaumburg Area) - I’m walking around in amazement these days at how Inside Out is unfolding in the Greater Schaumburg area. I have heard of more neighbors serving neighbors than at any time in the history of Willow Creek. Daily, I’m surprised by how the project leaders are discovering ways to serve. I’m beginning to get an idea of how the early Christian Church operated, where everyone shared with one another.

We discovered that the Schaumburg Township Food Pantry is empty. It’s completely dependent on gifts from the residents. However, people have been giving generously to Katrina relief instead. The pantry feeds 3,200 people annually, and those people are now going without. One neighborhood team took on the challenge of filling up every shelf. Because of their vision, it has become the “Schaumburg Blitz” (Nov. 5 & 6), where we’re all going to fill bags with groceries, drop them off at the township pantry and restock it to overflowing.

Fellowship Housing of Hoffman Estates is a small apartment community of single moms who are in financial need. One neighborhood group made welcome baskets for new residents. The baskets were so heavy that they could hardly be lifted.

Three of the apartments needed complete renovation. A contractor came forward and offered 150 hours of manual labor. Another man who works in the trades was able to get all the supplies needed as donations from his suppliers. These apartments will be available for more single moms very soon.

My vision for Inside Out is that we all would get a taste of what living like Christ can mean to our neighbors. My hope is that God will stir in each of us, that we’ll catch the vision of serving our communities and it will turn into a way of life.

LaVerne Weber--Greater Schaumburg Area Leader

Inside Out in the Greater Palatine Area

(Greater Palatine Area) -For me, the Inside Out projects are the most exciting things we’ve done in the Neighborhood Ministries so far. Why? Because this is the essence of what it means to be a believer: to love God and love our neighbors. By doing these serving projects for people in our community we’re fulfilling what Christ asked us to do: to care for the poor, the widows and the orphans.

I believe God put each of us in the exact neighborhood He wanted. The goal of Inside Out is to create positive relationships with our neighbors. When we invite our neighbors to help us help others, we create opportunities, not only to serve people in need, but also to connect meaningfully with those who live right next door.

In an effort to make a 600-unit low income apartment complex safe, the city of Rolling Meadows partnered with others to build a small police station, medical clinic and library in the center of that community. They had plans to landscape the large courtyard where these services were set up but didn’t have the resources to finish it. A Greater Palatine Area project leader discovered the need and enlisted the help of his neighbors and professional landscapers. They plan to finish the courtyard this month. Hispanics occupy most of the apartments, so Casa de Luz, Willow’s Spanish congregation will be on hand to help as well as provide music. I can only imagine the relationships God will build through this event.

The opportunities to love our neighbors are not all big events. In fact, the smaller, seemingly inconsequential acts of service are the ones where I hope longer relationships will be built. One neighborhood got together to rake leaves and clean the yard of an elderly widow. It only took three hours. Yet from that came invitations to dinner, a neighborhood bon fire, even babysitting help. And that’s just the start.

Through the Inside Out projects we have clear and tangible ways to show God’s love. I’m hoping that our neighbors will get an idea of what Christianity is all about. Yet it’s not only about getting the task done. It’s about confounding people with God’s kindness by caring for those who can’t care for themselves.

Rex Minor
Greater Palatine Area Leader