About

A TYPICAL SATURDAY AT CHICAGO’S BELOVED

SERVICE

We gather and pray then pass out any food or clothing that is brought (we have around 100-120 sandwich/chip lunches we bring every week) and then we head out on what we like to call our “routes.”

These “Routes” mainly consist of walking the East-West running streets from Canal St. to Michigan Ave. We also have a route that goes along Lower Wacker Dr and one miscellaneous route that covers some of the middle blocks (north-south streets). The most important part of this segment of the ministry is that the more people we have volunteering, the more people we can reach. Without God’s people present, we couldn’t continue to run this ministry.

While walking these routes, our purpose is not to wander the streets dropping sandwiches in peoples laps and moving on. Our goal is to reach out to our homeless family and show them the love that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ showed us. To show them unconditional love that isn’t based on anything but our understanding that they are also BELOVED CHILDREN of GOD…

…and we feed them.

This part of the ministry gives us the opportunity to pray with, care for, and get to know the homeless people in downtown Chicago. You’ll see that they’re not “Homeless” but rather they become part of your family, life, prayers, and heart.

BIBLE STUDY

We take time to learn and grow in the Word together, an important part of our Christian walk, as well as an important part of the ministry. EVERYONE is welcome to come to the Bible study whether you are homeless, or not, or even Christian or not. This is an opportunity to share God’s Word together to learn, encourage, and apply God’s Will in our lives.

CHILI AND FELLOWSHIP

This is not technically part of Chicago’s Beloved. HOWEVER, in support of our brothers and sisters from Moody Bible Institute along with other churches, we attend this event each Saturday as part of our fellowship and fun. This is a GREAT opportunity to sit down with some of our homeless friends and learn more about them and spend time together.

WHATS UP!?

Some friends from church, school and social life feel a call in our lives lately: we want to help as many people as possible. Our focus is on those unnoticed – the poor, the destitute, and the downtrodden. We want to demonstrate love to these people – not just by words or anonymous donations, but by social interaction. We don’t want them to just live, eat, and drink. We want them to have friends, and as many social luxuries that we, as a collective and caring group, can provide (and take for granted). So, the plan is for us to go downtown at least once a week. We’ll bring food, water, and smiles (and some of us willbring the Word (Bibles)) to give people on the streets hope and companionship.

Note: Although this adventure is mostly fueled by religious beliefs, we encourage people of all (and no) faiths to join us. You will not be forced into awkward or judged situations. We appreciate anyone who is willing to help, so that we can impact as many lives as possible.

Oh, and don’t worry if you can’t make some of the trips or if you’ll be late or have to leave early or any of that, it’s not like we’ll be taking roll and sending you to the dean’s office!

OUR PHILOSOPHY!?

I hope all of you can make it this Saturday!

We will be hanging out with homeless people. This will consist of several parts:

1. Identification/Social Interaction: We want to identify ourselves with those we’re helping, and provide havens for social interaction – so that whether we are downtown to hand out sandwiches or hang out with friends, the homeless see us as a gentle and caring outlet for social interaction. The importance of social interaction on any level is drastically under-rated in today’s society and we believe community is one of the most important aspects of life.
2. Physiological Needs: We will bring food when possible, and when it starts getting colder we will also bring warmer clothes for them. Physiological Needs is second to social needs – there exists effective and capable organizations that can more properly care for the physical needs. Although that aspect is important to our mission, it is not the most essential component.
3. Religious Needs: Even though those of us who organize these weekly trips are Christians, you do not need any sort of religious affiliation to partner with us. Those who are interested can, if they choose, join us in helping lead a Bible study for individuals who are searching for something more (just like us!). Non-Christians will not be made into outcasts. We fully believe that we can all partner together despite our different viewpoints. Since this is intended as a unifying and loving endeavor, religious debates or condemning judgment based on any sort of belief system will not be tolerated.

Note to religious brohas: This may seem to us folk that it should be the most important part of the voyage, and you are free to feel this way, but we ask you to not engage in unnecessary contentious debate, and realize that we are called to love those in destitution more than we are capable of disagreeing with anyone on anything….

WHO’S COMING?!

The logistics of this trip depends on the amount of people that can attend. If enough people come, we will break into groups that are led by different people (whom we have already spoken with), and divide up the city. The more volunteers we have, the more homeless we can help.

Don’t think we’re above you (really, we’re not), and don’t think of yourself as being above us (or greater than any of the people we will be encountering, really, you’re not). We firmly believe that we are all equal in God’s eyes, and in the universal mindset of eternity (if you’re into that).

I WANT TO HELP, BUT CAN’T GO!?!

Hey man, I feel ya’, I would love for you to come with – it will be awkward, natural, fun and wild. However, if you can’t, no need to explain! If you want another way to help, donate sandwiches, water, and when the time comes we will take clothing and blanket donations. Click here to contact someone.