Many college students are active in service and ministry and feel a real connection to their home church. When they graduate, some find it difficult to make the transition to a professional life in a new environment without the support of family and friends. In addition, they are challenged to find the diversity of quality spiritual options that were available to them on campus.
A growing number of these Adventist young adults are finding career opportunities in major cities like Chicago. The Illinois Conference has begun to explore creative ways to provide support and encouragement for these young professionals and help them transition from college life to becoming successful professionals with a vibrant and active faith. MyTown Ministries was created with that objective in mind.
Kenneth Denslow, Illinois Conference president, has provided leadership and cast a vision to embrace the challenge of Touching Every One for Jesus in the city of Chicago and throughout the state of Illinois during the next five years. He sees MyTown Ministries as an integral part of achieving that goal by encouraging young Adventist professionals who live and work in Chicago, and providing support and resources to help them make a difference in the lives of their co-workers and members of their community.
José Bourget, a pastor in the Illinois Conference and a graduate of Andrews University, is based near the heart of Chicago and serves as the director of MyTown Ministries. The ministry has a two-dimensional approach. One is to provide support for those who already have established careers in Chicago, and the other is to work with college students in discipleship training to help them prepare for the transition into a career.
Ron Whitehead, assistant to the president for spiritual life and director of the Center for Youth Evangelism at Andrews University, has partnered with the Illinois Conference and MyTown Ministries to give Andrews University students the opportunity to participate in this initiative. Known for its rich variety of culture, art and progressive advances in social initiatives, Chicago presents a unique opportunity for Andrews students to make an impact in meaningful and practical ways. The people of Chicago come from nearly every country and represent a broad spectrum of economic class, culture and faith for which Andrews students are perfectly matched.
Not content to express their faith by warming benches, a number of Andrews students have expressed their spirituality by engaging the Chicago community through acts of service. For example, students are involved in feeding programs and work with disabled and disadvantaged children. They are in the process of identifying other community needs and partnering with young Adventist professionals, institutions and local churches to plant community centers of ministry in Chicago proper. Future plans include developing an internship component with job placement for students who have made MyTown Ministries part of their college experience.
For additional information, you may e-mail José Bourget, director of MyTown Ministries, at jrbourget@gmail.com or Youssef Khabbaz, ministry leader, at mytown@andrews.edu.
