We are all likely familiar with the Great Commission given to the disciples by Jesus in Mark 16:15 to “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”  Before his ascension, Jesus left this mission for his disciples to carry out: Go and Proclaim. And disciples of Christ are still given this calling, to Go on your journey and, as you do, wherever that may be, Proclaim that Jesus saves.  

We hear this commission and immediately think of those engaging in global or vocational missions.  To be sure, those who are called into the work of missions are the “Goers.” However, all disciples of Christ are called to follow this commission.  We are to Go out into our communities, reach within the lives of our families, friends and even co-workers to Proclaim this news of Jesus that we believe and have experienced.  As a community of believers, we are sent, or commissioned, each Sunday to Go into our individual “worlds” to carry out this mission to which Jesus has called us.  

With this mission in mind, Jesus exhorted us to be a light unto the world. Those we are trying to reach should be able to tell something is different about us as disciples of Christ. Romans 12 guides us in how to actively be a light to those who watch us:

We see several ways here to be a light to a watching world. The first thing we see here is the call to love so generously that it’s almost a competition, actively seeking ways to honor others by putting their needs first.  Secondly, we are not only to love others, but to love God in every aspect of our lives, being zealous and fervent in his service, while being marked by hope, patience, and continued communion with God in prayer.  

Additionally, in v.13, we see another mark of a true disciple that we may not think of as readily, especially when considering carrying out God’s mission: seeking to show hospitality to the saints. What if we also connected Romans 12:13 with Luke 10:2,

Praying for and supporting the “Goers”.  Do we actively care for our mission partners well? They are as much a part of the body of Christ just as those who gather at CBC each week! This includes both local partners as well as missionaries whose reach is far beyond our community, state, or country.  Do we know who our missionaries are – what mission partners we support as a church – and how we are can care for them?  

To do our part in the Go and Proclaim of the mission, we must come alongside these individuals and organizations to support them in the single, most powerful way – prayer.  With faith that our Father knows their needs even before we get a newsletter or communication that asks for it, we should consistently and fervently lift these “Goers” in prayer.

With this truth in mind, our missions team has been working on a Missions Guide that includes information on our missionaries and local missions partners. It identifies each of our partners, their work, prayer needs, contact information, and provides a lined page to continually write in updates or prayer requests as they are relayed to us.  

Additionally, in addition to our #missions Slack channel, we will be providing details on how to be added to the missionary newsletter email list, which provides a direct way for church members to remain connected to our supported partners.

Thank you for keeping our missionaries in your prayers and we encourage you to engage with them in their ministries. Let’s “outdo one another” in honoring our missions partners through our support.

A sudden illness. Job loss because you can’t work. Your company downsizes and your job goes away. Missed mortgage payments or rent. Eventual loss of your home. These are just a few of the circumstances that may lead to a nightmare that most of us can’t even imagine. But for thousands of Americans, homelessness is a stark reality. 

Here in Bloomington/Normal, hundreds of people are living on the streets. You can see them in a tent encampment at Home Sweet Home Mission or in the old YMCA parking lot. You can also see them pushing shopping carts filled with their belongings around town. They sleep wherever they can. Homeless numbers have risen dramatically here, just as they have across the country. And getting them back into housing can be very difficult. Since they don’t have an address, it’s hard for them to apply for jobs, which would be the first step to get back into affordable housing. Unfortunately, rents have skyrocketed in today’s economy, making affordable housing units very hard to find. 

There are many organizations that provide help for the homeless in Bloomington/Normal, but because of the increased requests for help, they are running out of funding. There is one more source of help available, however. That is the Care Ministry at Calvary Baptist Church. The Care Ministry was started two years ago by Steve Swope who teaches Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. Tammy Callicott now heads the ministry, but Steve is still involved. When this ministry started, there were hardly any requests for help from homeless people. Most of them were from the materially poor, meaning they lack sufficient means to meet basic needs. This includes a lack of food, drinking water, shelter, clothing, or medicine. But requests now are almost all from the homeless. 

The Care Ministry helps the homeless, but they also help people before they lose their homes by providing assistance with rent and utilities. Groceries are also provided on a case-by-case basis. More importantly, they provide budget counseling.

When a person contacts Calvary Baptist to request help from the Care Ministry, a meeting is arranged. That person sits down with a member of the ministry, and they discuss the person’s situation. The person leaves with a plan for a budget that is modeled after Financial Peace University. 

The Care Ministry’s vision is that it is crucial for a person to be involved with helping himself. Unfortunately, many people don’t want to complete a budget, and the Care Ministry is unable to help them. But when a person completes the budget, a second meeting is arranged. They go over the budget and look for ways they might cut expenses to help them afford to stay in their housing or find a place to live if they’re homeless. The Care Ministry also provides job counseling. All this helps a person stand on their own feet instead of depending completely on handouts. 

Calvary Baptist Church is looking for ways to partner with other area churches or organizations to better serve both the materially poor and the homeless. However, it isn’t just external help that is needed. Members of Calvary can help too. Volunteers are needed and training will be provided. Financial help is always welcome. And most of all, the ministry needs prayer. First, pray that people’s hearts will be softened, and they will be receptive to accepting help with a budget. Also, pray for those on the Care Ministry team that they will be able to present the gospel and that souls will be saved.

 For Jonathan and Kylie Callicott, ministry has always been at the center of their relationship. After meeting while serving in Encounter at ISU in January of 2022, and seeing their relationship moving in the direction of marriage, one of their first priorities was to find avenues to serve alongside one another. Fast forward just a few years and now their days of early marriage find them serving at CBC as Jonathan comes on board as a pastoral intern with a focus on college and young adult ministry. 

Let’s back up a few steps first, however. While ministry was not always on Jonathan’s mind, some formative experiences from his early life started to move him in that direction. From his earliest days, Jonathan was raised in a home that was faithfully committed to the local church. Engagement in the body of Christ and in a personal relationship with the Lord was the context of his upbringing. 

But an experience in high school provided a big step in the direction of church ministry. Jonathan participated in a mission trip to Mississippi during which he was able to teach in a Vacation Bible School. Until then, ministry wasn’t on his radar, but after this experience, it was clear there was a calling in that direction. Through the affirmation of his youth pastor and other spiritual influences around him, God was making this calling increasingly clear. 

Preparation for ministry was the next step. Jonathan enrolled in online classes at Liberty University, majoring in Christian Ministry with a minor in psychology. After finishing his studies, Jonathan connected with Encounter, an on-campus ministry serving college students in Normal. As part of that ministry, he was responsible for the personal discipleship of several young men each semester. Over time, he also began leading in worship, planning mission trips, and engaging in outreach efforts. One particular focus was sharpening the students’ “gospel readiness,” that is, their ability to take the spiritual lessons they had learned in college into their various future settings.

While playing a worship set at a conference in Pontiac, Jonathan met a pastor who was planting a church in Bloomington. Jonathan recalled seeing a sign for Salt Church on campus and after making the connection, both he and then-girlfriend Kylie decided to check it out. Salt Church focuses on pairing church planting with campus outreach ministry, which made it a natural fit for the young couple. The emphasis on connecting students to a local church was one that appealed to both Jonathan and Kylie.

Which brings us back to the present. Over the years, the question of how to reach the campus at ISU has been a persistent challenge for CBC. With over 20,000 students within a mile’s proximity, there is unquestionably a field to be reached. A combination of Calvary’s ability to take on an intern and the presence of a candidate with immersive experience meant the opportunity to invest in college ministry seemed all too clear!

Now just a few weeks into their marriage, Jonathan and Kylie are excited to tackle this opportunity. For one thing, the need is evident, and not just numerically. In discussing his burden for college ministry, Jonathan noted the formative years the students are passing through. No longer under their parents’ direct supervision, it is a time for young people to make their faith their own. But to have someone come alongside them and walk through them in that process is a valuable – perhaps essential – asset. 

And that “coming alongside” not only includes the local church, it is dependent upon the context of a local church. Regarding college ministry opportunities and challenges, Jonathan noted that Gen Z highly values community and needs the local church in order to stay tethered to their faith. They desire intergenerational relationships and are 60% more likely to remain in church if they have a faith relationship outside of their age demographic. Jonathan and Kylie hope to help college students and young adults to bridge the gap between campus and the community of faith at CBC.

Of course, that’s a calling not just for the Callicotts, but for CBC as well. To provide a space for students to develop meaningful, intergenerational relationships. To be open-hearted, open-minded, and open with our homes and lives. To engage students who are facing opposition to their beliefs for the first time or hearing the Christian faith for the first time. To strive as a church to be, as Jonathan put it, “socially relevant; theologically prevalent.” And, as they get started at CBC, to uphold Jonathan and Kylie and their ministry in prayer.