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Our Mission Field
Chicagoland is home to more than 9.5 million people.[1] As many as 8 million of these people do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.[2] Chicagoans come from every nation on the planet, represent hundreds of languages and ethnic groups, and practically every demographic one can imagine. Chicagoland is a world city and, indeed, the world in a city.
But our city is dark. Over the years, Chicago has become famous for corruption, crime, violence, racism, exploitation, poverty and injustice. We who live here recognize that these are not unfair stereotypes of our city but rather the way things actually are. Moreover, the area is woefully underchurched and a great many people groups in the city currently have no gospel witness among them.[3] The situation is intolerable for the people who know Jesus Christ as the hope of the word.
Globally, people groups are on the move like never before. There are now more than 231 million people living in diaspora. From the vantage point of global city like Chicago, we can well see that the Lord is accelerating human migration in our day for the sake of mission. Our passion is to embrace this phenomenon for the sake of the gospel.
[1] US Census’ 2011 population estimate for the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet MSA (metropolitan statistical area) is 9,504,753 (http://www.census.gov/popest/data/metro/totals/2011/)
[2] The ARDA (http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/m/16980/rcms2010_16980_metro_name_2010.asp), puts the population of the entire MSA at just over 9.4 million (using 2010 population estimates). Then they provide numbers for Evangelical Protestant, Black Protestant, and Mainline Protestant. I would say that a good proportion of the first two blocs include “Evangelical” churches (http://www.nae.net/church-and-faith-partners/what-is-an-evangelical). In the category of mainline churches, some of them are also Evangelical. It’s hard to come up then with a solid number. Being as generous as possible and counting all three groupings gives you a total of 1.6 million involved in Protestant churches, the majority being evangelical. This is 17% of the population of 9.4 million. In other words, about 8 million people in Chicagoland that do not attend a gospel-preaching church (conservatively). Based on all of this, I would be comfortable estimating that as many as 8 million people do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ in Chicagoland.
[3] A 2006 CMBA-commissioned study estimated 1 church (counting all Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox) for every 1,455 people in the metro area.
But our city is dark. Over the years, Chicago has become famous for corruption, crime, violence, racism, exploitation, poverty and injustice. We who live here recognize that these are not unfair stereotypes of our city but rather the way things actually are. Moreover, the area is woefully underchurched and a great many people groups in the city currently have no gospel witness among them.[3] The situation is intolerable for the people who know Jesus Christ as the hope of the word.
Globally, people groups are on the move like never before. There are now more than 231 million people living in diaspora. From the vantage point of global city like Chicago, we can well see that the Lord is accelerating human migration in our day for the sake of mission. Our passion is to embrace this phenomenon for the sake of the gospel.
[1] US Census’ 2011 population estimate for the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet MSA (metropolitan statistical area) is 9,504,753 (http://www.census.gov/popest/data/metro/totals/2011/)
[2] The ARDA (http://www.thearda.com/rcms2010/r/m/16980/rcms2010_16980_metro_name_2010.asp), puts the population of the entire MSA at just over 9.4 million (using 2010 population estimates). Then they provide numbers for Evangelical Protestant, Black Protestant, and Mainline Protestant. I would say that a good proportion of the first two blocs include “Evangelical” churches (http://www.nae.net/church-and-faith-partners/what-is-an-evangelical). In the category of mainline churches, some of them are also Evangelical. It’s hard to come up then with a solid number. Being as generous as possible and counting all three groupings gives you a total of 1.6 million involved in Protestant churches, the majority being evangelical. This is 17% of the population of 9.4 million. In other words, about 8 million people in Chicagoland that do not attend a gospel-preaching church (conservatively). Based on all of this, I would be comfortable estimating that as many as 8 million people do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ in Chicagoland.
[3] A 2006 CMBA-commissioned study estimated 1 church (counting all Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox) for every 1,455 people in the metro area.
The focus of TIBM's ministry is cross-cultural, with a specific emphasis on least-reached peoples in diaspora. Locally, it has been helpful for us to consider our mission field as consisting of three important segments:
Our New Neighbors
New individuals and families from around the world arrive in Chicagoland every day. Whether as refugees, international students, or simply as new immigrants, these people have tremendous felt needs ranging from culture and language acquisition to securing employment and coming up with rent money. In the context of authentic friendship, we seek to meet both the practical and spiritual needs of our New Neighbors in the name of Jesus.
Our Old Neighbors
Many immigrants in the Chicagoland area have lived here for years and have become well-acclimated to life in the Windy City. These people don’t often feel that they need help with anything. However, many of them still long for meaningful friendship and spiritual nourishment. We strive to come alongside our Old Neighbors in love, friendship, and respect while, engaging them with the eternal truths of the Gospel.
Our Next Generation Neighbors
The children of immigrants often find themselves living somewhere in between the culture of their parents and the culture of their peers. The result is that these young people repeatedly struggle with issues related to identity, morality, and spirituality. We are actively seeking to reach the next generation now by presenting Christ and His message in ways that are particularly meaningful to them and the needs they have.
Globally, we are seeking to engage in mission to, through and beyond diaspora peoples as we follow the natural networks of communication, travel, and commerce of scattered people in Chicagoland. Thus, in addition to local, Chicagoland-based ministries, we are starting and partnering with ministries around the world.
