Intersection Christian Ministries
It is said that the best way to stop a bullet is with a job. It is no coincidence that the Chicago neighborhoods plagued with the highest crime rates are the very same neighborhoods beset by the worst unemployment and poverty rates in the city. When we surveyed the residents of the Austin neighborhood, Job Training/Education, Housing Needs, and Money/Bills were the top three categories of need identified by the community?s residents.
As we began discussions to launch Intersection Christian Ministries, we realized that employment and job readiness preparation present the greatest opportunities to have an immediate and significant positive impact on our community. Many disparate organizations and ministries throughout the West Side currently address one or more pieces of the training/employment puzzle. What is lacking is a ministry organization that is familiar with the different programs that are available, and able to assemble the appropriate pieces into a plan tailored to an individual?s situation and needs, and then, most importantly, willing to walk with, encourage and pray for that individual throughout the process as he or she puts their plan into action.
This is the mission that Intersection Christian Ministries has taken on - to assist the unemployed and underemployed of the West side of Chicago to prepare for and attain living wage careers. We are seeking volunteers passionate about bringing real change to the West Side, eager to donate their time and talents in order to demonstrate the love of Christ to "the least of these my brethren" in practical, tangible ways.
Intersection Christian Ministries is organized and operated exclusively as a religious, charitable organization for both the advancement of the Christian religion and the relief of the poor, distressed and underprivileged, particularly in Oak Park, Illinois and the Austin community of Chicago, Illinois. In addition to promoting the Christian religion, Intersection Christian Ministries is dedicated to bringing and maintaining holistic revitalization to its targeted communities through the following: individual and family empowerment, housing improvement and maintenance, business and employment development, educational enrichment, and community advocacy.
A. We believe in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as verbally inspired of God, and free from error in their original writings, and that they are of supreme and final authority in faith and practice.
B. We believe in one God, externally existing in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
C. We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, and is true God and true Man.
D. We believe that man was created in the image of God, and he (man) sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also spiritual death, which is separation from God; and that all human beings are born with a sinful nature and in the case of those who reach moral responsibility, become sinners in thought, word and deed.
E. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice; and that all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood.
F. We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord, in His ascension into heaven, and His present life there for us as High Priest and Advocate.
G. We believe in the blessed hope: the personal return of Jesus Christ for those who have trusted Him as Lord and Savior.
H. We believe that those who have been regenerated (born again) by the Holy Spirit and have received the Lord Jesus Christ by faith are the true children of God.
I. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust, the everlasting blessedness of the redeemed, and everlasting conscious punishment of the lost.
J. We believe that marriage is a God-ordained, sacred union between a man and a woman and that such unions are meant to last until death separates the two. We believe that the term ?marriage? has only one meaning and that is marriage sanctioned by God which joins one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to only occur between a man and a woman who are married to each other. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a natural born man and woman.
