This past Friday night at Willow Creek Community Church, a diverse group of young Christians came together with one unified mission – to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with high school students in the Chicago area. Leaders and representatives from Elgin, Jacobs, Lake Zurich, Palatine, and Streamwood high schools met together with a team of students from Biola University to learn how to more effectively reach their classmates and teachers.

Before the training began, students from all over the Chicago area took time to make new friends and hear unique ways God has been working in each school so far this year.

Uprising club leaders sharing about their schools. From left to right: Caitlyn (Lake Zurich), Hallie (Streamwood), Cam (Jacobs), Carolyn (Elgin), and Heather (Palatine).

We heard testimonies of God’s continued faithfulness to the club at Palatine and God’s blessing of a brand new club at Lake Zurich. We heard about the excitement of the students at Elgin as they put together their first rallies as well as the determined leadership at Streamwood who are working to encourage and inspire their club members. And finally, the club at Jacobs, who didn’t get their rallies approved by administration, refuses to lose heart but instead is trusting that God has appointed even better opportunities this week.

Speakers from Biola then took the stage and provided some biblical motivation for the students. Nick went straight back to Jesus’ words and urged everyone to focus on “loving God so much that you can’t help but go and love others.” Jose brought the passion, supplicating us: “Who are we to be sent out to serve the King? What an amazing privilege.”

Biola student leader Jose providing Biblical motivation for sharing the gospel.

The night ended in prayer, worship, and fellowship – doing some last minute finishing touches on signs that will advertise the rallies at each school.

This week, the students will share the gospel at Woodfield Mall, put on a total of 26 gospel rallies, and engage in hours of prayer for their classmates, relatives and other people that God has put on their hearts.

Keep checking this blog for updates every day this week to see what God is doing and how you can pray specifically for the parties involved!

Here’s how you can pray today:

• For the hearts of the students who will hear be hearing the gospel – that they would be curious and open to the message of Jesus.
• For the Christian club members – that they would understand the significance and power of the gospel in their lives, and be bold to share it.
• For the Biola team – that we would keep our focus so unwaveringly on Jesus that every interaction we have with the high school students would reflect his character.