NextGen Strategy for the Chicagoland Area

By Rev. Jon Pennington, Coordinating Pastor of C3, and Consultant for CMBA

With the collaboration of the CMBA Next Gen Taskforce

20 June 2006

The Statistical Problem

• 125+ college campuses around the Chicagoland area.
• 500,000+ college students studying on those campuses.
• Only 1 full time Baptist collegiate worker in the entire region.
• Other collegiate ministries equivalently weak.
• Around 3 million people under the age of 25 in the region by 2009.
• 35.9% of the people in Chicagoland are under 25 years old.
• Based on Adam Shield’s study, Chicago is the least churched city in America.
• According to Barna, only 3 out of 10 twentysomethings attend church each week.
• According to Barna, there is a 58% decline from the ages of 18 to 29
• 50,000+ college students (10%) attend school in Chicago’s loop.

Our Functional Assumptions

• A NextGen Strategy should include everyone from birth to 35 years old.
• A strategy for Chicago should eventually impact both Cook & DuPage Counties.
• A NextGen Strategy should focus efforts first on college students.
• Church planting is the best way to implement any missions strategy.
• A center-city approach is ideal in reaching a large urban people group.
• Investing in the ministries of people is preferred to investing in properties.

A Developing Solution

• Form networks of Children’s workers, Youth workers, College workers, and emerging church planters to function both as encouragement and resourcing for strategy. These become “brain trusts” of people who are “experts” in these areas of ministry. Their dialogue could be helpful to each other, and also to churches interested in beginning NextGen ministry.
• Create a series of blogs to serve as the collection pools for this resourcing information.
• Use semester missionaries to begin detailed research of the campuses in Chicago’s loop area.
• Create a multi-media flier/DVD that will generate excitement in Associational church to be involved in the networks and vision.
• Draw significant funding from collegiate ministries and church planting to help subsidize the starting of four new congregations in Chicago’s loop focusing on loop campuses (Roosevelt, Columbia, DePaul, etc).
• Create a CMBA NextGen Extension Coordinator ½ time position. Use funding both to support Coordinator’s consulting efforts and his involvement in a flagship NextGen church. Coordinator will serve as the link between campus ministries and the new work team. This coordinator role should be split between someone for planting and someone for development.
• A church presence will add stability to the collegiate ministry, and allow them to also reach twentysomethings in close proximity. Many of those attending college in the loop end up living or working in the loop after graduation.
• Many schools with campuses in the loop also have campuses around the city (i.e DePaul, Loyola, Northwestern), expand work over the years by staring additional congregations near related campuses.
• Work next on campuses close to the loop: UIC, University of Chicago, etc.

Current Situation

• A taskforce has been assembled to discuss strategies and begin forming the initial networks. They are currently meeting quarterly.
• Primarily involved in this network are: Lewie Clark (Church Planter in Logan Square), Nathan Carter (Pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Pilson), Ash Hodges (College Pastor for Chicagoland Community Church), Dave Arnold (Church Planter in Albany Park), Jon Pennington (Coordinating Pastor of Chicagoland Community Church, CMBA New Work Team), and various others. Jon Pennington is serving as team leader.
• There is a growing excitement by those involved to move forward and begin the stated strategy.
• Opportunities are presenting themselves frequently in different denominational meetings for Jon Pennington to teach about the emerging church.
• We have some form of campus ministry actively functioning or beginning on the following campuses: Northwestern in Evanston (Evanston Baptist Church), Chicago State University (Full Time Position), DePaul/Moody (Chicagoland Community Church), Northeastern/NorthPark (Bridge City Church), UIC (Immanual Baptist Church)
• There is a serious need to find ways to involve African American churches and Ethnic churches more in the NextGen conversation.
• We need to also find more ways to include suburban churches and the younger age groups (children, youth) in on the dialogue.
• Nick Kim has begun to work together with Jon Pennington to cover the church development side of the project.
  

Immediate Goals

• Collect research data to develop a position paper defending the importance of reaching the next generation and being involved in the emerging conversation.
• Read numerous books and discuss them as a team, that help us better understand the emerging church.
• Recruit, train, and provide room & board for semester missionaries.
• Discover and assess potential church planters for the loop congregation.
• Establish the Next Gen Planting Coordinator Position and Next Gen Development Coordinator Position.
• Begin promotional marketing plan to Association churches.
• Ensure quarterly meetings of each of the NextGen networks.