Youth March to "Stop the Violence"

Wow! Has it been a month since we last posted?! That's not because there hasn't been any excitement around Sunshine. We'll have to catch you up to speed.

We've mentioned the uptick in violence this past end-of-summer/beginning-of-fall as local gangs renewed their fight over turf. Extra, and unanticipated, measures were taken to ensure the safety of those who consider our center a second home and of our staff members and building. The violence, however, afforded us interactions with the community that have only strengthened our relationships. Long-term community residents, which include block club leaders, police, agents at local social service agencies, along with Sunshine, have mobilized. Our joint efforts have included youth, in particular those who are being tutored and mentored to grow in their character and academic achievements. Back in November, at the tail-end of the violent spree, a march of youth, who refuse to stand for this violence, was organized and Sunshine endorsed the march, acting home base for the event.

The newspaper, The Chicago Defender, covered the story. Click Here.



Dave Clark, our City Team Leader, is pictured along with a number of youth who are involved in our programs.

Note from the Director's Chair: Psalm 34 in a season of uncertainty

Dear Friends,

I have been thinking these past few weeks about what happens when the circumstances of life threaten to undo us. Perhaps you have too.

On any given day, I have friends and neighbors who, through actions of the tumultuous environment in which they live, can loose everything. I dare say for many, present conditions have us acutely aware that we live completely beyond our own control, even beyond our comprehension.

For those in poverty this is often a daily struggle. It seems that just when they are about to get up something hooks them by the waist and "kicks you back to the curb". When this happens, how is it that one can resist the temptation to give up? To be without hope?

Hear the Word of the Lord:

This poor man cried and the Lord heard him
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
And delivers them.
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man (or woman) who takes refuge in him.

I, personally, along with my family and many of my neighbors, have had many despairing days this past year. We've had many days when we have needed these words of grace.

I suspect that you may be experiencing this sense of despair during this day, week, month or year of economic crumbling in our country. Many of you may have lost jobs, businesses, personal wealth, meaningful business relationships or other things. Please know that as you have encouraged us and empowered us to count on the grace of God throughout great troubles, we are praying for you.

If there are specific things that our staff and community can remember in prayer on your behalf, please let us know.

When the righteous cry for help,
the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their trouble.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

The grace of God is vast. The promises of God are sure. In the urban environment we often have to be reminded of this and He always proves sure. So, let me try in my feeble ways to send you a message from the 'hood. Be confident of God's grace and love for you.

Among the most important spiritual lessons to be learned from the perseverance of the saints in our community is this very thing - to continue to walk in faith in uncertain days. As one old negro spiritual encourages us, keep your eyes looking ahead in faith to what Christ has for you:

"Hold your life, Brudder Robert, Hold your light. Hold your light on Canaan's shore.
What make ole Satan for follow me so? Satan ain't got notin' for do wid me. Hold your light, hold your light, hold your light on Canaan's shore."

Counting the grace of Christ with you.

Joel.

Sunshine Benefit

Dear Friends,

This past weekend we hosted one of the most delightful events I've been privileged to be a part of during my nearly 10 years at Sunshine. Our benefit dinner. I know that sounds a bit odd, but I mean it seriously.

Inspite of the things that get more press, including recent shootings and what not, there are many delightful things that come from our community; things that reflect the Imago Dei. This year we created an evening designed to reflect this and called it "A Soulful of Dreams." We even hosted it at one of Chicago's wonderful theaters - the ParkWest.

Howard Sandifer and Friends provided a wonderful 5-piece jazz ensemble, playing a series of 1940's era tunes and our friend, Nadine Smith, blew the house away with her cool vocals. Youth and adults brought testimony about our programs in the community. I think everyone saw and enjoyed God's work on the south side of Chicago.

We also put together a terrific book written by our youth to share their dreams with you. I know you will find this book incredibly powerful. If you would consider either joining us as a monthly sponsor at $50 or more or, if you would consider a one-time gift of $500 or more, we would love to send you this book, as a token of our gratitude. (A preview of our book can be seen by clicking the icon on the top right-hand side of our screen.)

Thank you for walking this road with us!

Joel.

A slideshow of pictures from the event can now be seen via Flickr.

Prayer Request Follow-Up: Letter from Joel

Hey everyone ~

First off, before I give you a quick follow-up regard our latest prayer request, I want to thank you for the outpouring of support and prayers we've received through our Inboxes and phone. You are an immense encouragement to us!

As a bit of follow-up...Right away Monday night we hosted a meeting of local block club leaders. It was about 15 folks strong and I really believe we crossed a new threshold that night. For about 5 years now, we have attended meetings, even hosted them in the community. But, this was the first time we spearheaded this type of community action. I was really humbled by the showing and the response.

We came up with an overall strategy to respond to what is happening in our neighborhood and I learn a lot, like the importance of getting people to leave their front porch lights on, making sure garages have house numbers on them, and making lots of phone calls for every incident to the police. As an example, when someone was shot and killed two nights before the meeting, only 2 phone calls were made to 911. Imagine that! Someone is gunned down with multiple gun shots and there are probably 200-300 people (or more) within a 1-block radius who hear it and only 2 people call!

When the city orders its resources to react, they don't just look at actual incidents, they also look at phone calls. Drug deals get no phone calls in our neighborhood. Buildings broken into get no phone calls. Often, domestic violence gets no response. So, part of our overall process, centers around creating an atmosphere in which a lot of people make phone calls (think prayer chain on the phone to 911!) and (b) they make calls about EVERYTHING and (c) they know what to report when they call.

We also ended up talking about all the vacant buildings (like 10 on just one block!) that have been foreclosed. They are routinely broken into and vandalized and used for garbage (attracting rats) and drug dealers and users. One elderly neighbor described waking up multiple times every time in fear that the drug users in the abandoned building physically attached to her building might burn down the entire block while doing drugs. Another spoke about having at least 3 kids shot and killed right in front of her house over the years. Yet, you couldn't miss the resolve, the strength, the faith in the room. After dealing with this sort of thing for 20 years or more, they were willing to believe again and try again! Wow!

I was also encouraged by the presence of several young professionals - one of whom described hitting the dirt in front of his condo when bullets fly....but, undeterred to invest in the community!

There was a very real spiritual openness, if not outright presence. I suggested we open in prayer, to which everyone immediately responded, "YES!" and proceeded to hold hands in a circle. We also closed in prayer....They were sure to ask that we do!

Perhaps the sadest thing about the evening was the obvious lack of any mention of the role of the Church. Almost everyone mentioned the struggle in their dealings with youth and their sadness about a lack of parental presence - a sore point to be sure. But, there was no explicit mention of the Church. I am praying, as are the Sunshine staff, for a way to address this. I'll admit to being a bit afraid of what incredulity might arise in me bringing it up. Too many churches are absent. We will, however, be the Church, call the Church (through local pastors), and pray for the Church's much-need role in addressing what is, in a way, the next chapter in the life of our ministry here.

Since last Monday, we've worked with one of the block club leaders to hold a prayer vigil. The vigil was held last Wednesday night, at which there was both a police and community presence. We are hosting another strategic meeting on Friday as follow-up to Monday's meeting.

Blessings to you all and again, thank you for our prayers! We'll periodically update you on how things are going on this account.

Joel Hamernick,
Executive Director

A Prayer Request

As some of you know...

We are asking for prayer today for our ministry. Over the past week we've had an inordinate amount of gunfire in our community. After literally dozens of close calls, including a couple of our windows being shot out, yesterday evening a young man was shot and killed a block from our building.

It appears the shooting and subsequent homicide are part of a large war going on between local gang factions, fighting over turf around our building. Our Center is literally in the middle of all the activity. The uptick in violence could last for quite some time.

This morning we met together and prayed as a staff. We also spoke about what we might do to intervene. We corporately agreed upon several things, including holding community meetings, beefing up our physical presence in the neighborhood, taking measures to protect our program participants, asking folks like you for prayer, etc.

Please do pray. Your work in prayer and generosity have us here, right where God wants us. We do know that we serve a powerful God who listens to the voices of His people. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers! We'll keep you posted.

Tech Center Continues to Celebrate High-School Graduates

August 20th marked the end of six weeks with 20 uniquely talented teens. Lue and I (Vince) were given the opportunity to pour some of our life skills and experience into them daily from 9am to 2pm. Our apprentices will walk away with a good foundation in:

• Technology literacy
• Document creation
• Computer networking
• Teamwork
• Soft skills

They worked very hard over the summer and they are well deserving of our praise.



Meanwhile, we have begun to enroll our fall apprentices. Classes begin in October. Registration instructions can be found on our website. CLICK HERE

Faithful Yesterday, Today, and Forever

It's crucial in each of our lives and ministries to spend time each year remembering and reflecting on God's faithful provision. Matthew 7:11 comes to mind, "If you then, who are evil (sinful), know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" Periodically, our program staff write out their reflections or anecdotes about their work. Inevitably, one can see God's Spirit moving and His faithfulness of His people revealed.

At the beginning of August, Pete Blodgett, our youth pastor, wrote a few words of reflection of our summer youth programming.

(Flashback)It is 8:55 a.m. on a Monday in June. In a couple of minutes, the doors will open and our Summer Blast day camp will begin. The time for planning is over and there is some nervousness in the air. The summer staff and I have spent weeks in training and preparation for this day, but it's hard to know what to expect. We've registered quite a few kids and passed out hundreds of flyers. But no one really knows how many kids will show ip. We've planned all the events of the day, but no one really knows how they will do.

Fortunately, we know that God was in control and had already planned out our summer for us. We had over 30 kids on the first day and eventually grew to meet our capacity of 50 during our five weeks. Our planning paid off as our stations of games, academic tutoring, drama, and crafts flowed real well. The kids always looked forward to our weekly field trips, despite a few transportation struggles. Our Bible times were effective; over half the kids were new to Sunshine and most were unchurched. As strong foundation of the Gospel was clearly given and built on throughout the summer. In fact, during the week-long residential camp, eleven of our kids accepted Christ as their Savior!

Many of these kids will be involved in our tutoring program this fall, and we hope to involved them all in our discipleship activities.




Please pray that we will be able to follow up with all these kids throughout the year.

Let Justice Roll - Park Community Church Conference

Park Community Church is hosting a conference September 20 that, for those who are interested in further exploring God's heart for justice and what this practically looks like in the city, will undoubtedly be exciting and challenging. Check out the details at the Park Community Church website. Click Here.

LISC/New Communities Meets at Sunshine

Back in mid-July, Joel and other community leaders met together with local leaders to discuss the long-term development of the community addressing topics of affordable housing, crime, cultivation of the arts and youth programming. These conversations also included dialogue about how to encourage and support commercial development, specifically bringing new businesses into the Woodlawn and Washington Park neighborhoods.



The meetings participants are each apart of the New Communities Program, which is a long-term initiative of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation/Chicago to support comprehensive community development in 16 Chicago neighborhoods. The efforts seeks to rejuvenate challenged communities, bolster those in danger of losing ground and preserve diversity of areas in the path of gentrification.



To check out more pictures, CLICK HERE.

First Day of School: Moody Radio Chicago Reaches Out to Local Ministries

Earlier in the summer, Moody Radio Chicago approached us about an idea they had to connect their listening base with local organization working with urban families. This is what emerged out of a few weeks of brainstorming about a campaign that would truly to beneficial.
The goal of the Mission Backpack campaign was to connect inner city children with participating ministries. The backpack a child receive will be a sort of introduction and invitation for the child to become involved with the local ministries. The connection to the local ministry was "the main thing". It was their - Moody Radio Chicago's - prayer that involvement in the ministry's programs will help the children mature, feel safer in their neighborhoods, and ultimately accept Christ as their personal Savior.

For three weeks Moody Radio plugged this effort on their shows. Several businesses and churches around the Chicagoland area offered to be drop-off centers for the backpacks. The goal...6,500 backpacks!!!! to be distributed amongst six partnering organizations.

Joel did several lives interviews at the station (did you hear him?!) and a station associate came to Sunshine to do a candid interview with a couple moms, who could speak to how the back-to-school season affects their lives and homes.

By August 23rd the campaign was complete, both the backpacks gathered from the various locations and the online sales that were made. It was time to sort all of the backpacks and supplies.

Volunteers from each of the partnering organizations gathered in the Inner City Impact gym to take on this large endeavor. Here is a slideshow of the morning (and what I look like when woken at 6:30 on Saturday morning for work).

Seek Peace in the City - 2009 Urban Missions

2009 Already? Yessss!!!

We just finished an exciting season of summer missions here in Chicago. I am already getting real pumped for next year. We just book our sixth college group for Spring Break and even, summer registrations are beginning.

All of this leave me energized about diving into next sections of Scripture to better what it means to Seek Peace in the City.

"But seek the welfare (shalom) of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare (shalom) you will find your welfare (shalom)."
Jeremiah 29:7

What does it look like to enter some of the most marginalized places in our country and find not only a place God is at work in, but a place in which God work on us? What does God have to teach us, not only about our capacity to give but our need to receive, in the city? How in the world can we find peace in the city?

These are all things that I believe God is answering in the city. I see it expressly through Bridge Builders, as college, high-schoolers, and even adults find Him waiting to work in their lives!

If you know of a college ministry (spring break) or high school group (summer) that would benefit from this ministry, by all means hook us up! (check out the Bridge Builders link at www.sunshinegospel.org)

Peace,
Joel.

Taken from Joel's blog at http://joelhamernick.blogspot.com/

Guess Who Is Back...Back Again...

This e-mail just came in today from our youth outreach, city team leader, Dave Clark. We thought we'd share it with you....

Guys,

Yesterday was a VERY long day behind the wheel, but I made it home late evening last night. It was a great trip. The guys did extremely. We had some very interactive devotional times together and focused on the concept of faith - Hebrews 11. All the guys made it to the top of Mount Sacajawea, overcoming fears and thoughts of "this is crazy!" They had a great attitude about coming in Yellowstone and even better attitudes about doing a 6-mile hike to Fairy Falls and Victory Geyser - both very beautiful sights. One of the most stretching aspects, for some of the guys was the relational one, meeting so many new people. Justin and Jason both testified to how stretching this was, but how they really enjoyed it. All of our guys loved our host (Scot Smith - of Bridge Builders' fame), and were all sure to get his phone number and address. He was very moved by the week as well; he shared with tears in his eyes and a limp in his throat on Sunday morning. I will blog more about this trip later on and its impact on me as well.





Quick Warrior update....After we "shocked the world" with our first victory (37-35) on Tuesday, July 22nd, we entered the tournament on Saturday (July 26th) as a "dark horse favorite". In other words, nobody wanted to play the "buzzsaw", also known as the Sunshine Warriors. :-) Due to some family travel and other circumstance, we entered Saturday morning's tournament with only 6 players - 5 sophomores and 1 senior - all under 5'11". However, we overcame out limited numbers and limited size with tenacious, ball-swarming defense (oh, Dave!!!) and fast-paced, "basket-attacking" offense. We outplayed Judson Baptist the entire game. Unfortunately, though, we ended up tied at the end of regulation. In overtime, we seemed to run out of steam and Judson pulled away.

Next up...Uptown Baptist, a team we should have defeated during the regular season. I wanted this one badly, and so did the guys. We again outplayed them and outhustled them the entire games, pulling away with the 6-point victory!

Next up... South Shore United Methodist. After playing two Baptist teams earlier in the day, it was nice to go head to head with "the Methodists from South Shore". It was evident in the early minutes (this being our third game of the day) that the Warriors were running out of fumes. We admit, we played sloppily and just couldn't seem to get anything going right. We kept the game close, but they pulled away in the closing minutes. The guys felt good about their effort in the tournament...and so did their coach.

After the game we took our annual trip to Bacci's Pizza for Chicago's biggest pizza slice. We talked about competing in Breakthrough's Spring league. The Warriors will be back!

Please keep praying with me that the guys on the team, who don't know Christ, would come to know Him.

I look forward to catching up with everybody tomorrow. Right now, I'm getting caught up on some laundry, some reading, and just enjoying not being in a van.

D.C.

What Creates "Radicals"? : A Reflection Prompted by Our Break-in

We had another break on Thursday morning about 5:30 a.m.

As the governor noted publicly yesterday, over the past 2 weeks we’ve had almost 1 child per day killed in the city. On Tuesday our BB team was on a public bus and someone screamed “get out, he has a knife” and half the bus emptied. . . . Then this morning our building was burglarized again — for about the 6th or 7th time this year.

While there has been a lot of violence city wide, we are fortunate to have experienced relatively minor damage (a few broken windows, some missing TV’s and a computer, a few somewhat alarmed teens). Each week when we have missions teams teams here we wrestle with what Luke 6:30 really means.

“give to whomever begs from you, and for the one who takes away your goods, do not demand
them back. . . . .love your enemy”.

Over the past several months I have been wondering about how Christians that work in distressed urban contexts become “radicals”. When the names and words of people like Rev. Wright and Father Pfleger break out into the open they appear to be nuts to the “average” American. Crazy. Radicals. Now I am not trying to equate what we do with them but just want to make these three observations:

1. The people in their communities love them.
2. These radicals are seriously moved by the word of God.
3. They don’t look that crazy from here.


Further, I think that if the “average” American Christian heard the conversations that go on at Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) conference and other gatherings of Christians who work in urban contexts they would be perceived as “radical”. My own pastor, who is regularly heard on mainstream Christian radio, uses different terminology and descriptions when preaching in our church than when he is invited to preach at places like Bible colleges. Christians in the developing world are also notoriously perceived as radical in their faith by US evangelicals.

So what is it that creates these radicals? Is it the context of injustice, violence and marginalization? Perhaps. But more than that I think it is the word of God. If you give the words of Christ to people in desperate settings. . . The word radicalizes. Common sense would never suggest always giving to beggars, letting the thief get away, or staying even temporarily in harms way — let alone loving those who hate you.

These are challenging lessons requiring patient reflection, prayer, faith in God, and even a sense of humor. Please pray that we’d have all of these. Thanks for standing with me as we seek the renewal of the city through the power of the gospel preached and lived out.

Joel.

This post is also on the Executive Note.

Summer Blast Proves To Be ... A Blast!!!

Today is the last day of our Summer Blast day camp. (Next week - Sunday through Friday - the 52 Summer Blast kids will be going to Sunshine Cove in Michigan for a week of residential camp.) It has been so fun to get to these kids and their little (okay, sometimes their big) personalities. They never cease to make us smile and laugh.

Each Friday we've taken them on a field trip. A few weeks ago the trip was to the Lincoln Park Zoo...


Then, last week they took at trip to the 63rd Street Beach (one the Chicago's hidden gems)...


As I write, the kids are at the water park.

- Lauren Dillon, Communications Coordinator

The Pictures Are In!

Despite the torrential downpour, our Summer Open House moved forward. As it is with any of our events, our prayer in that those who attend will walk away inspired and feel like they have a better grasp on the ministry work of Sunshine.

Pictures of the event have been posted!Check them out at Flickr. Click Here. Who knows? There may be a picture of you!

The Wounds of a Witness

As winter frosts subsided and the sun began making a greater appearance causing folks to come out of doors, Chicago experienced a spree of violence that left nearly 35 people injured or killed by violence. There is one group of people, however, that don't receive much media attention when these violent incidents are broadcast. These people are the witnesses. Estimates state that 25% of students witness a shooting and 30% a stabbing!

The latest edition of Streetlight - our snail mail newsletter - featured an article by Deborah Shelton at the Chicago Tribune. In her article, Shelton chose to highlight these witnesses who suffer "invisible wounds" because of the violence they've seen.

Click Here to read her article.

Invisible wounds are a significant reality of our work. As we grow in our awareness of its significance, we are also increasingly aware that we are living witnesses of a God powerful and eager to comfort and heal deep, unspoken grief.

Making Right Choices - Nikki's Reflection on the UYWI Conference

This was my first year at the UYWI conference (the promo video is posted below) and I have to admit I went into it with my “bucket” empty, but ready and prepared for it to be filled with the tools that would challenge me in my walk and the ministry I know God has called me to.

The workshop that most challenged was called “When Consequences Are Not Enough: Helping Kids Make Right Choices”. In this workshop the speaker, Jeffrey DeLeon, discussed the issue of how kids (both urban and suburban) don’t think about the consequences or care about the consequences of the choices they make. DeLeon suggested that this issue, which is prevalent among too many American youth, comes from four things: 1) They live in an anti-consequences culture. In society today few people allow youth to experience consequences. 2) Short term vs. long-term effect. Kids too often focus only on the immediate consequences. They aren’t thinking of how the choice they make today can affect them for the rest of their lives. 3) Lack of experience. Kids tend to trust their limited experience more than facts. They aren’t aware, intentionally or unintentionally, of what happens when a bad choice is made. 4) Overprotective parents. I know it can be easy to blame parents for a lot of things that are really are to be blamed on the kids themselves; nevertheless, instead of allowing their kids to face consequences parents too often defend their kids for the actions they have made.

How do we get kids who don’t care about consequences to become bold in Christ as opposed to being bold in sin? One way we do this at Sunshine is through small group discipleship. One group that I’m excited about is a group of 11-12 year old girls. With the help of two other women, I will be leading a Bible study this summer, focused on helping them develop a vision for the future and make right decisions based on that vision. Through teaching the Word and living out the Word's precepts alongside our youth, we hope to help them see the world as Christ sees it, and to see themselves as He sees them. Instead of worrying about what other people think of them we want them to be focused on their identity in Christ. Hopefully, through this Bible study, the girls will continue forward making wise choices, stemming from their Christian convictions.

Thinking about Legacy: City Team Leader, Dave Clark, Reflects on UYWI Conference

The theme for this year's Urban Youth Workers Institute (UYWI) conference was "Living The Legacy." Each general session focused on a different element of legacy: legacy of faith, legacy people, legacy at-risk, legacy of love, and legacy unwritten. All of the messages were incredibly inspiring! The first two general messages reminded us of the hall of faith found in Hebrews Chapter 11 and which is described in the following chapter (Heb. 12:1) as the "great cloud of witnesses." We were exhorted to grab the baton passed to us from saints who have "run the race" before us - both the saints of the Old Testament (mentioned in Heb.11) as well as modern figures like Billy Graham, Martin Luther King Jr., and Mother Teresa. The emphasis of both sessions was on us - Christian urban youth workers - to be the next generation of leaders running with endurance. At the same time, we were also challenged to think about who we are passing the baton on to. The sessions left me intentionally thinking about the questions, "What legacy am I writing?" and "What legacy am I passing on?"

Needless to say, I've been thinking a lot about who I am passing the baton to. Lord willing, one day it is my desire to pass the baton of faith onto my biological sons. But, in addition to any of my biological children, it is also my desire and I believe, a huge part of my calling, to pass the baton of faith onto spiritual sons.

In 2 Timothy 2:1-2 Paul writes,

"You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."

Within the larger context Paul refers to a legacy of faith that passes through four generations: Paul >Timothy > faithful men > others.

I have been challenged that, as a follower of Christ, it's imperative that I take on a "legacy mindset." It is not optional; it is a mandate. Remember the words of Jesus, "Go and make disciples of all nations..." I flew back from the conference recharged with energy to continue the "race" and God has continued to powerfully speak to me through Hebrews 12:2.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
- Hebrews 12:2

UYWI08

This week our youth outreach staff are at the Urban Youth Workers Institute conference in southern California. We know they are excited and, those of us remaining at the office, are also excited for them as they are renewed your ministry and encouraged by others in ministry.

This well-made video gives you a better idea of the Institute's mission and the intention of this week's conference.


Voice of Hope from UYWI on Vimeo.

You can visit the Urban Youth Worker's Institute here.

A Peak Into Club 2-5-2

As the school year winds down, it goes almost without saying that our after school programs are beginning to wind down as well. (We have quite the line-up of summer programming, but that's for another entry.) Peering into the multipurpose room yesterday during Club 2-5-2 - our tutoring program - you'd see no sign, though, of any type of wind down. Rather, things were seemingly winding up as Dave Clark, Pete Blodgett, and their fine team of high school and college volunteer reached back into their past and pulled from a stash of Awana games. I can't say there was any great Biblical meaning or academic tie-in, just an opportunity to stretch those legs and see who could run fast. I couldn't help but grab a few snapshots of all the excitement.

Pete, Dave, and Aron (front to back) show the kids how the relay is played.

"Come on, faster!"


Team picture.


Looks like they've got a system down.


Prayer to close out the night.

A Process Report on Sunshine Cove

Dear Friends,

I am excited to be able to give you an update about what is happening with our summer ministry.

As you know, we have been blessed to own and operate Sunshine Cove Christian Camp for many years and this has been our focus for ministry during summer. Over the past year, however, we have decided to no longer operate our own facility and have wrestled with how to go about transitioning the facility to new ownership.

I am grateful to be able to tell you that Sunshine Gospel Ministries will remain in partnership with Sunshine Cove and will be sending campers to the Cove again this summer. During the past few months we have been negotiating a process that we expect to result in Sunshine Cove Christian Camp becoming a separate entity, operating as a new independent ministry.

This new partnership arrangement will allow Sunshine to expand what we are doing this summer here in the city. Each year the youth in our community face struggles of the urban context scarcely imaginable to most. In just this past week Chicago’s urban communities have dealt with more than 35 shootings – about half have been in our community and those that immediately surround us.

As we wrestle with what effective urban youth ministry means this summer, we realize that God is calling us to have a more profound neighborhood presence. With this in mind we will be providing 8 weeks of youth technology programming (TECHcamp and After School Matters programming) as well as 6 weeks of Summer Blast (this in addition to our overnight, residential camping at Sunshine Cove). We will also continue our Bible studies and youth outreach events, reaching hundreds of kids here in our community.

We depend on your partnership and are grateful for your role in bringing the hope of the gospel and the hands of Christ to our community. Please partner with us generously this summer in both financial support and in prayer. Your financial support will allow us to increase the number of youth that are able to attend camp – Summer blast, TECH camp, and Sunshine Cove. Standing with us in prayer will enable you to surround us with spiritual protection extending to the physical well-being of our youth, their families and our staff.

Thank you for your prayer and financial support!

Joel on behalf of the Sunshine family.

P.S. If you would like to learn more about about ministry or, would like to give to our summer camp outreach, visit our new website at www.sunshinegospel.org

A New Look

Your eyes are not deceiving you; Sunshine, in fact, has adopted a new brand identity! Sunshine has worked closely with designers at Headstand Media to use color, line, and shape to better communicate with you.

While our outreach efforts are concentrated in Chicago’s Woodlawn, Washington Park, and Bronzeville neighborhoods, our relationships and partnerships reveal our desire to see the city broadly impacted and renewed through ministries of discipleship, mercy, and justice. We do this through building relationships, teaching and mentoring, developing life skills, care and advocacy in our community.

Ministry mission and vision statements tend to evolve over a long period of time, and Sunshine is no exception. Regardless of our programs specifics, however, our lengthy ministerial experience has only reinforced what we know is Jesus Christ’s commitment to shalom, translated peace, between people groups, in homes, in churches, and in neighborhoods.

We believe our new brand best communicates our desire have a reciprocal relationship and influence with our greater community, with parents and children involved with our programs; and with local churches, college students, volunteers, and contributors…this includes you! Our logo, our website, our blog, and our newest literature were designed with you in mind. Our website and our blog, in particular, were created to be informative, interactive, and easy to navigate.

We hope you will spend a few moments browsing our new website and will check back periodically for new stories, event and program listings!

Program Update

Technology Center

Our technology center continues to be one of the greatest means for us to meet our neighbors and provide the service of free access to computers and Internet as well as basic and intermediate classes in Microsoft Office applications and Internet living.

Since we first moved in to our 500 E. 61st Street building in January 2007, we have seen nearly 500 people taken advantage of our Internet Cafe. Of this number, nearly 150 of those have been from the start of this year. These numbers include those individuals who have stopped by only once as well as those individuals who stopped by several times each week. Also, an increasing number are utilizing our paid services of printing, copyin and faxing. It seems our friends are spreading the word around the block and to their friends.

Classes for adults continue to be warmly received and well-attended. Morning sessions are being held in basic computer literacy and Microsoft applications. Students are currently making their way through the functions of Microsoft PowerPoint. Thursday evenings the Center offers class on Online Living. A weekend training in job readiness, which includes teaching in resume building, will be offered to area residents.

Our high-school apprenticeship program in Home and Small Office Computer Networking, in partnership with the city's After School Matters initiative, has also continued to be a success. We have offered this particular semester-long apprenticeship a several times, and each time, the student's personalities make teaching the class a unique, dynamic experience.

Youth Outreach

Our tutoring program - Club 2-5-2 - used the Chicago Public School's Spring Break last week to go on field trips to the DuSable Museum and Chinatown. The Club 2-5-2 store was also opened. The students enthusiastically spent their Sunshine Bucks, which they'd earned through hard work which resulted in improved academic achievement, as rewards for their hard work. In the process of earning Sunshine Bucks and establishing the Store students have an incentive to learn and improve upon the basics of banking.

Teens who have been apart of our Friday afternoon discipleship studies took time over Spring Break to visit colleges. They took tours of Wheaton and the University of Illinois in Chicago where they learned more about the programs, courses, and extracurriculars of the universities. In weeks past, the students also toured Moody Bible Institute and were able to sit in on a classes, attended chapel and stayed in the dorms.

Bridge Builders

We are entering our third week of Bridge Builders urban immersion trainig during college's spring break weeks.

We have hosted groups of 46 and 43 the past two weeks from several universities. This week we had an additional 10 participants join us for a total of about 35 students. It's a lifechanging experience for the student participants.

One student wrote:

"The sessions were eye-opening and very informative. The information was presented in an effective and organized way that had a huge impact on me. [Bridge Builders] completely changed my heart for the poor, the homeless, and other cultures. My idea of ministry has been altered by these sessions and my heart is burdened deeply by the issues we have discussed."

Comments such as this one encourage us and we hope they'll encourage you too.

So we have another busy week of ministry, work projects, and Bible study coming up. Please pray that God would really be at work in the heart and minds of all involved and that our time spent would be of real benefit to those we serve both from the community and from outside.

A Marked Difference

Written by Pete Blodgett, Sunshine's Youth Pastor

Late one Thursday afternoon I was at the height of frustration. See, Club 2-5-2 (our tutoring program) is structured with "stations" - stations in reading, math, writing, technology, etc. At that moment my frustration was mounting, I was overseeing the tutoring station where students were working hard on improving their typing. Well, all except one. For some reason, one student, who I'll call "D.L.", insisted on typing "his way".

His way meant using two fingers to punch the keys - a way he was quite comfortable with. He was equally as comfortable with the slow pace of his way. (Perhaps some of you have similar stories with teaching your children.) I had tried everything to get him to do it "right": incentives, pleading, even punishment. Nonetheless, each week his stubbornness persisted, he continued to ignore me, and he typed his own way.

I soon found that if I pushed him too hard, he would shut down completely, making the matter even worse. He would hang his head and refuse to respond to anyone. He started using this shut down technique at any station that seemed too hard. The situation, clearly, wasn't getting any better and in time, I wasn't the only tutor who was frustrated by D.L.'s behavior.

Fast-forward a couple months and you'll find a new D.L. He enjoys every part of Club 2-5-2, even the technology station. He is more willing to work at stations that may seem hard at first, and his behavior has seemingly turned around completely. He has even started encouraging other students when they want to give up. As you can imagine, this is the change that we hope to see in every student.

None of us know exactly what brought about the sudden change. We do know that the D.L. who signed up for tutoring in September is not the same D. L. that returned from Spring Break. Perhaps he's simply grown in confidence. Perhaps it's an answer to prayer. Or, the likely scenario that it's a combination of both.

Not only is D.L. improving academically, but his character is being strengthened by the godly influence of our college tutors. He is starting to grow into the man that God wants him to be!

2008 Legacy Conference

We serve a God - Jesus Christ - who is about the redemption of ALL things. Hip-hop is NOT excluded. Because of this, folks at Sunshine are apart of a team which will host the next Legacy Conference here in Chicago in August. It will once again be a three-day conference this time from August 14-16. We are still trying to lock down the location, however many of the same speakers/teachers have already committed for this year: Paul Washer, Shai Linne, Lecrae, Flame, Tedashi, Trip Lee, Azriel, and more.

You can also check out the web site at www.legacy-conference.org

From the Desk of Joel Hamernick: The Process with Sunshine Cove

In the latest edition of the Streetlight and Flashlight (Sunshine’s newsletter and e-mail newsletters) I shared with many of you that our board of directors has made a decision to pursue a change of ownership with our camp facility in Michigan, Sunshine Cove. I think it may be helpful to share more specifically what has been decided and why along with a little more background than we have room for in the normal newsletter.

History.

In 1997-98 Sunshine’s board was at a key decision point at which they needed to decide whether to seek large investment into the facility at camp or sell the camp. Ultimately the decision was made to bring in new staff, invest in the property and develop new programs. My family along with Daryl and Laura Woods and soon after John and Pam Rees were the initial team that followed the board’s direction and God’s calling to develop camp.

During the following decade we immensely enjoyed seeing God at work through hundreds of camp experiences. As a ministry we have invested heartily in the facility and the operation of camp – always with a long term vision that the income from camp would one day balance its own expenses through a combination of localized fundraising specific to camp, Sunshine camper sponsorships, missionary support and guest group fees.

While this vision for balancing the budget at camp was important to the overall plan it was something that God gave us time to work on. Over the years God has blessed us with an ability to “carry” an imbalance in the operational expenses. The ministry that continued has been transformational in the lives of our staff and campers and thus while there has always been financial pressures and considerations about camp’s overall costs, the board and staff worked for nearly 10 years toward the goals of increasing camp’s spiritual fruit and at the same time the goal of balancing income and expenditures related to camp.

Mission.

This past year our board and staff spent time together working carefully on re-wording our mission statement to reflect those aspects of our ministry that continue from the past (specifically a focus on the gospel, the city, and the poor) with those that are new:

1. a new community (Woodlawn and Bronzeville)
2. a commitment to incarnational ministry (living in and being a part of our neighborhood)
3. a new emphasis on teaching the church about God’s heart for the city (through our missions program: Bridge Builders)
4. a broadened notion of serving our community (e.g. We now reach more than 400 people of all ages through our community technology center).

The new mission statement has been adopted as: Sunshine Gospel Ministries exists to seek the renewal of the city through ministries of discipleship, mercy and justice.

This mission focus increases our focus on the center of what God has called Sunshine to do for over 100 years: minister to the city for His namesake. It doesn’t change our desire to take kids to camp but does lessen the focus on that activity in terms of year round focus and how much of our overall resources should be directed there.

Finances.

The net expense over income for camp has now exceeded $100,000 annually for 3 years. The board has looked carefully at our finances and has come to the conclusion that Sunshine cannot sustain this deficit for another year.

Furthermore, when you consider our core campers – those coming from direct connection with Sunshine’s neighborhood ministries and not as rental groups, partnering ministries, etc… the cost per camper when averaged over the annual budget exceeds $1000 per camper. Our camper sponsorships are set at $300. This simply can’t come close to covering this actual cost. Alternatively, the cost of working with other quality Christian camp ministries would allow us to send our children to camp for anywhere from $200 to $300 including all actual costs.

Decisions.

With the previous process and considerations in mind, the board made the decision to cease operations of camp and pursue a change of ownership. The specific reasons highlighted for the decision are (a) mission and (b) finances. The Mission of Sunshine is focused primarily on the city and the overall demands of owning and operating our camp are diverting the ministry from focusing on our core calling. The financial costs of camp simply can’t justify continuing operations.

Decisions yet to be made.

Our board has expressed a clear desire to see the facility at Sunshine Cove remain a Christian camp that serves youth from the city. To this end the board has established as it highest preference to work with an organization that would purchase the facility for this purpose. As of this stage we do not know to whom the facility will be sold, nor when exactly this process will happen. Please be in prayer for the board, staff, campers and supporters of the ministry as we pursue God’s will for the ministry.

It is important for me to stress that Sunshine remains passionate that our youth need Christian camp experiences and that this will remain a key part of what Sunshine does. Yet we want to steward the resources given and focus on the core elements of our calling in a way that are a true expression of wisdom.

I will be adding another article on my own blog that touches on this process from a more personal perspective for those who would like to read further. http://www.joelhamernick.blogspot.com/

Yours in Christ,
Joel Hamernick, Executive Director

Seeking the Renewal of the City Through Camping Ministry

As published in our latest Streetlight newsletter...

Over the recent months our board has revisited the specific wording and focus of our ministry. For over 100 years we have been a ministry in the city, working primarily among the poor, sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in ways that include practical mercy, evangelism and discipleship.

One of the most influential and most welcomed manners in which we have carried out this ministry is to take kids to camp. Long ago the kids from the city, along with a few staff, packed into train cars and rode the long track north to Pembine, Wisconsin. There they came to love attending Lake Lundgren Bible Camp. When the train stopped going that far north, in the late 1950’s, Sunshine pursued and ultimately was blessed to receive a camp of their own: Camp Sun-Chi-Win (later renamed Sunshine Cove Christian Camp).

Though there have been lean years and years of blessing at our camp, the property has been used by God through hundreds of staff and volunteers to change the lives of thousands of youth and families from the inner-city. There is no doubt that camping is an incredible ministry because of the ability it affords one to get away from the city, to see God in His Creation, to have fun in a safe and invigorating setting, and to spend quality time with counselors, peers and leaders who demonstrate and teach the love of God. Camping is clearly an enormously important aspect of our past and future ministry in the city.

Yet over the past few decades camping has become very expensive for those ministries that own and operate their own camps, including Sunshine. Many people that sponsor children have noticed that our camper sponsorships have increased over the past 5 years by more than double. The truth is that the annual costs of the facility have actually quadrupled the cost of sending our youth to our own camp. The camper sponsorships simply don’t come close to covering all of the expenses related to operating our own facility. Yet if we were to send our youth to other high quality Christian camps, run by other Christian Ministries, we could reduce the cost of camper sponsorships to the rate we were at years ago (about $200).

As those entrusted with leading the way, Sunshine’s board of directors is now prayerfully and carefully seeking God’s will for the future of both our camp facility and our approach to camping ministry. Given the focus of Sunshine’s work in city ministry, and the costs involved (actual costs are 3 times as high per child to operate our camp vs. taking kids to camp at other facilities) the board has concluded that we should pursue a transition of ownership.

As a ministry we want to thank all of you who have been intimately involved as staff, volunteers, board members,
supporters, campers and counselors over the years. While we anticipate a change in the way Sunshine continues to be involved in camp, there is no doubt that camp will remain a core part of what we do and we want to ask you to remain in partnership with us. The needs are still great, camping is still key, and our overall effectiveness in the city and through camp – we believe – will increase substantially through this transition.

Please pray with us about the way God would have us seek renewal in the city, steward our resources, and continue to use camping in transformational ways.

God's Transforming Work: A Reflection from Dave Clark, After-School Program Director

Over the course of the past fall semester I have had the privilege of observing God’s transforming work in the lives of our young people. It has been especially exciting to see God move in the life of one of our 4th grade students, a young man who participates in our tutoring program, which we’ll call “D.”. D. began coming around the Sunshine building last spring. Initially, it was to stop in and see Ms. Christensen (one of our former staff members, who volunteered in his classroom). In time D. occasionally would stop in to see me and ask me if there was anything he could help with. I didn’t know his name at the time, but I’d noticed his persistence and I recognized his face.

When our summer Vacation Bible School (VBS) began, I started to see D. more frequently, eagerly waiting outside for activities to begin and enthusiastically asking about the day’s snack.

One evening during the VBS program, D. got sent home for fighting. He never returned to our VBS, but continued to frequently visit our office and to stand on the sidewalk outside our building, peering in through the shades to get a glimpse of our evening’s activities. During the warm summer months, when idles hours increase, I would often see D. walking around with his group of friends (10, 11, and 12 year olds) bored and looking for something to do.

Our tutoring program began at the end of September and D. stopped in to inquire about how he could get into the program. I delivered the unfortunate news that our program was full, but assured him that I would put him on our waiting list. Again, with great persistence, D. stopped by our office virtually everyday after that to see if anyone had dropped out, thus opening a spot for him in the program. A couple of weeks into our tutoring program, a spot became available and, as you can imagine, he was more than ready to take up its place.
D.’s enthusiasm to attend our programs remains undiminished. In fact, often times he comes early to work on homework, to help set up, and to pray with me and the other staff members over the night’s activities. He always prays for two things: 1) that the tutors would arrive safely and 2) that everyone would get “PBs” (that’s personal bests) at their tutoring stations.

Perhaps most exciting of all was the opportunity I had at the end of this past fall semester to share the gospel with him using the Evangicube – a small picture cube that walks the basics of the Gospel message. D. was fascinated by the Evangicube, and equally as fascinated with the story of Jesus Christ. In follow-up to D.’s interest in the Gospel, I asked him if he would like to come to church with me. He told me that he would like to attend and that he and his friends would meet me at the office that Sunday morning at 10 a.m. sharp! When Sunday rolled around, I made it to the office in a rush, and was disappointed to find D. wasn’t there and neither were his friends. I called both numbers I had for him. I reached him. His groggy voice on the end of the line confirmed I’d woken him up. D. reassured me that he still wanted to go to church and that “he would be down in a few minutes, after he had ironed his clothes”.

He sat next to me throughout the service and seemed to be engaged, taking it all in. During the ride home he didn’t say much (I’m sure this is partly due to the three teenage boys, also in the van, dominating the conversation). D. was my second to last drop off, and during a brief lull he spoke up.

“Dave,” he said, “I need a Bible.”

His request caught me off guard! I wasn’t surprised at what he wanted, but rather I was by the unexpected timing of his request. I told him I had an extra Bible I would gladly give him if he came by after school on Monday. With the earnestness so characteristic of him, D. came by right after the school day had ended.

Just as D. was about to walk out our doors with his new Bible, he turned to Pete, our youth pastor, and with a look in his eyes of great attention to detail, he told Pete he would be at Bible study that week. He then turned to me, and he said he would be coming back to church next Sunday.

In the life of an organization with staff who has conversations with many neighbors in one day, events like these can seem small and get pushed aside, grouped with the mundane. But, I am confident in my reflection that the Holy Spirit brings about big things through small steps. Honestly, I believe God began to work in this young man’s life way before Sunshine occupied 500 E. 61st St. I also believe that in the months and years ahead, the Word of God will continue to be sown in this D.’s life and will bear fruit – fruit capable of enduring even the ups and downs of his coming adolescence.

I’m reminded of Paul’s words in Philippians 1:6. Paul states, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” God has begun a transformational work in D.’s life as well as others in our community, and surely He will continue to be made manifest. I simply look forward to watching it come about!