Mission Partners of Fourth Church

In partnership with Mud Theatre we are honored to host the premiere of Jabril’s Chains on Thursday, October 16. Read more

OVERVIEW
of Fourth Church’s mission program

Fourth Presbyterian Church supports mission outreach efforts in our world and in our city (jump down to urban mission programs).

We are also committed to responding to disasters both locally and globally and do so through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA). PDA provides both emergency relief and short-term recovery assistance as well as works with partners through the long recovery process that so often follows. To support disaster relief work, you can make an online gift to PDA.

Partners around the Globe

Fourth Church has a sister relationship with the First Presbyterian Church of Havana, Cuba, which hosts a group from Fourth Church for an annual mission trip there.

Fourth Church groups have also traveled to Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Cameroon, and Northern Ireland for mission trips. In Guatemala, Common Hope and CEDEPCA have served as hosts. Please see below for more information on Cameroon and Northern Ireland.

Global mission has also been supported through Fourth Church’s gift of $1 million towards the Joining Hearts and Hands campaign of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Joining Hearts and Hands was a denomination-wide effort, launched in 2002, in partnership with individuals, congregations, and presbyteries to raise $40 million for national church growth and the expansion of the PCUSA’s mission work abroad.

The $1 million gift to Joining Hearts and Hands was made from the church’s invested funds and contributed in the amount of $250,000 annually in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. During the first two years, the pledge supported mission coworkers in such countries as Ghana, Cuba, Colombia, and Haiti. During the latter two years, the gifts supported the South Sudan Education and Peace Initiative.

The World Mission and Social Justice Committee also allocates small grants to world mission projects each year. In 2019, Fourth Church financially supported the following programs:

Africa Circle of Hope (www.africacircleofhope.org)
Raises funds to provide aid and support to African women and children in Kenya impacted by AIDS and poverty, so that they can develop skills and resources to raise themselves out of poverty and improve their quality of life. Its founder, Patricia Kay Felkins, is a member of Fourth Church.

Chicago Fair Trade (chicagofairtrade.org)
Chicago Fair Trade (CFT) is the largest fair trade coalition in the USA, comprised of members of businesses, education institutions, congregations, non-profit organizations, and individual activists. CFT increases support for economic and environmental justice through consumer education, advocacy, and promotion of local fair trade businesses.

Christian Peacemaker Teams (www.cpt.org)
Christian Peacemaker Teams build partnerships to transform violence and oppression. They are committed to work and relationships that: honor and reflect the presence of faith and spirituality; strengthen grassroots initiatives; transform structures of domination and oppression; and embody creative non-violence.

Faith in Practice (www.faithinpractice.org)
Faith in Practice improves the physical, spiritual, and economic conditions of the poor in Guatemala through short-term surgical, medical, and dental mission trips and health-related educations programs. Former member of Fourth Church, Linda McCarty, is the President and CEO.

International Justice Mission (www.ijm.org)
Protects the poor from violence by rescuing victims, bringing the criminals to justice, restoring survivors to safety and strength, and helping local law enforcement build a safe future that lasts.

Light & Leadership Initiative (www.lightandleadership.org)
Light & Leadership Initiative (LLI) responds to the needs of the women in the Ate-Vitarte district of Lima, Peru by improving the availability and quality of education offered to women and children. Founded by Lara DeVries, whose parents are members of Fourth Church.

Living Waters for the World (www.livingwatersfortheworld.org)
Living Waters for the World (LWL) answers the call to provide clean water for God’s children across the world and fosters long-term, mutually beneficial relationships between volunteers and communities in need. This is a ministry of the Synod of the Living Waters, PC(USA).

Prevent AIDS Africa (preventaidsafrica.net)
Inspired by the vision of Dr. Francis Ntowe, a native of Cameroon and elder at Fourth Church, and Dr. Bernard Blaauw, also a member of FPC and formerly an HIV/AIDS specialist at Rush University Medical Center, this mission treats people affected by HIV/AIDS and helps prevent the spread of the disease in Africa through education.

Rabbis for Human Rights (rhr.org.il/eng)
Based in Isarael and Palestine, Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR) gives expressing to the traditional Jewish responsibility for the safety and welfare of the stranger, the different and the weak, the convert, the widow, and the orphan. Among other actions, RHR has worked to legally prevent or reverse the takeover of Palestinian lands, ensure Palestinian farmers can safely work, and stop forced displacement of communities by freezing wide-spread demolition orders.

Water 1st International (water1st.org)
Equips communities with community-managed water and sanitation projects that are truly transformational. $15 million funds 2,051 projects in Honduras, Ethiopia, and Bangladesh, servicing over 172,000 people.

Cameroon

Helping Africans achieve a better quality of life

Fourth Presbyterian Church supports mission work in the West African nation of Cameroon, where average life expectancy is low and the infant mortality rate is high. Presbyterians are engaged in the efforts to tackle these problems. The Joining Hands against Hunger and RELUFA programs, for example, supported grain banks to provide security to Cameroonian farmers. The Cameroon America AIDS Alliance (CAAA), founded by two members of Fourth Church, cares for those who are suffering from AIDS and educates people in ways to prevent disease and seek treatment.

Web resources:
www.gamc.pcusa.org/ministries/hunger
www.relufa.org
www.preventaidsafrica.org

Northern Ireland

Building peace, promoting reconciliation

Fourth Church supports the peace and reconciliation efforts of 174 Trust in Belfast. The 174 Trust has been facing down “the Troubles” through a vigorous community development process dedicated to demonstrating Christ’s values in action. Based in a former Presbyterian church and led by a Presbyterian pastor, Bill Shaw, the nondenominational organization has earned the respect of local Protestants and Catholics alike.

Web resource:
www.174trust.org

Urban Mission (Chicago)

Both with volunteers and small funding grants, Fourth Church supports the outreach efforts of numerous organizations in Chicago.

2024-2025 Mission Grant Partners
Boxing Out Negativity (North Lawndale)
Sista Afya (Greater Grand Crossing, Chatham)
Imagine Englewood If (Englewood)
Firehouse Community Arts Center (North Lawndale)
Learning Edge Tutoring (Austin/Oak Park)
Breakthrough Urban Ministries (Garfield Park)
Deborah’s Place (Garfield Park)
Inspiration Corporation (Garfield Park)
The Night Ministry (Citywide)
UCAN (North Lawndale & Riverdale)

Global and Denominational Partners
Iglesia Presbeteriana Reformada en Cuba
First Presbyterian Church of Havana, Cuba
Covenant Network
Presbytery of Chicago

Other Mission Partners and Collaborators
Northwestern Memorial Hospital (Downtown-Citywide)
St. Sabina Parish & Employment Resource Center (Auburn Gresham)
Interfaith Housing Development Corporation (Citywide)
Sarah’s Circle (Uptown)
Lincoln Park Community Services (Lincoln Park)
Catholic Charities
Refugee One
University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy

Mission Grant Recipients

One of the methods that our congregation’s mission and justice committee uses to deepen relationships with community partners is through grantmaking.

Sharing financial resources with our partners allows us to have a social impact beyond Fourth Church’s own programs and ministries by strengthening community efforts that have the potential to transform issues we care about such as violence prevention, housing equity, health and wellness, education, and poverty reduction. It also allows us to have a greater footprint in vibrant Chicago neighborhoods that have faced historic disinvestment.

We are pleased to introduce you to the following mission partners who received mission grants for 2024-2025.

Boxing Out Negativity (North Lawndale neighborhood – West Side)

Boxing Out Negativity (BON) is a community organization that empowers youth ages 8+ to realize the best within themselves. It stems from the grassroots efforts of coach and founder Derek Brown, who started his work with Chicago’s West Side youth in 2009.

Their youth boxing program provided at no cost to participants, prioritizes those who are at the highest risk for street involvement involving them in physical training, civic engagement, team building, recreation – embracing them as family. BON also organizes a number of community anti-violence events, most prominently their annual Street Love Ride, which draws the city together each August to spread love and positivity on the West Side.

Boxing Out Negativity intends to use grant funding towards supporting and enhancing our signature boxing program and serving additional youth including through key experiences not covered by current grant funding.

Sista Afya (Greater Grand Crossing, Chatham)

Sista Afya is a social enterprise that provides community mental wellness care that centers the experiences of Black women. The mission of Sista Afya Community Care (SACC) is to build sustainable mental wellness communities through providing affordable and culturally-centered community mental wellness care and education. Their vision is for mental wellness care to be accessible and achievable for any woman that needs it.

Sista Afya offers low-cost monthly support groups, group therapy & workshops under $35/session and free community-wide events that support Black women throughout their healing journey. The organization primarily serves young adult Black women between ages 18-35 and secondarily serve women ages 35+.

Grant funding will cover costs associated with workshop facilitators, marketing, materials, venue rentals for in-person events, and the technology needed for virtual engagement.

Imagine Englewood If (Englewood)

Imagine Englewood if (IEi) is the longest-serving nonprofit in Englewood dedicated to creating safe and empowering spaces for youth in the Greater Englewood community. For over 20 years, IEi has been a beacon of light in the Greater Englewood community— diligently working to reverse the historical disinvestment and recent displacement of Black residents. IEi strengthens the Greater Englewood community by teaching local youth and their families positive communication skills, healthy living, and environmental awareness.

IEi operates out of its Peace Campus, located at 6400 S. Honore. This campus is a block of 16 houses, two open lots, a community garden, two basketball courts and a nature play lot which serves as a resource hub for residents to obtain immediate basic needs and access to community connection, skill building, and opportunity.

Grant funds will support IEi’s efforts to reduce food insecurity and poverty by providing our residents with customized case management services and emergency support. Funds will also support health & wellness programs that offer community education, counseling and programming related to health, fitness and mental wellness.

Firehouse Community Arts Center (North Lawndale)

The Firehouse Community Arts Center is a 100 year old Chicago Firehouse in North Lawndale that has served as a safe haven for young people in the Chicago area for over a decade and has been coordinating various events and art programs dedicated to preventing and interrupting youth and young adults caught in violence. The Firehouse Community Art Center was birthed from youth and young adults in North Lawndale who attended an all youth and young adult Saturday night Hip-Hop worship service in 2003, started by Pastor Phil Jackson. The Firehouse now offers year-round, multi-disciplinary cultural arts programming, mentorship, leadership and workforce development (catering) centered around the prevention and interruption of violence.

Grant funds will support violence prevention efforts, particularly the VIP program, which fosters conversations and relationship-building activities between potential participants and Firehouse Outreach Advocates through in-person meetings and 3 additional points of contact (texting and video chats) each day. The VIP programs utilizes the P.A.C. (Purpose, Authority, and Character) curriculum, to build a positive identity by discovering one’s life mission (Purpose), harness the power to make decisions aligned with that mission (Authority), and live in alignment with one’s true self (Character). This program, along with the juvenile peace ambassadors program, has previously resulted in over 50 peace agreements to date, which Firehouse hopes to expand to a minimum of 17 peace agreements in the coming year.

Learning Edge Tutoring (Austin)

Learning Edge (formerly Cluster Tutoring) is a nonprofit, community-based organization that provides free one-to-one tutoring to more than 100 students in grades K through 12 who primarily come from the Austin neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side. The program was founded in 1990 by a “cluster” of local churches and community groups in response to the disturbing statistic that less than half of Chicago Public School students graduate from high school. Each tutor is matched with a student, and the tutor-student pair works together during the school year to prepare the student for a successful academic career.

The program has a focus on literacy and employs a Reading Specialist who provides consultation and guidance to tutors, students, and parents. Elementary school students spend 30 to 60 minutes of their tutoring session focusing on improving reading skills such as fluency and vocabulary. The remainder of the evening is spent on homework or other enrichment activities. High school students generally spend all of their time on homework.

Grant funds will be used to help fund three specific programs operating in Austin and the adjacent community of Oak Park and serving students in grades Kindergarten through 12th.

Breakthrough Urban Ministries (Garfield Park)

Breakthrough partners with people to build connections, develop skills, and open doors of opportunity. Breakthrough is located in East Garfield Park and serves 21,000 local residents each year. Breakthrough addresses the expressed needs and goals of the community through an integration of core service areas focused on Education and Youth Development, Economic Opportunity, Housing, Health & Wellness, Violence Prevention, and Spiritual Formation. Programs include transitional and permanent supportive housing, behavioral health supports, career readiness training, street outreach and case management, a food pantry, and youth programs that support students ages 2 to 24.

Grant funds will support Breakthrough efforts to address food insecurity in East Garfield Park. More than half of the residents have low food access, meaning they live more than 1/2 mile from the nearest supermarket. The Garfield Park Aldi grocery store closed in October 2021 and the Save A Lot closed in February 2022. As food prices continue to rise, risk factors for food insecurity have increased in the community. Funds toward food distribution efforts at Breakthrough support not only the direct service of food distribution, but also the high-level work of community organizing and mobilization that is part of the Breakthrough fabric.

Deborah’s Place (Garfield Park)

Deborah’s Place opens doors of opportunity for women who are homeless in Chicago. Their supportive housing and social services offer women their key to healing, achieving their goals and moving on from the experience of homelessness. With two program locations and more than 200 units across the city, Deborah’s Place is now the largest provider of permanent supportive housing in Chicago exclusively for unaccompanied women. We serve more than 600 women a year with the goal that once a woman comes to Deborah’s Place, she will never be homeless again.

Grant funds will support housing-first, harm-reductive, human-centered programs in Garfield Park that support single women as they transition from experiences of homelessness to permanent, stable housing.

Inspiration Corporation (Garfield Park)

Inspiration Corporation works with thousands of Chicagoans affected by barriers such as homelessness and poverty, meeting people where they are in life, helping them achieve their goals by providing social services, job training, housing, and food.

Grant funds will support the operation of Inspiration’s Meals and Homeless Engagement Program, Housing Program, and our Food Service Training and Employment Program in the Garfield Park neighborhood. Our Meals and Homeless Engagement Program is located at our Uptown location. Our Employment Program is housed at Inspiration Kitchens, in the East Garfield Park neighborhood.

The Night Ministry (Citywide)

The Night Ministry (TNM) is a Chicago-based organization whose mission is to provide human connection, housing support, and health care to those who are unhoused or experiencing poverty. With an open heart, we compassionately accept each individual as they are and work alongside them to advocate for their immediate physical, emotional, and social needs while affirming our shared humanity.

Grant funds will support the Pathways program site in North Lawndale which provides transitional housing and supportive services to young people experiencing homelessness to support their greater capacity to pursue employment and/or education and secure independent housing.

UCAN (North Lawndale & Riverdale)

UCAN’s vision is to lead with transformational interventions so that families and communities can be safe and prosper. UCAN offers services to youth across Chicago, with an emphasis on North Lawndale. Their expertise spans youth in care, youth development, mental health, therapeutic schools, workforce development, and violence prevention and intervention. They are guided by a Clinical Philosophy and united under a cohesive approach for treating clients who are challenged by their histories of trauma.

Grant funds will support UCAN’s Violence Intervention and Prevention Services (VIPS) program which reaches young people at highest risk of being victims of or perpetrating gun violence in North Lawndale, interrupting and preventing violence by addressing behaviors that lead to violence, and the underlying trauma that can often lead to those behaviors. VIPS includes outreach, employment, counseling, and education.

For more information on mission partners at Fourth Presbyterian Church, contact Nancy Davis, Coordinator for Mission and Evangelism (312.274.3815).