Bible Teacher. Pastor.Educator.

He is not punishing you!!!!!

God is not mad at you!!! Do not make any permanent decisions based on temporary emotions. Life is hard!!God is not angry with you and punishing you because you did not pay your tithe and offering last week. God is not mad at you!!!  God is capable of using these hard days to develop character in your life. God is not mad at you!!! Our faith in Christ does not except us from difficult days. You must trust God with the bad days and enjoy the good days. God is not mad at you!!! 

He has a plan! You are his child. Life is hard. God is good! Trust his plan. This difficult days should draw you closer to your father. He is good and kind father.  God is working in your life to make you more like Jesus Christ. You are exactly where God wants you. Trust God with your future. He is large and in charge.  God is not mad at you!!! 

Jesus is Bigger than COVID-19! July-August 2020 Ministry Update

August 28th, 2020.

Dear Prayer Partners
It’s a new day in America and around the world. It’s a time when Covid 19 is giving us a run for our money and a time when parents are afraid to send their students to our youth center. But even though attendance has dropped, along with some of our support, you must understand that more than ever Covid will not stop us from doing what God has called us to do.

In fact, I’m convinced Covid should be a catalyst for us to continue the work we have been given.

The Apostle Paul experienced numerous disasters in his life, including being shipwrecked, being jailed, being betrayed by fellow pastors, and even having disagreements with other ministers. However, he did not allow these threats or accusations or arrests to hinder him from God’s calling. I believe Covid 19 could also be a distraction from the enemy to hold us back from doing God’s work. But I also believe true Christian leaders to not allow events in the world to hold them back from serving as they have been called.

I’m reminded of the passage in Matthew 14 where Jesus sent His disciples out in a boat to meet Him on the other side of the sea. When evening came, a big storm arose. Knowing that this storm was coming, Jesus sent them out anyway. I’m always fascinated why He sent them into the storm knowing it was going to affect them. In a similar way, I believe God has called us to not only survive this storm of Covid, but to be students of Covid, because it gives us new opportunities to learn and to reinvent our strategies. Of course, our message never changes because as an organization, we’re anchored to the Rock, but we adjust for the times. 

Covid is greatly affecting a lot of parents. And while many of them are afraid to send their kids to our City Life Center and while the city has put restrictions on us, we are determined and poised more than ever to be intentional about revisiting every one of our good practices. We’re seeking new ways to reach kids in our city. And we are committed to taking the Gospel to them because we know that nothing will change the hearts and minds of students, nothing will help our kids overcome depression, and nothing will heal the broken hearts from parental abuse in the homes like the saving message of the Gospel.    

 

As part of reaching out, we are partnering with local churches to provide groceries every week for students in our community because some of their parents have lost their jobs. For our Senior students who graduated, we will be providing training on how to interview for a job and how to keep a job. And beginning in September, we will reopen our City Life Center three days a week because we believe that more than ever, students need a safe place to come. 

Because of these commitments to our community, there has never been a greater need than this season for ministry partners to come alongside us to do what God has called us to. Would you prayerfully consider not only giving financially to City Life of Chicago but also volunteering one hour a month at the center? This will give you a front seat into who we are and what God is accomplishing. Would you also consider spending just 10 minutes per week in prayer for our ministry?
Here are some key areas to pray about:

• Pray that God will give us the strength to know how to love students 

• Pray for our young men as they negotiate the world of technology that they know so well, even as it and education are being integrated into very unknown territories for them. 

• Pray for parents who are struggling with childcare.

• Pray for teenagers who have now found themselves providing childcare to their siblings because the younger ones cannot go to school. Imagine being a 7th grader with a 3rd-grade sibling and a mom who needs to go to work. Inadvertently, you become essentially a teacher and parent. And you’re only in the 7th grade! This is a reality for hundreds of kids on the South Side. So please be in prayer for our kids, asking that God gives them wisdom.

• Pray for us as we are rethinking our strategy. We must help our kids beyond just sharing the Gospel. That’s why we’ll be doing things such as providing groceries and calling our kids weekly to pray with them. Pray that there will be an openness to receive our efforts. 

• And on top of all these requests, please pray that God will honor all of our efforts. 

We love you, we thank you, and please know that we are praying for you as you help us love and reach the next generation.

Respectfully,

Pastor James Owolabi

Chicago City Life Director

Youth for Christ International

Preaching with Excellence!

Family! God has been so kind to me lately!!!! He has been teaching me so much lessons about preaching with excellence. Church was awesome this past Sunday! The response to my preaching was very heartwarming from the people of God. It is so good to be given the chance to preach every Sunday this month at my home church (www.thebridge.church). Preaching great sermons demand that the preacher be a student of the word of God and a student of human beings in his geographical location. Anybody can give a talk but it takes a man of God to be the mouth piece of God. Good preaching takes work but great preaching takes great work.

The preacher must be studious standing on the shoulders of church scholars and theologians across church history begging God for the anointing and wisdom  to precisely communicate the heart of God to the people of God. When I first started serving there, my preaching responsibilities were only twice a month at one of three locations. Preaching is hard work.

But now I am scheduled to preach at one of our three locations every Sunday this month!!!! This happened in July 2020 when God challenged me to practice my sermons out loud at home before preaching them to our church family. I never used to practice my sermons. I felt just memorizing the outline was enough, but recently God has been challenging me to “preach” my sermons out loud before preaching them on Sunday. I resisted at first because it required discipline, patience and humility. God has helped me so much. I believe that practicing my sermons out loud before preaching them has made me an effective speaker. Family! Please pray that I sharpen my speaking skills and that I find a coach to help me with my pronunciation of difficult words.
Evangelist James Owolabi
President Grace for Life International 

Thank you Bridge Community Church

Youth for Christ Chicago is so grateful  for The Bridge Community Church who allows us to use their facility each week.

Things definitely look different with Covid-19; we now do regular temperature checks, wear masks, and more frequently wash/sanitize our hands. Regardless of these changes, students still love getting to connect with their friends in this fun and safe environment!

#yfcusa #yfcchicago #yfccitylife

Satan wants to destroy America!

Satan hates the American Church. The  American church is the most resourced church in the world for the past 20 years. The American church has been the engine behind many movements of God around the world. The devil loves to see the church divided by evil events in the world. The murder of George Floyd is a demonic act of Satan to divide the American Church. George Floyd was killed by a murderer who happened to be wearing a police uniform! He was killed not just because that police officer was racist; he was a cold-hearted, godless sinner. It had the DNA of the devil on the murder scene. We must not subject ourselves to watching this satanic act of violence over and over. It was pure evil, dark and satanic. The officer was a demonic agent who did not grasp that He was made in God’s image with a duty to protect and serve and more significantly that George Floyd also was made in God’s image. Let me be honest! This  type of injustice is not unique to America. In my native country of Nigeria and all over Africa, police brutality is rampant and hardly anything is done without bribing the police. I mentioned this to make the point that the virus of sin is a global phenomenon and yelling slogans about how blue or black lives matter is not the solution. The answer is to allow God to radically change hearts and minds. We must pray for America and work to make God great in America again.