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Spring break in the city
Spring break in the city
College students choose service over beach sandals
By David Teague
ST. LOUIS -- The 6:15 wake-up call seems to come all too early for the college students bunking down at New City Fellowship church.
Many emerged from their slumber to the crack of joints and stretching of muscles still sore from the previous day’s schedule of intense labor.
Despite the occasional grumble, the 120 students seem enthused as they talk about the upcoming day. Some are excited to return to the place they worked the previous day, while others are unsure where they will be sent.
For three weeks, this was the common scene here in the pre-dawn hours at New City Fellowship. The church housed college students from across America who had volunteered to participate in City Lights, one of the urban plunges sponsored by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship during spring break.
“There is a perception that Christianity is a lot of talking and not a lot of doing,” said Andrew Stern, the volunteer project coordinator at NCF. It is a stigma that both the church and InterVarsity hope to change by not simply preaching the gospel, but by living it as well.
Now in its 10th year, City Lights, in cooperation with NCF, has called students to the city and sent them out as servants to the needy in St. Louis. Although the week is a tightly scheduled regiment of work, devotions, worship and teaching, many students leave with a new understanding of God’s grace and mercy for both them and the city.
“City Lights changes your worldview,” said Heather Atwell, a junior at Appalachian State University, Boone, N.c.
Atwell spent her week babysitting the grandchildren of an 82-year-old widow, and helping out in the community garden across the street. At first, she says, it did not seem to be an important task. By the end of the week, however, she learned that though the things she accomplished seemed insignificant, even the most minor of chores can be an act of love.
“I just loved hanging out with her,” says Atwell, who went to be a blessing but found that the woman she was helping became much more of a blessing to her.
Maria Weiler of Central College in, Pella, Iowa, worked in an old supermarket-turned-church called Jubilee in the heart of St. Louis’ inner city. Jubilee, a new church now in its second year, is still renovating. Weiler, along with a group of about 20 students, worked all week cleaning up trash, replacing old insulation and preparing the new interior walls for painting.
Weiler, who has participated in City Lights before, returned because of the life lessons learned throughout the week—lessons such as the need for racial reconciliation and multicultural relationships.
Across town, about 25 students worked in an old iron foundry in Wellston, one of the most impoverished towns in the St. Louis area. The old two-story brick building is being renovated and turned into a carpentry shop. Jim McGarry, who is a master carpenter, and his wife, Tammy, bought the building a year ago. Their goal is to hire and train people from the community in carpentry, a skill that will allow them to get quality jobs.
Whereas most companies seek out only highly trained employees, “We are looking for the least qualified candidate and equipping them,” Jim says. “The goal is sharing the gospel and building relationships.”
Throughout the week, City Lights interns painted, moved hundreds of pounds of metal scrap and trash out of the basement, ripped the roof off an old shed, and tore down part of the top floor ceiling.
“They [students] were absolutely helpful,” Tammy says. “We couldn’t do what we do without them.”
During their time in St. Louis, many students saw a part of the city that remains hidden from the sheltered life of college. Some experienced the love of Christ for the first time.
“It was probably the best week of missions I’ve ever done,” says Jacob Macklin of Appalachian State. “It was really cool to realize that there are people who follow Christ everywhere.”
City Lights is one of many urban plunges offered by InterVarsity. The weeklong projects are held in the month of March to coordinate with college spring breaks. For more information about this project and others, visit www.intervarsity.org/urban.
College students choose service over beach sandals
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David Teague photo
Tim Taylor (left) and James McGarry fill up a dumpster outside the More than Carpentry warehouse in St. Louis. A City Lights team sponsored by Intervarsity Christian Fellowship filled three of these dumpsters during their weeklong project there.
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ST. LOUIS -- The 6:15 wake-up call seems to come all too early for the college students bunking down at New City Fellowship church.
Many emerged from their slumber to the crack of joints and stretching of muscles still sore from the previous day’s schedule of intense labor.
Despite the occasional grumble, the 120 students seem enthused as they talk about the upcoming day. Some are excited to return to the place they worked the previous day, while others are unsure where they will be sent.
For three weeks, this was the common scene here in the pre-dawn hours at New City Fellowship. The church housed college students from across America who had volunteered to participate in City Lights, one of the urban plunges sponsored by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship during spring break.
“There is a perception that Christianity is a lot of talking and not a lot of doing,” said Andrew Stern, the volunteer project coordinator at NCF. It is a stigma that both the church and InterVarsity hope to change by not simply preaching the gospel, but by living it as well.
Now in its 10th year, City Lights, in cooperation with NCF, has called students to the city and sent them out as servants to the needy in St. Louis. Although the week is a tightly scheduled regiment of work, devotions, worship and teaching, many students leave with a new understanding of God’s grace and mercy for both them and the city.
“City Lights changes your worldview,” said Heather Atwell, a junior at Appalachian State University, Boone, N.c.
Atwell spent her week babysitting the grandchildren of an 82-year-old widow, and helping out in the community garden across the street. At first, she says, it did not seem to be an important task. By the end of the week, however, she learned that though the things she accomplished seemed insignificant, even the most minor of chores can be an act of love.
“I just loved hanging out with her,” says Atwell, who went to be a blessing but found that the woman she was helping became much more of a blessing to her.
Maria Weiler of Central College in, Pella, Iowa, worked in an old supermarket-turned-church called Jubilee in the heart of St. Louis’ inner city. Jubilee, a new church now in its second year, is still renovating. Weiler, along with a group of about 20 students, worked all week cleaning up trash, replacing old insulation and preparing the new interior walls for painting.
Weiler, who has participated in City Lights before, returned because of the life lessons learned throughout the week—lessons such as the need for racial reconciliation and multicultural relationships.
Across town, about 25 students worked in an old iron foundry in Wellston, one of the most impoverished towns in the St. Louis area. The old two-story brick building is being renovated and turned into a carpentry shop. Jim McGarry, who is a master carpenter, and his wife, Tammy, bought the building a year ago. Their goal is to hire and train people from the community in carpentry, a skill that will allow them to get quality jobs.
Whereas most companies seek out only highly trained employees, “We are looking for the least qualified candidate and equipping them,” Jim says. “The goal is sharing the gospel and building relationships.”
Throughout the week, City Lights interns painted, moved hundreds of pounds of metal scrap and trash out of the basement, ripped the roof off an old shed, and tore down part of the top floor ceiling.
“They [students] were absolutely helpful,” Tammy says. “We couldn’t do what we do without them.”
During their time in St. Louis, many students saw a part of the city that remains hidden from the sheltered life of college. Some experienced the love of Christ for the first time.
“It was probably the best week of missions I’ve ever done,” says Jacob Macklin of Appalachian State. “It was really cool to realize that there are people who follow Christ everywhere.”
City Lights is one of many urban plunges offered by InterVarsity. The weeklong projects are held in the month of March to coordinate with college spring breaks. For more information about this project and others, visit www.intervarsity.org/urban.