Rebecca Bryant (left) serves with a fellow Summer Missions student in Chicago.
Tabia, her grin swallowing up her small stature, faced the small group of peers in front of her. Grasping a leather cord and several colored beads, she blurts out her message.
"This one is red and it represents the blood of Jesus," the little girl declared before going on to explain the significance of the other beads:
Watching nearby was Rebecca Bryant, a junior in college, who monitored Tabia's presentation. Rebecca could feel warmth emanating from her heart and spreading across her chest. This, Rebecca thought, is why I'm here.
Moments earlier, the college student showed Tabia the gospel bead bracelet and how it shares the story of Jesus' sacrifice for all people. Tabia was fascinated with the story and the beads and couldn't wait to pass on her newfound knowledge to others.
"I thought to myself, 'Wow, I am seeing the obedience of another person doing ministry through this girl wanting to spread the gospel,'" Rebecca, a student at Northern Illinois University, said.
"Moments like that make me want to continue to do ministry because you never know how God is going to move."
It was an important teaching moment for Rebecca, too.
"She did a great job explaining the gospel and offered to explain anything the other kids did not understand," Rebecca said. "Moments like that make me want to continue to do ministry because you never know how God is going to move."
It was a moment she almost missed.
Weeks earlier, one of the Cru® Campus ministry advisers at Northern Illinois invited Rebecca to participate in a 10-week Summer Missions program, offered in conjunction with Cru Inner City.
"She thought it would help me a lot but it would also be a great opportunity to expand my faith and see God in a new light," the psychology major said.
Initially, Rebecca was hesitant. Would she be able to raise her required support? How would she fit in? How different would it be in Chicago's South Side, compared to her suburban Illinois hometown of Calumet City, near Gary, Indiana? How would she cope with using public transportation?
In the end, Rebecca opted not to give in to her fear, becoming the only student from her college to participate in the Chicago program, though some of her friends enrolled in other types of summer missions programs.
"Even though I had my doubts, I just stuck with it and had a good time," Rebecca said.
"My favorite part was just connecting to the girls on the trip because we had really vulnerable moments. I appreciate that safe space to be myself and express myself in different ways."
"I wasn't just put in the space to be aware of how to grow ... it gradually changed me through the whole summer."
Rebecca said each day of the extended ministry time presented unique obstacles.
"I felt like those challenges built my character," she said, adding she was constantly focused on her spiritual growth and development. "I wasn't just put in the space to be aware of how to grow .... it gradually changed me through the whole summer."
Through the missions program, offered in several Cru Inner City neighborhoods nationwide, the Chicago college students provided babysitting services, distributed food at a local pantry, assisted with a teen work initiative, mentored children enrolled at an Agape Center day program, led worship, concentrated on community building and helped neighborhood churches and nonprofits.
For Rebecca, it provided a well-rounded, interactive experience that created a triad of change: Jesus empowered Rebecca; Rebecca empowered those she served; and those she served were empowered to seek Jesus.
"It wasn't just one thing," she said. "I just feel like every day, the people I talked to daily — building me up and pouring into me — and meeting the needs of other people were continuing to transform the way I thought about myself, the way I thought about other people and the way I thought of God."
One of Rebecca's most memorable encounters was with Tabia, whom she met when the Chicago team was ministering at a block party sponsored by Inner City and one of its local partners. Miss Pearl operates a coffee house and daycare center in one of Chicago's poorest neighborhoods and frequently partners with Inner City to reach her community for Jesus.
"They network with a lot of churches throughout the whole city of Chicago and this move of God to help people from different ages was just, I thought, inspiring to me," she said. "I didn't know this connection was happening — literally, the body of Christ. It's happening before my eyes and the people, coming into agreement under one authority, which is God, just to help people. I was really blown (away) by that."
Rebecca said she was impressed with the Cru Inner City model, saying she had no idea there was an intentional movement of diverse organizations to serve the community's most vulnerable residents by tapping into existing outreach efforts.
"This is an example of how God is consistent. God is consistent through this message of the gospel."
"Even though people describe God in different ways, it was (a) strong similarity that I noticed," she said. God is consistent through this message of the gospel. God loves us. God protects us. I'm hearing how God protects (those who serve), how God loves them, and the impact that God has on their lives — how bad they want to give back to God's people because God has blessed them."
Rebecca, who graduated from NIU last month, is hopeful for more opportunities to minister in the inner city and beyond.
"I feel they really changed me and my perspective of how powerful God is and how strong His love truly is," she said. "It pushed my faith to go out more and to share about this consistency, but also share about this love of God that He has for us — no matter what."
Lori Arnold serves as the senior writer for Cru's inner-city ministry.
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