Kick Off 2025 by sharing Christ’s love with a meal to someone in need
Janelle was no stranger to the drab concrete building with its bright orange and blue accents sitting along the railroad tracks where it intersects with West 111th Street. She lived just down the street from the facility, home to Chicago’s Agape Center, a youth-oriented community hub operated by Cru® Inner City. Her neighbor, Brad Harry, co-team director for the local ministry, frequently invited Janelle to the center, but she always declined.
Brad kept asking.
His persistence won, as Janelle and her sister, Jennifer, showed up for a teen Bible study at Agape two years ago.
“Janelle, like a lot of our youth at the Agape Center, has a ‘Christian’ background but does not have a personal relationship with Christ,” said Anilda Barbosa, one of the Inner City staff members working at the center, which hosts a variety of after-school courses for kids and teens, including academics, art and athletics.
“As she kept consistently coming to programs, I began to form a friendship with Janelle. We started to hang out outside of Bible study, and soon Janelle was showing up at the Agape Center every Monday night just to spend time with me.”
In addition to the study, Anilda took Janelle out to dinner, modeling the importance of Christian relationships. She also provided opportunities for Janelle to serve others by helping with various projects, including stuffing gospel bead packets for the annual Boxes of Love® campaign.
During that first summer, Janelle enrolled in the center’s inaugural teen summer job initiative program, a collaboration between Cru Inner City and community partners willing to hire the inexperienced teenagers. Through the initiative, Janelle and her peers earned money while serving their neighbors. The program also provides life-skills training. Most of the participants also attended a weekly Bible study.
“I was most excited seeing her open up to new students, as she has trouble making friends and talking to people at her school,” Anilda said.
The one-on-one, whole discipleship model proved essential for Janelle, who would soon face a family crisis.
“I started to mentor Janelle, checking in on different areas of her life, reading the Bible with her, and getting to know her on a deeper level,” she shared.
Anilda’s friendship helped Janelle as she coped with the reality of a relative being hospitalized for two weeks.
“She shared about the scary stuff going on at home, and the conversation eventually led to spiritual things.”
“It was a really scary and uncertain situation,” Anilda said. “But still, Janelle showed up like clockwork at the Agape Center to hang out. She shared about the scary stuff going on at home, and the conversation eventually led to spiritual things.”
Following the lead of the Holy Spirit, Anilda asked a pointed question.
"How is your relationship with God going?"
"I don't think I have a relationship with God," Janelle confessed.
"Would you like to?" Anilda asked.
Her answer was immediate: "Yes!!"
“She received Christ right then and there,” Anilda said. “This is such a beautiful example of life-on-life, whole-person discipleship. Our desire is to walk with our kids, like Janelle and Jennifer, through the ups and downs of life and to help them know Jesus.”
Janelle has remained committed to the discipleship process.
“She's always curious and wants to make sure she's praying and studying the Bible the right way,” Anilda said.
Just as Anilda and Janelle began building a relationship through one-on-one discipleship, Jennifer was making her own connection with Alejandrina Higgins, who joined the Chicago staff team after interning at the Agape Center.
“We were having our one-on-one mentorship time when she asked me, ‘How do you become a Christian?’” Alejandrina said. “I was taken a bit by surprise as I had explained this to her before, but there was either little understanding or interest.”
Alejandrina carefully explained the gospel message again.
“I wanted to make sure she knew what this meant and that she wasn't doing it out of fear or just because I would like to hear it,” she said.
“She said quietly, ‘I made a life-changing decision today.’ Since then, I've truly seen evidence of the Holy Spirit working in her life.”
This time, Jennifer was eager to take the step. She asked Christ for forgiveness and invited Him into her heart.
“We prayed together later on when I dropped her off at home,” Alejandrina said. “She said quietly, ‘I made a life-changing decision today.’ Since then, I've truly seen evidence of the Holy Spirit working in her life. And I'm so thankful and overjoyed.”
Since then, the girls’ sister, Jillian, and their cousin, Jasmine have also participated in Agape Center activities. Jillian started with the Bible study and last year worked in the summer jobs program. Although she expresses curiosity while doing Bible study, she has not yet accepted Christ.
Their cousin, Jasmine, was initially wary of embracing anything associated with the Agape Center.
“When we first met, she seemed the most averse and disinterested in us and anything to do with God,” Anilda said. “But to our surprise, she started coming to Bible study.”
Last year, Anilda noticed Jasmine was posting items about faith and God on her social media platforms.
“(She) has asked great questions about spiritual topics,” Anilda said. “Then, just last week, she expressed to me that she was thinking about how to have a personal relationship with Jesus.”
Just as she had with Janelle, Anilda carefully shared the gospel with Jasmine, who embraced the message but, like Jillian, has yet to personally receive Jesus into her heart.
“After hearing it, she was shocked!” Anilda shared. “She’d never heard the full good news of the gospel before.”
Anilda embraces the process and is not discouraged by the sometimes slow pace of transformation.
“I think discipleship can start even before someone accepts Christ,” Anilda said. “It's opening the Word with people who are seeking Christ and walking alongside someone through their own journey. But it's also about doing life with them, letting them into your life and being an example by showing how you practically live out your walk with God in the daily mundane things.”
“Discipleship without the intentional relationship can be informative but most likely won't lead to life change or transformation.”
The investment of time and interest is a healing salve to a broken world, especially as young people are navigating the trauma of a post-COVID culture.
“Discipleship without the intentional relationship can be informative but most likely won't lead to life change or transformation,” Anilda said. “I think, especially when discipling teenagers, the relationship and trust has to be built. It's always really exciting to witness transformation in Christ; it's never an instant complete 180 (degree) change but it's the little changes over time that encourage me.”
Anilda watched as Janelle, a shy and timid young woman blossomed into “a more open and curious person, growing from being insecure to finding her identity as beloved, and even encouraging others to as well.”
Cynthia Massie, part of the leadership team in Chicago, lauds the intentional emphasis on discipleship that staff members bring to their youth development programs.
“They meet with them where they are,” Cynthia said. “They pick them up from school. They take them out of the community. They provide opportunities for them to serve. They teach them about Jesus. They live Jesus with them.”
Lori Arnold serves as the senior writer for Cru's inner-city ministry.
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