City Lights

The Ministry

CityLights is a joint ministry of InterVarsity and New City Fellowship in the West End of St Louis. This ministry consists of a series of training programs in urban leadership and biblical discipleship for college students. New City, in cooperation with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, invites students of all ages to live in community in the city and serve the needs of the neighborhood. Growing in mercy ministry, servanthood, racial reconciliation, and Christian community development are all goals of the program, which is open to undergrad and graduate students. Programs range from weekends to full summer internships.

CityLights trains students to follow Jesus, even into the dark places of our cities, learning to love his world too. It seeks to draw students into an undertanding of the Gospel, the priorities of the Kingdom, the Justice and Mercy of God, and a lifestyle of service to others, especially to the ‘vulnerable’, i.e. the widow, the orphan, the immigrant, elderly, disabled, poor.

Jonah was sent by God to work in the capital city of Iraq, Israel's fearsome enemy, and to be God's messenger there. But Jonah ran --rascism, anger, fear and ignorance were probably his reasons. God pursued Jonah as he fled the city because God loved the people of Nineveh too much to abandon them to their disobedience.

And God loved Jonah the same way.
The last words Jonah hears from God are:
"Should I not be concerned for that great city?"

Most of today's college students are being equipped to work and live in the great cities of our country and the world. God longs for them to take his Kingdom priorities with them

Will they be ready when they get there?

Since His promise to Abraham in Genesis 12, God has been relentless as a finder of lost loves, seeking prodigals and prostitutes, princes and paupers Drawing them by His love Healing them by His grace...And He does not do it alone:



"You are my witnesses"
"You are the salt of the earth"
"You are the light of the world"



"God so loved the world..."



St Louis Urban Projects help get them ready
Teaching them how to see the city through God's eyes--and how to love it.

...to use their career
to do justice, to love mercy,
to take down walls, to build bridges,
to promote racial reconciliation,
to bring hope and healing,
to light dark places

The Experience

Through exposing students to the city, in all its complexity, diversity, extremes of beauty and pain, wealth and poverty, joy and despair, we hope (1) to bring an understanding of and increasing identity with the God who loves the world "Should I not be concerned for that great City...? " ( Yahweh beseeching Jonah 4:11); (2) to encourage in interns a desire to invest their own gifts, ministries, and careers in pursuing long-term work in the great cities of the world; and (3) to provide a mental, spiritual & practical framework that will enable them to live and thrive amidst urban challenges.

CityLights students are

Accommodations

We are responsible for establishing and maintaining a residential training center on the New City Fellowship property that can house groups of up to 80 students for periods of overnight up to 2 months (summer internship program). College and university students from campuses throughout the Midwest and across the country are assembled to live at NCF while they re discipled in the experiential training program.

In Their Own Words...

"Wow! It was even more than I expected....I was challenged in ways that were awesome! The experience has enhanced my life more than any other thing I could have done this Spring Break."
Jerome, Af-Am student, Washington Univ.

"Would you recommend it to others? Definitely. It's not just a community service project, but also an eye-opening experience about the reality of the poor and God's love for them."
Berachah, As-Am pre-med, Washington U.

"The week really made me think about things I haven't thought about before. I've always wanted to get married and live in a nice house in a nice neighborhood with my husband and kids, but now I realize more that God hasn't called us to live comfortable lives.... God was saying that I need to stop living a comfortable life and step out of my comfort zone and reach out to other people..."
Megan, Ang-Am student, Central College

"I felt that my heart has been opened up to prejudices I didn't even know that I had.... God is telling me that...I am too judging, critical and biased, I need to be more open. I am going to start looking for people on my campus who are outcasted and befriend them..." Devan, Ang-Am student, Central College

"I learned more about God's work in a week than in a year." April, Kansas State University

"God has reminded me how important the poor, the abandoned, the oppressed, and the unloved are.... I would now say that living in an inner-city neighborhood after graduation is definitely an option, and may be God's will..."
Scott, Kansas State University

"It was awesome!" One of the best things for me so far in my Christian life."
Kim, 3 mo old new believer, Central College

"This past week has been one of the richest experiences I have ever had. (God was saying to me) that we need the poor as much, if not more, than they need us." Beth, Ang-Am student, University of Iowa



Contact: Gerry and Sharie Chappeau at (314) 727-0390





"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Mat 5:13-16



"She went home 2 months later knowing that the biggest difference from the summer was in her. And that she could never be the same..."

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