February 2021
By Jenny Scott
“Through LINC, we will be able to more effectively bring the mercy of Jesus’ to the hurt and fallen world we see in Chicago and bring the hope-filled message of the Gospel to a city and its people whom our Lord loves.” Rev. Kris Whitby
LINC Chicago is a Lutheran nonprofit that recruits, coaches, trains, encourages, and resources local ministry leaders (often overlooked) who are starting new ministries in their urban Chicago neighborhoods. They link them into a network of support of other leaders with the goal of bringing the Kingdom to neighborhoods in need of the hope of Christ.
As the saying goes, it takes a village, and there are many people along the chain of this ministry that make up this particularly impactful village. Rev. Micah Greiner of St. Peter Lutheran Church and School in Arlington Heights first became aware of LINC when having a conversation with other pastors about how best to get involved in helping the growing city of Chicago. During that time, as his passion for LINC continued to grow, he was asked to join LINC Chicago’s Board of Directors.
The LCMS Northern Illinois District (NID) President Allan R. Buss assigned Rev. Kris Whitby, Assistant to the President-Mission & Ministry, to be the District’s official liaison to LINC Chicago. Rev. Whitby fulfills his role through meetings with ministry contacts connected to LINC. Soon he will be assisting with an online Bible study designed for potential LINC urban leaders. He also meets monthly with the LINC Chicago Director, Lexi Schmidt.
“When Lexi Schmidt, a daughter of the congregation I serve, was offered the City Director position, we were able to see this dream become reality,” said Rev. Greiner. “In just a few months, Lexi has been able to build more bridges and connect more with urban leaders than we ever could have dreamed. God is truly moving, and the city of Chicago will never be the same!”
Schmidt has an impressive resume filled with work that mirrors her deep love for God. She has a Bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Valparaiso University and her Master’s degree in clinical mental health from Roosevelt University. Among her accomplishments, she has taught in the classroom at St. Philip Chicago, and interned at Caris, a non-profit center that provides support and care to individuals experiencing unplanned pregnancies in Chicago’s South Loop and west side.
Schmidt was thrilled to begin her work for LINC. Suffice it to say, she is the ideal person for a job that involves praying over local leaders’ ministries, engaging their dreams, helping them find an efficient and Gospel-focused advisory and ministry team, developing a ministry strategy, and helping with financial planning.
“A large part of my job is networking with and for our local leaders to connect them to the right Christian leaders who will help their ministry ideas flourish,” Schmidt said.
In addition to working with local ministry leaders, Schmidt also engages congregations who would like to support urban ministries.
“For example, we have a prayer partner program that matches a congregational member with a local leader to meet and pray together a few times a month,” said Schmidt. “Another example is, we’ll match a congregational member who has gifts in public relations or financial planning to a ministry leader in need of honing those skills. And we look for appropriate funding opportunities and help local leaders with the grant-writing process. We also have a group of over 300 people who commit to praying for a variety of ministries daily.”
A specific example of LINC’s impact is Tim Han. At age 17, Tim started to use drugs and alcohol and interact with the gang community. He was kicked out of his home, and welcomed into the gang community, who fed and clothed him and made him feel like he belonged.
However, at the same time, Tim was seeking a relationship with Jesus. He was walking into churches to learn more about God. Eventually, Tim left the gang life behind and has fervently followed Christ for the past 15 years. His goal is to help young men like himself to go to church on Sunday mornings, but to also immerse them in Christian life seven days a week through life-on-life ministry. LINC is helping him to create a discipleship and safe-living home for young men who are leaving the gang community. He also plans to go onto the Seminary to become a pastor.
“Someone like me with no experience in gangs or substance abuse cannot reach young men like Tim can,” said Schmidt. “LINC Chicago is helping Tim to feel fully equipped and empowered so that he can reach these young men with the Gospel.
LINC Chicago also helps empower immigrants, like Messay and Waktola from Ethiopia, who would like to reach Oromo Ethiopians in Chicago. And, LINC is working with Reclaim 13, a nonprofit that is Gospel-centered and provides holistic care for recovery homes and clinical care for children and young women who have been trafficked. Schmidt also provides therapy and leads the mentoring program for Reclaim 13.
Though LINC was born out of the LCMS, they are an independent non-profit (RSO*). They develop leaders from multiple backgrounds and consider many denominational leaders as friends and partners.
LINC’s trainings and resources are offered completely free. Currently, a large portion of LINC’s funding comes from individual donors who see the incredible impact local leaders make. Churches, local denominational districts and grants also play a significant role in funding the mission.
Some portions of the check that the NID provided to LINC will be used to purchase materials for immigrant mission work, such as supplying an immigrant congregation with bi-lingual Sunday School materials, or securing Chromebooks for students at an urban school ministry.
“Through their financial partners like the NID, LINC Chicago is able to give compassion and care to refugee families, as well as to provide ‘seed money’ for mission initiatives of new community urban leaders,” said Rev. Whitby. “All of this supports the overall mission of connecting new people in Chicago to the truth of the Gospel as confession by The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.”
LINC Chicago was started in 2020 and is already passionately carrying out the NID’s mission statement of Encouraging personal witnessing, congregational engagement with their community, support of our NID partnerships and missions and sharing in a world mission field together.
To partner with LINC Chicago or for more information on LINC Chicago visit https://linc.org/chicago
LINC has ministries in Houston, Southern California (SoCal), the Bay Area, Milwaukee, the Twin Cities, and Seattle-Tacoma (SeaTac).
* A Recognized Service Organization (RSO) A 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that is independent of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) but whose operations foster the mission and ministry of the church, whose program activities are in harmony with the Synod, and who agrees to respect and not act contrary to the doctrine and practice of the Synod. Such organizations that meet this criteria have applied for and have been granted status as an RSO.
WITNESS: Encouraging personal witnessing, congregational engagement with their community, support of our NID partnerships and missions and sharing in a world mission field together.