Mission Trip to Chicago Inquiry

We count it a great privilege that you would consider our church and city to do your next mission trip. With many places throughout the world to choose from we are glad that God has laid Chicago on your hearts. It is one of the most diverse cities in the world which offers a memorable cross-cultural experience for adults and youth. 

Though we are always excited about the ability to multiply our efforts to spread the gospel through the use of teams, the size of our church does not allow us to always accommodate every request. Therefore, we have put together a brief list of criteria that will be both informative and helpful to you as you seek to determine whether or not a mission trip to Cornerstone of Chicago is right for you.

1.            PARTNERSHIP
Because Chicago is an easily accessible mission field there are many churches who want to come for the experience. We are always excited about the idea of exposing new people to the city as well as to other cultures. We firmly believe that such an experience can ignite a passion for souls when returning home. However, the size and age of our church prohibits us from facilitated just any team. Therefore we only receive teams from churches that support our work financially. We do, on occasions, accept teams from churches who are seriously considering supporting our work and see a mission experience as needed exploration to determine whether or not they can enthusiastically do so on a monthly basis. We seek to develop long-term relationships with churches.  One week trips are helpful, but long lasting relationships can only be formed by those serving at Cornerstone. Through a long-term partnership, your church can greatly assist us to do just that. Partnership involves prayer and regular financial support along with sending an annual team.

2.            PLANNING
In our 4 plus years experience of receiving teams, we have found several things must be in order to ensure a successful trip.

• Ground Transportation
  Cornerstone has two church vans that your church can use if they are available while you are here, but any team with 30 or more will need to make arrangements to reserve additional transportation. We do ask that your team cover the fuel costs and clean the vans you use.

• Accommodations
  Cornerstone uses the Comfort Inn in Skokie IL and has established a group rate. Each room cost (which varies depending on the time) includes meeting area, breakfast and pool.

• Option 1―Comfort Inn Skokie Hotel has the nicest accommodations with pool, separate meeting area and full breakfast included for each person. Our contact is Bob Buck; P:847.679.4200 | F:847.679.4218

• Option 2―Days Inn; it is equally nice, but without pool or full breakfast. Our contact is Maria Stiopei; P:847.647.7700

• Travel
  Flying or driving is optional; however driving will shorten the actual length of the stay in Chicago. When flying, O’Hare is the most convenient to the church, or you may choose to fly into Midway, but travel time is considerably more.

• Packing
  Whether you come in summer or winter, you will always want to pack some warm clothing (just in case). While shorts and casual clothing is fine, women and men are to think modestly. The mission team will represent the church, and more importantly, Jesus Christ.
  
  
• Food Expense
  Some teams that want to conserve money in this area can purchase items from the grocery store for bag lunches. The church has 1 refrigerator but does not have a stove. Evening meals should be budgeted for.

• Train Travel
  This can be a fun way to get down town without worrying about expensive parking. You can take the Skokie Swift CTA to downtown. Each train ticket is 3.40 round trip. Teams are not advised to purchase a 7 day pass since the primary mode of travel will be by vans.

• Scheduling
  This usually will be based on the nature of the work. For instance if we are doing a VBS the team will have the evenings off for sight seeing. If the team is doing a combination of servant evangelism and canvassing then we will determine 1-2 days as a free day. Some teams who come for 7 days might like to take one free day and another for learning (ex. visiting a mosque, the Pacific Garden Mission, Moody Bible Institute, Bahia temple etc.) lead by someone from Cornerstone.  We request that your team cover the meal expense of the representatives of Cornerstone who serve as your tour guides during your recreational days.

3.            PURPOSE
Ultimately are purpose in everything we do is to bring glory to God by extending the hand and heart of Christ in Chicago. Past experience has helped us determine what evangelistic methods work and what doesn’t. Therefore Cornerstone Baptist Church of Chicago reserves the right to determine the overall purpose or mission of the visiting team. For example you might espouse one sort of event that was successful in your hometown, but may not be here. If however, you come with a servant’s spirit, as in, “What can I do to help further Cornerstone’s ministry of the Gospel?” you will be a tremendous blessing to all involved.