Lasting Impact in Little India
Moody Bible Institute students are sharing and living the gospel while serving the needs of a large immigrant and refugee population
On a cold, drizzly Thursday evening in Chicago’s Little India neighborhood, Moody Bible Institute students Aaliyah, Rachel, and Clara climb three flights of stairs bringing boxes of diapers and good cheer to Burmese refugee families in the apartment building. Mohammed and Nur Jahenbi, Rohingya Muslims who settled here after fleeing persecution in Myanmar, thank them for the gifts, compliments of the local Christian evangelical ministry Devon Oasis, and invite the young ladies inside.
“Are the kids here?” asks Clara, dropping her shoes at the door and sitting down on the carpet with the other Moody students.
Suddenly two Rohingya moms appear in the doorway as six young refugee children race past them to join their tutors on the floor. Six-year-old Yasmin excitedly jumps into Clara’s arms, knocking her over.
The living room erupts with chatter and laughter. Aaliyah admires one child’s picture of a unicorn. Rachel asks another child, “Did you go to school today? How was it?” And Yasmin boasts that she can count to 100—“21, 22, 23 . . . 29”—then collapses into giggles.
For the next two hours, the Moody students play with the children, help them with homework, and share Bible stories. Despite an hourlong commute on public transportation, the students look forward to their weekly visit with the refugee kids.
“It’s fun; it’s a growing experience,” says Clara, majoring in ministry to victims of sexual exploitation. “It’s just cool to build relationships with families and be able to pour into the kids’ lives. I love it.”
The visit also serves another purpose, fulfilling a weekly Practical Christian Ministry (PCM) commitment at Moody. PCMs have long been a part of every student’s training at Moody, taking what they’ve learned in the classroom and applying it in the community as they train for vocational careers in evangelism, missions, pastoral studies, and other gospel-focused ministries.
Moody Bible Institute offers 300 options for PCM assignments, ranging from homeless shelters and rescue missions to English-language teaching and kids’ Bible clubs. Several PCM opportunities attract students to Little India. The diverse South Asian community and commercial district on Chicago’s North Side has seen a large influx of refugees, predominantly Afghan evacuees but also families and individuals from Iraq, Uganda, Myanmar and Sudan.
“In 36 years, I’ve met people from over 135 nations—in one neighborhood,” says Dr. Bob Andrews, who earned his master of divinity degree from Moody Theological Seminary in Chicago in 2004. Andrews founded Devon Oasis with his wife, Lynne, in 1986. Devon Oasis features more than 50 Moody students each semester serving this community of refugees.
“We’re Christian and we share Jesus Christ unashamedly, but we address people’s felt needs too,” Andrews says. “We welcome new refugee families; they come with no toothpaste, no soap, no shampoo, no blankets for their bed. We buy them food. We provide material goods for these precious people. We preach Christ but we’re their friend, and we help them get settled in this new world.”
This densely populated community in Chicago offers great opportunities for Moody students and alumni to be salt and light for Christ, sharing the gospel in word and deed as they train for future vocational ministry opportunities across the world.
“God has gathered the world on this one-mile strip,” says Bonnie, a missional leadership and nonprofit management major involved with Exodus World Service. “It is really beautiful; the culture is so rich, and there are so many things to learn from the people here. They’re so wonderful.”
“For me, PCM is one of the most important things we do as Moody students,” says Lydia, an elementary education major working with Devon Oasis who grew up in a missionary family in Southeast Asia. “I think the way Moody has most prepared me is in teaching me to love the nations.”
“I came to Moody because of PCMs,” says Emily, who tutors students in after-school sessions at the South Asian Friendship Center. “I just love the idea of meeting tangible needs of the community. I wanted to do ministry, and the fact that it’s required by Moody—they hold me to that commitment, and I really love that.”
If ever there was a time our world needed gospel-focused ministry leaders, it’s now. Many Moody students are only able to receive the crucial biblical and ministry training needed because of the generous support of Christ followers like you. Will you help deliver the needed funds that enable hundreds of students to enter full-time ministry sharing the good news of Christ?