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La Villita Community Church

La Villita Community Church

http://www.lavillitacommunitychurch.com/

Our Story

Zach and Sarah Massey met in high school in Dexter, KS. They dated for four years and married on August 13th of 2005. They graduated from Emporia State University in May of 2006, Zach with a Bachelors of Science in Business and Sarah with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology, and immediately moved to La Villita. During their first four years here they have undergone several transitions as a family. Zach has served as the Administrative Pastor at La Villita Community Church and began by reorganizing the office, getting the finances in order, and developing a working board. He also led in the development of the churches afterschool and summer day camp programs. Over the past few years he has led the church through a strategic reformatting of mission and operation, administered many improvements with the building and new partnerships within its walls (Chicago Youth Boxing Club and ENLACE development corporation), overseen a youth leadership team and youth outreach program, and orchestrated the development of an elders board. Zach continues to help oversee the operations of the church, its facility, and its programs and ministries. As part of the leadership of the church, he is very involved in planning for ministries at the church and endeavors that God presents. Sarah began by working at Lawndale Christian Health Center as a Maternal Child Health Coordinator. She worked there until the birth of their daughter Jubilee, in November of 2007. Sarah then stayed at home with Jubilee while working on her Master's in Education. She has currently completed her Masters and is working part-time at the Health Center.
In addition to his roles at the church, Zach is also serving as Director of Operations for Beyond the Ball, (http://beyondtheball.org) a local grassroots non-profit. Beyond the Ball’s mission is to empowers urban youth to transform their community, not escape it. They teach social and personal responsibility through sports based youth development. People often talk about youth "escaping" their inner-city neighborhood. Why take skills and talents to places that already have resources? Beyond the Ball wants to see youth gain skills and abilities they can then contribute to their communities, to see not only individuals lives transformed, but communities changed. Beyond the Ball currently serves over 1,000 youth in Little Village with programs like Project Play, B-ball on the Block, Bitty Ball, Beyond the Ball girls, and a variety of basketball and soccer leagues and clinics. Zach brings his administrative and business skills to aid the program in program operation, infrastructure, and fund development.
Zach and Sarah are both very active in several ministries at the church and programs in the community. We believe in ministering as a family and forming relationships with community members. Our family is currently under some more transition as Sarah is expecting their second child in May of 2010 and is seeking how the Lord would have her use her time and gifts.

The Church

La Villita Community Church was planted in 1994 to be a community church in the neighborhood of La Villita that would holistically serve and empower the neighborhood through Christian community development. It strongly followed the models and values of our sister church in the neighborhood directly north of us, Lawndale Christian Community Church. While seeing church growth in its first six years and the initiation of many successful programs, the church suffered from a significant conflict in 2000 that saw it lose all its leadership, including its founder, and the majority of its membership. The church membership, leadership, and programs today have little from those early years except the name and building. The church does continue to prioritize the Christian Community Development mindset seeking to meet the felt needs of our neighbors with them in expressing the love of Christ as part of a holistic gospel. We are a small church of around fifty members, most of which live in the community. We are a bi-lingual, multi-cultural, congregation, with the majority of us being of Mexican descent. Victor Rodriguez has been our senior pastor for over nine years and has lived in and been an active part of Little Village community since he was in early elementary school.
Our after school program (Si Se Puede) meets during the school year on Tuesdays - Thursdays from 3:00pm-6:00pm. It provides a needed service for the community in the forms of educational support, Biblical learning, a safe environment for children, and assistance communicating with the students’ schools. Our summer day camp program (Arco Iris) meets for four weeks in the summer Monday-Friday from 10:00am-2:30pm. It serves our community by providing a safe place for children during the summer and offering educational experiences, a safe and fun environment, Biblical learning, and field trip experiences to the youth attending. Our Gang Intervention Basketball program meets on Monday’s from 7:00pm-10:00pm. The program serves the needs of the community by providing a safe alternative to participating in gang activities, by trying to bring some reconciliation to members of the opposing gangs, and by proclaiming the gospel to participants. Our youth programs are for kids from age 10-18. Our Jr. High program meets on Fridays from 5:00-7:00, and we have youth leaders who assist in planning and scheduling activities. Our high school program meets on Fridays from 7:00-10:00, and it also has a leadership program that allows students to participate in planning and scheduling and to help form the direction of the group. They serve the community by providing Biblical teaching and training, providing a safe and fun environment, and providing Christian mentorship, support, and guidance for youth. Small Groups meet at various times during the week and at various locations. They provide Christian community and support for church members. Finally, our church also participates in space sharing projects. Camino Nuevo is a separate church that rents from us, and Chicago Youth Boxing Club is a separate program that rents our basement. Enlace is a community development agency that runs programs for youth for gang prevention and education and family support. They partner with us on numerous programs. All of these groups share our vision to serve the community.

The Neighborhood

La Villita, meaning "Little Village" in Spanish, is part of the west side of Chicago. We are officially known as South Lawndale. We are the largest Mexican neighborhood in the city of Chicago and in the entire Midwest, with an official count of 91,000 people (actual number is estimated at over 110,000, with the discrepancy caused by the high number of illegal residents which are understandably hard to track). We possess one of the most active commercial districts in the city, with more than a thousand businesses. Our Latino population mirrors the national profile in that 60 percent are native-born and two thirds lack high school diplomas, but only one fourth are poor (the national rate is 31 percent). The commercial heart of La Villita, and Mexican Chicago as a whole, is 26th Street, which generates more tax revenue than any other retail strip except Michigan Avenue (famously known as the Magnificent Mile). We are a dense and vibrant neighborhood, possessing the youngest median age of any community area in the city of Chicago (20.9 years) and the largest number of people per square mile. Over the past 30 years, La Villita has become a major port of entry for Mexican immigrants, and our community has been strengthened by the economic power, traditions, determination and hope that they bring. While solid housing stock and thriving commercial districts have been keys to our prosperity, we are challenged to invest in our human resources: especially in our youth and families. Half of our residents are under the age of 25, creating a demand for better schools, recreation programs and health and social services. Our schools are overcrowded and under-performing. Our two neighborhood high schools were built to hold only half the amount of high school students in our neighborhood. The overpopulation of our elementary schools would fill three more schools. Almost 90% of our high school students test below national standards, almost half of our eighth graders read below grade level, and more than half are behind in math. The language barrier is also a challenge for our students, as about half come from households that speak no English. 98% of our public school students come from homes classified as being “low-income.” La Villita has high rates of diabetes, obesity, and depression. We are among the city neighborhoods with the most violence and fewest parks. Our community has 42 gang chapters and approximately 3,000 active gang members, with recruitment starting as early as upper elementary school and kids receiving lots of pressure when family members are already gang members or have a history with the gang. The large amount of gang activity is the main contributor to the violence in the neighborhood and the drug trafficking in the neighborhood.

***Check out the Photo Gallery Page for ministry photos!!***

Thane & Charlotte White

http://web.me.com/oursafari/

Thane and Charlotte hope to land in Arusha Tanzania early 2010!

God called us to make some big changes in our life, and we have decided to go for it! This extreme makeover of our lifestyle has started with the sorting, throwing, and selling our belongings. We have amassed a wonderful collection in 20+ years! God has provided us with so much in fact, that we can share with others, and still keep a few keepsakes for our family. We are truly blessed.

When we arrive in Tanzania, we will be working with Key Connections Ministries to make a difference in the lives of the people there. Toward this end, Thane has added to his technology and leadership skills by obtaining a Bachelor's Degree in Ministry and Church Leadership at Manhattan Christian College. He has been equipping himself for teaching and mentoring Tanzanian pastors and community leaders. The people are desperately struggling to improve their lives, but they do not have resources or knowledge required to accomplish their desire. We have many hopes and dreams of how God will use us to redeem the Maasai and other peoples of Tanzania.

Charlotte is an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner with a Master’s Degree in Nursing in Maternal-Child Health. She recently finished an International Intensive Medicine Course through the Institute of International Medicine in Kansas City. It helped bridge the gap between diseases and treatment in Western culture and Diseases of Poverty in the third world. Charlotte is planning to work with women in discipleship training and community development. The need is great for basic hygiene, sanitation, vaccines, and health information. Charlotte hopes to be able to improve the lives of women and children caught in a hopeless cycle of poverty, low education, and disease.

We have joined a missions organization called Commission to Every Nation or CTEN (www.cten.org). They are helping us prepare to leave, and they receive donations from people like you who want to partner with us in helping the people of Tanzania. CTEN is our stateside partner and Key Connections Ministries our Tanzanian partner. This is how you can get involved: We invite you to partner with us prayerfully and financially in order to provide the resources we need to accomplish these goals. If you have received our newsletter you are already on our mailing list. If you would like to be on our mailing list (email or snail mail) please contact us by email: thanewhite@cten.org. See additional contact information on the About Us page.