Our Mission
Our Mission
Expanding the work of Jesus
Poema seeks to expand the work and witness of Jesus in the world by fostering campus movements that are both natural and super-natural. We want go where Jesus is leading us, following him into the lives of others. We want to be used by Him to bring about holistic transformation and healing for students, and the experience of connecting with a vibrant welcoming community. We seek to accomplish this through community building, collaboration, co-creation, and co-learning.
Fostering campus movements
where students:
Poema Fosters Campus
Movements Through
Community Building
The future leaders of our world are on the campuses of Chicago. Are God’s people there to reach and serve them?
There are over 200,000 college students in the Chicago city limits. That is more than most states. The dozens of campuses where these students study are some of the most diverse, prestigious, and influential universities in the world. But they are also underserved with the Gospel. Cost, complexity, and a host of other dynamics present
challenges for sustainable ministry in our major cities.
Therefore, Poema strives to play a strategic role in planting new Christian communities on these important campuses. Every student in Chicago deserves the opportunity to meet and be transformed by Jesus in the midst of authentic community. We want to see this realized.
Collaboration
The body of Christ is diverse in giftings, access, and missional perspective. We cannot afford not to work closely together!
The city of Chicago is filled with gifted and passionate kingdom leaders and influencers from a vast multitude of backgrounds. There is much need for dynamic work among the emerging leaders on campus, and we must co-labor to see on these urban campuses impacted.
Poema aims to seek out strategic partnerships and support their collaborative efforts. This may take the form of teaming with other church and ministry leaders directly or simply connecting people together and helping get collaboration up and running.
Collaboration
The body of Christ is diverse in giftings, access, and missional perspective. We cannot afford not to work closely together!
The city of Chicago is filled with gifted and passionate kingdom leaders and influencers from a vast multitude of backgrounds. There is much need for dynamic work among the emerging leaders on campus, and we must co-labor to see on these urban campuses impacted.
Poema aims to seek out strategic partnerships and support their collaborative efforts. This may take the form of teaming with other church and ministry leaders directly or simply connecting people together and helping get collaboration up and running.
Co-creation
When visions come together in a complimentary way, exciting and unexpected things happen. Creating movements and initiatives together expands our work in every way!
Just imagine a local pastor with a church near a university, wishing for the capacity to reach these students. What if there were a faculty member who shared this vision?
These potentialities are what energize us.
Poema wants to be co-creative toward those works that will allow the dreams God is planting in his people to take shape. We strive to humbly build new movements together with local leader-visionaries. The saving love of Jesus always wants to expand into new places in context-appropriate forms. We yearn to be part of making that happen.
Co-learning
The world is changing quickly. God’s people need to remain ever attuned and every adaptive to how the Gospel wants to grow and move. We need to learn from one another!
While doing effective and appropriate ministry amidst the multi-ethnic and ever-changing urban landscape can be challenging, there are so many important lessons rising up from the creative practitioners who are doing R&D every day. There is great power in sharing these lessons with one another.
Poema creates contexts where this can happen, so Gospel leaders might benefit from these hard won lessons. We also bring in thoughtful voices from experienced leaders to help shape the thinking and practice of urban campus leaders.
Co-learning
The world is changing quickly. God’s people need to remain ever attuned and every adaptive to how the Gospel wants to grow and move. We need to learn from one another!
While doing effective and appropriate ministry amidst the multi-ethnic and ever-changing urban landscape can be challenging, there are so many important lessons rising up from the creative practitioners who are doing R&D every day. There is great power in sharing these lessons with one another.
Poema creates contexts where this can happen, so Gospel leaders might benefit from these hard won lessons. We also bring in thoughtful voices from experienced leaders to help shape the thinking and practice of urban campus leaders.