LCEF National Award Goes to Zion-99th in Chicago
The Northern Light, Jan/Feb 2008

Zion Lutheran Church at 99th and Winston in Chicago was honored with the prestigious Fred E. Lietz Mission Project Award from Lutheran Church Extension Fund at their national conference Nov. 16 in Dallas, Texas.

“The Fred E. Lietz Mission Project Award recognizes outstanding efforts of a mission project associated with the Lutheran Church-Misosuri Synod,” said Merle Freitag, LCEF president. The Lietz Award is named in honor of the first LCEF president.

Evolving from German immigrant roots in 1891 to an African American congregation by the mid-1970s, Zion is currently in its third major revitalization effort. “Zion, which had not been served by a full-time pastor for several years, is now a model for leveraging the physical assets of a debt-free, small urban congregation committed to revitalizing outreach,” said Larry Ulrich, LCEF vice president in the Northern Illinois District.

In June 2005, Rev. Stephane Kalonji was installed as the congregation’s full-time pastor using a “jump-start” loan through Lutheran Church Extension Fund. The project originated through Zion’s lay leadership working with district Congregational Services staff. Ministry growth has come through the hard work of Pastor Kalonji, Zion’s lay leadership, two new indigenous leaders among the French-speaking congregants (Robert Iyanda Nkanga and Gildas Domingo), and youth ministry leaders among the African American congregants (Michele Kalonji, Griselda Walls, Eva Bell, Susan Anglin and Philip Ridley), to name a few of the key individuals involved. The congregation now offers a praise dance ministry, youth programs, Christian education classes, field trips and Sunday School.

A 2007 Northern Illinois District Ablaze! Mission Outpost Grant is enabling the congregation to equip and train an indigenous French-speaking leader to extend the congregation’s human care and outreach ministry among the estimated 9,000 French-speaking African immigrants in the city. The hope is to daughter a new French-speaking congregation welcoming immigrants from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Togo, the Republic of Congo and Burkina Faso.

“In the past two years, average worship attendance has more than doubled,” Ulrich added. Zion is effectively reaching out and sharing the Gospel in urban neighborhoods that today are populated by vast numbers of unchurched people.”

Customary each year at LCEF’s conference, the offering collected during Sunday morning’s worship service is donated to the mission project award recipient. The amount collected was $8,336. LCEF matched the offering for a total of $16,672 to be equally divided as a gift to Zion and a second award recipient.