Our mission – our unending focus – is to see a vibrant family of Jesus Christ in close reach, culturally and geographically, of every person on the planet.
At the center of our mission are vibrant families of Jesus Christ.
We are convinced that God responded to the problem of Sin and the world’s separation from him with the answer of adoption. We are adopted into a brand-new spiritual family when we choose to love and follow God, and learning to live as a family is part of the healing process of maturity in a Christian’s life. These will be very diverse churches, ethnically, culturally, and even functionally, for God did not call us to conformity, only unity. We offer insights into living into a vibrant family centered on Jesus through workshops, spiritual parenting cohorts, online training, coaching and more.
Our goal is a vibrant family of Jesus in close reach of every person.
Toward this end, those we train dig deep into sociological realities and move in alongside people who need to know God. We plan strategically about how to spread the gospel of Jesus and see churches emerge. Engaging our ministry catalytically, we invest in believers that have a calling to a specific people group and offer resources and promote their work, rather than doing all the ministry ourselves. Spiritual mapping, online missional training, and one-on-one coaching sessions contribute to the closure of the Great Commission in our generation!
Our lives are in close proximity to others who need to hear the Good News.
We live “incarnationally”, as “Jesus-with-skin-on” in our neighborhood. Those we train and resource are encouraged to find that “person of peace” (Luke 10) and cultivating a church to grow within their circle of influence. Church planting “incarnationally” means we go to where life happens, in proximity places like pubs, parks, and living rooms and in that social network establish an indigenous faith community. Living as “sent” by our missionary God, we help form marketplace ministries, community renewal projects, coaching for church planters, and apprenticeship programs for those interested in urban missions.
Mark Willis longs to see a vibrant family of Jesus Christ in close reach, culturally and geographically, to every person in Chicagoland. He completed a Masters of Divinity degree at the Graduate School of Theology with Abilene Christian University in early 2008. He has been working either on staff with church groups or cultivating simple expressions of church families since 2001. His research centers on listening and cultivating healthy systems of spiritual nurture among those developing in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Currently, Mark works as a missionary in Chicago, IL. He is known for his strength in connecting, coaching and encouraging Christians throughout the region.
Katrina Smith Willis partners with Mark and delivers creative services out of her studio in Chicago. She completed a BFA from ACU in 2005. Just after graduation, she began serving in higher education with the Adams Center for Teaching and Learning. While there, she applied her creative project management experience and developed deeply with the team in Design Thinking to discover and implement innovative practices in higher education. She is known for her loyalty, her high quality hand-made portraits and her fresh websites.