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Mission Outreach


POP's mission goal ties directly to the goals of the church: (1) To SERVE God and others with all we are and have, (2) To REACH people with the good news of Jesus Christ, and (3) to GROW together as His followers in the process. Prince of Peace gives approximately 10% of its general budget to missions.

Featured Missions

After much research and prayer, it has been decided to focus on building long-term relationships with key organizations, providing budgeted financial support for their ministries. These organizations are referred to as POP's Featured Missions.

By focusing on key featured missions, members can better understand where mission dollars are going and have an opportunity to become involved through prayer, their time, and/or additional personal donations. Each featured mission will have a Mission Liaison who works with the Director of Outreach and Assimilation and the specific mission organization to coordinate education, publicity, and serving opportunities to POP members.

Mission Grants

POP also realizes that there are many worthwhile missions that are important to its members. A Mission Grants fund has been established to assist members who are passionate about serving those organizations. Members can apply for funding through a missions grant application process. The organization must have a direct connection to a POP member and can include local, national, or international mission work. A Mission Grant Team meets quarterly to review requests and approve mission grants.

Mission Events

Mission events are designed to engage the Prince of Peace community and its neighbors in high impact events that benefit a mission and allow a large number of people to participate or serve. These events might be for a featured mission, a mission grant recipient, or some other organization. A volunteer team works with the Director of Outreach and Assimilation to organize an event. Examples of mission events that have been sponsored in the past include: Feed My Starving Children meal packing, LifeSource blood drive, Rebuilding Together, PATH Day of Giving, and eyeglass donation collection.

Featured Missions, Mission Grants, and Mission Events provide many ways in which POP members can continue to REACH, GROW and SERVE one another and spread Jesus' love and grace in a tangible way. For more information regarding any of POP's mission programs, please contact Susan Klemstein, Director of Outreach and Assimilation, at or through the church office at 847-359-3451.

Mission Grants

The mission grant application can be found here. Please submit applications by February 1 to be considered for a first quarter grant, May 1 to be considered for a second quarter grant, August 1 to be considered for a third quarter grant, and by November 1 to be considered for a fourth quarter grant. A member can submit a grant application once per year per organization they support. Applications can be emailed to or placed in Susan Klemstein's church mailbox.

The mission grant team will provide quarterly updates of mission grants awarded. The purpose is twofold: 1) To improve communication and awareness of where some of your offering dollars are going. 2) To provide the chance to learn more about these organizations if you feel moved to individually support them through prayer or personal donations.

Mission Grants Awarded During 2nd Quarter 2013

Commission to Every Nation -Roger Sieber is a missionary in Bogota, Colombia, where he and his family minister spiritually, physically, and emotionally to a disabled population. The money will be used for a Christmas outreach program. For more information, contact Prince of Peace member Karl Meyle at karlmeyle@gmail.com, missionary Roger Sieber at rogersieber@cten.org, or visit www.cten.org/rogersieber/.

FaithLife Minstries -Former Prince of Peace member Barry Voss started this ministry in 2001 to expand God's Kingdom through the training and equipping of church and ministry leaders in less developed countries to help them impact their nations for Christ. For more information, contact Barry atbarryvoss@comcast.net or visit www.faithlifeministries.net.

Phil's Friends -Based in Roselle, Illinois, this organization brings Christ-centered support and hope to cancer patients. They do this through sending care packages and cards, praying, calling, and visiting patients. Volunteer opportunities are available at the Roselle office. For more information, contact Prince of Peace member Ellen Daniel at ellen3991@gmail.com or visit www.philsfriends.org.

Mission Grants Awarded during 1st Quarter 2013

Brazil Mission Society -Prince of Peace member Al Neukuckatz was born in Brazil where his father was a missionary for 15 years. The Brazil Mission Society is a recognized service organization of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Their works includes providing 26 new Lutheran pastors, 8 vicars, 2 orphanages, and schools in Brazil. For more information, contact Prince of Peace member Al Neukuckatz at rhodal1@msn.com or visit www.brazilmissionsociety.com.

Immanuel Lutheran School -The eighth grade class at Immanuel Lutheran School in Palatine is taking a mission trip in April to West Virginia. They go throughout the rural community doing various service and housing projects and sharing the Gospel. For more information, contact Prince of Peace member Steff Woell at slw68@yahoo.com or visit www.ilcp.org.

Luther North College Prep Scholarship Fund -Luther North, which began a century ago, is one of the few remaining Lutheran high schools in the Chicago area. The scholarship fund helps provide financial assistance for students to attend. For more information, contact Prince of Peace member Tom Wiemann at twiemann@luthernorth.org or visit www.luthernorth.org.

Lutheran Social Services of Illinois Prisoner and Family Ministry Program -This ministry touches more than 11,000 prisoners and their families through the state. One example is the Visits to Mom program that provides 700 visits annually for Chicago children to keep in touch with mothers who are incarcerated. For more information, contact Prince of Peace member Jim Moehling at jimmoehling@gmail.com or visit www.lssi.org.

The mission grant application can be found under Ministries, Mission Outreach, Mission Grants on the church website. Please submit applications by May 1 to be considered for a second Quarter 2013 grant. Applications can be emailed to SusanK@reachgrowserve.org or placed in Susan Klemstein's church mailbox.

Mission Grants Awarded during 4th Quarter 2012:

CareerPlaceTM -CareerPlace™ is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1994 in Barrington, Illinois, to assist job seekers in the local community. Formerly known as the Barrington Career Center, it changed its name in 2011 to better reflect its regional client base. Today, CareerPlace™ serves clients from more than 8253160 different Chicago-area communities. For more information, contact Prince of Peace member Jim Diehl at or visit www.mycareerplace.org.

Commission to Every Nation –Roger Sieber is a missionary in Bogotá, Colombia, where he and his family minister spiritually, physically, and emotionally to a disabled population. Some of the money will be used for a Christmas outreach program. For more information, contact Prince of Peace member Karl Meyle at , missionary Roger Sieber at , or visit www.cten.org/rogersieber/.

InnerCHANGE Oakland –Matt and Martha Miles are missionaries in East Oakland, California where they are ministering to a multicultural, multilingual community that is home to gangs and drugs. They are networking with churches, other nonprofits, and service providers to create a community to help those in need and share the love of God. For more information, contact Prince of Peace member Deb Baran at or visit www.innerchange.org.

LCMS Joint Seminary Fund -The LCMS Joint Seminary Fund serves our two Concordia seminaries (in St. Louis, Missouri and Ft. Wayne, Indiana) to help prepare future pastors. For more information, contact Pastor Christenson at or visit www.lcms.org/jointseminaryfund.

Mission Grants Awarded during 3rd Quarter 2012:

Bethany Christian Services-Bethany is the largest adoption agency in the United States and also provides the following services: family support and preservation, adoption, foster care, pregnancy counseling, training, refugee services, sponsorship, and infertility ministry. For more information, contact POP member Wendy Petrochko at or visit www.bethany.org/chicago.

Caribbean Children's Foundation (CCF)-CCF is one of the organizations that Prince of Peace worked with during our Haiti mission trip to Les Cayes. CCF operates an orphanage and is building a school to care for children and provide for their medical and educational needs. For more information, contact Tim Kaufmann at or visit www.caribbeanchildrensfoundation.org.

Compassion International-Compassion International is as a Christian child advocacy ministry that releases children from spiritual, economic, social, and physical poverty and enables them to become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults. For more information, contact Susan Klemstein at or visit www.compassion.com.

Global Lutheran Outreach (GLO)-GLO serves the worldwide Christian Lutheran community by sending Lutheran missionaries to establish and strengthen congregations and ministries around the world through cross-cultural missionary service. For more information, contact Linda Christenson at or visit www.globallutheranoutreach.com.

Good News Jail and Prison Ministry-This ministry provides in-person weekly Bible studies to inmates at the Cook County Jail. They also offer a Bible correspondence program with inmates in the state prison system. For more information, contact POP members Jim & Karen Beckley at or visit www.goodnewsjail.org.

Lutheran Bible Translators (LBT)-LBT is an independent Lutheran mission organization dedicated to helping bring people to faith in Jesus Christ. They work through missionaries to make the Word of God available to those who do not yet have it in their heart language. For more information, contact POP members Jerry & Mary Anderson at or visit www.lbt.org.

Tri-County Pregnancy and Parenting Services-This organization seeks to empower women to make informed choices by presenting Jesus Christ to those involved in unplanned pregnancies through the provision of physical, emotional, and spiritual support. For more information, contact POP member Lana Steinecker at or visit www.tricountypps.org.

Universal Gospel Assembly Church of Pakistan-This is a Christian church in a 96% Muslim culture. Pastor Albert Emmanuel is preaching the Gospel, serving the community with Christian counseling, and visiting nearby communities to preach, pray, and provide Bibles. For more information, contact POP members Gulfam & Anila Emmanuel at or visit www.eswfj.org.

Mission Events

Mission events are designed to engage the Prince of Peace community and its neighbors in high impact events that benefit a mission and allow a large number of people to participate or serve. These events might be for a featured mission, a mission grant recipient, or some other organization. A volunteer team works with the Director of Outreach and Assimilation to organize an event. Examples of mission events that have been sponsored in the past include: Feed My Starving Children meal packing, LifeSource blood drive, Rebuilding Together, and eyeglass donation collection.

Upcoming Mission Events:

No events are currently scheduled. Please contact the church office for more information.