About us

Whom we are? what do we believe? what is our Mission and vision?

 

About us

We are Oromo Evangelical congregation called to proclaim the Gospel of Christ and the beliefs of the evangelical Christian faith, to maintain the worship of God, and to inspire in all persons a love for Christ, a passion for righteousness, and a consciousness of their duties to God and their fellow human beings.
Life Stream Oromo Evangelical Church Chicago started as a weekly Bible study group in one of its member’s apartment on the North side of Chicago in 2006.The increase in number of attendance and the tremendous growth of the Oromo population in the city of Chicago and its surrounding area prompted the need for a larger venue as well as a more formal place of worship. By grace of God, the church was officially established. Most of the believers came to the United States as refugees, students and immigrants.
Our Mission focus is Oromo speaking diaspora communities in the greater
Chicago area and beyond.
Since January 2012 we are a member congregation of great river mission District-North American Lutheran church (NALC). The Life Stream Oromo Evangelical Church is also, a member of the United Oromo Evangelical Churches, the association of Diaspora Oromo speaking Churches worldwide.

What we believe
1. We believe the Holy Bible as the inspired Word of God, without any error, the all-sufficient authority in matters of faith, doctrine, and Christian living.
2. We believe in one God, eternally existing in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
3. We believe in the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ, and that He is true God and man. He died on the cross for our sins. He rose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven where He sits at the right hand of the Father and is now our High Priest and Advocate. We also believe that Jesus Christ will come back again for the final judgment
4. We believe that human being was created in the image of God but fell into sin and therefore lost. Only through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ can human being salvation and full relation ship with God be obtained.
5. We believe that eternal salvation is the free gift of God, entirely apart from human’s merits. And is possessed by any and all who have faith in and receive Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior (Eph. 2: 8-10).
6. We believe in church membership: that is, persons old enough to understand their need for Jesus Christ and, of their own free will, accepted Him as their personal Lord and Savior.
7. We believe that the holy baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the means of grace through which God bestows his forgiveness to those who receive them in faith.
8. We believe in the personal, bodily, imminent, and glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ and that His Second Coming inspires believers for dynamic and zealous life and service for Him while waiting for His return.
9. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead, the everlasting life of the saved in eternity, and the everlasting separation from God of the unsaved after the final judgment.
10. We believe in the autonomy of the local church. The church shall manage its own affairs. But collaborate with other organizations as needed.

Our Mission

Our mission is to proclaim the holistic saving gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to all people and disciple them in their relationship with Him. We achieve this mission by dedicating our lives to Jesus Christ and covenant with each other to demonstrate His glory through worship, witnessing, and ministry to the needs of the people of this church and the community at large.

Our Vision
Our vision is to proclaim the massage of the Good News to non-evangelized people as we are commissioned in Matthew 28:19-20,Mar.16: 14-16.However our particular focus is to evangelize the Oromo people who reside in Chicago and its surroundings.

Major activities

Worship service;

Our objective in worship is to achieve a sense of balance where our worship is attractive to all members, in essence vibrant yet reverent, providing a balance of contemporary and traditional forms. We look forward to incorporating the use of PowerPoint and various form of technology before and during services to aid worship.

    Evangelism and Discipleship;

We believe that evangelism and discipleship is the heart of Christian ministry and the marks of a church. Evangelism is word that we use to describe the propagation of the Gospel, the individual sharing their faith and the Church as a body reaching out in Mission to the world. Throughout discipleship ministry of our congregation, our aim is to help newly converted Christians to grow in their spiritual life and ministry.

The first movement is inward, that is to say that the individual members of a church need to be nurtured and equipped before they can become evangelists. This process is a lifelong project, which includes, Bible Study, regular worship service, Life style and prayer. The church supports this work by offering to people of all ages’ systematic religious education through Sunday school, Bible Study and Special programs during the seasons of the liturgical year. We all know how important it is to engage the human person fully so that every sense is engaged in worship, prayer and study.

· Women’s ministry;

Our church believes that the call in to God’s ministry is both for men and women. Accordingly, the purpose of this ministry is to nurture Christian women to grow in their faith and actively participate in church works. This will be achieved through preparing separate worship service, trainings, and spiritual picnics for them. They also be encouraged through this ministry to reached out to the un-reached women in society.

· Children and Youth Ministries;

We believe that our children and young people have great needs, physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually. We therefore seek to offer a range of opportunities for children and our young people to come to a safe yet exciting environment, where they can learn the word of God and experience Christian fellowship. As for the young people, this ministry seeks to nurture and disciple them for active participation of mission work in the church and beyond.

· Choir and Worship Team;

We have a small but faithful and committed worship team, who lead the congregants in praise and worship. We plan to strengthen the team by adding new musicians and vocalists to the team. It is also, in our plans to establish a Choir to supplement the praise and worship team. This plan is an effort to provide more opportunities for those who would like to serve in this capacity.

· Prayer Meeting;

Our aim is to provide a wide range of opportunities, at differing times and in differing settings, for our people to come together and pray. We strongly believe that this underpins all of our other aspects of service and mission.
o Tuesday evening weekly prayer
o 1st Saturday early morning prayer
o Quarterly 24 hours fasting and prayer
o Family prayer meetings
o Leaders and workers prayer meetings

· Bible Study Groups;

Home Bible Study Groups had been a part of our teaching ministry for quite some time. The plan is to establish home bible study in different residential areas in order to make it easily available to our members.

· Emerging leaders training program;

As part of our mission plans we need to look towards the future. If we want our faith and practices to be available to the next generation of Christians it is up to us to provide for them. Therefor the purpose of this branch of ministry is to provide contextualized and timely leadership training for the emerging leaders in our congregation according to their gifts and talents. This in turn will prepare us to give all rounded leadership services for our members.

· Diaconal Ministry;

This ministry is intended to serve the needy people in our church and society in their spiritual, physical and emotional needs. However the scope of this ministry depends on the availability of resources we may need for it.

· International Mission;

As the body of Christ, we believe our call comprises local, national and international endeavors. Therefore our plan is to prepare international mission trips and trainings in collaboration with our partner churches. Our primary focus is to support and work with a few new mission sites in Ethiopia.

*Qiyaafanaan tajaajila keenyaa saba Oromo magaalaa Chigaagoo fi naannoo isaa jiraatan bifaa guutuu ta’een Wangeela Gooftaa Yesuusiin tajaajiluu dha.