Ministry of Interruptions

Author of Under the Overpass, Mike Yankowski, recently spoke about engaging in ministry to the homeless and often-forgotten of today's world.

He shares that "Jesus led a ministry of interruptions...are we interruptible?" What do you think?

Learn how YOU can interrupt your world by serving through CSM!

Living Lent: Jes Williams

Living Lent: Answering the Call to Love and Serve the City
Throughout the 2012 Lenten season, we will be highlighting a few of CSM's wonderful staff team members and asking the question "Why do you work for CSM?" This week, we introduce Jes Williams, CSM Nashville Staff.

As I reflect on the question, “why do I work for CSM”, it is challenging for me to pinpoint one specific answer. There have been seasons when I work for CSM because I love the impact it has on the groups and group leaders who come to serve. In other seasons, I am moved by the opportunity we have through CSM to support and encourage the many amazing ministries and non-profits doing long-term work here in Nashville. And still, in other seasons, I am energized by the opportunity to supervise and mentor our seasonal staff and apprentices as they wrestle with what it means to be servant leaders and to live just and merciful lives.

Because it is challenging for me to hone in on one specific reason for why I work for CSM, I instead would like to explain how the title of this series, “Living Lent: Answering the Call to Love and Serve the City”, has manifested through my time with CSM. The Lenten season offers us an opportunity to deepen our relationship with God through reflection, repentance, and response. It is a time when we become aware of our own brokenness, ask for forgiveness, and seek out ways to minister to others the way God ministers to us.

During my time with CSM, I have had to wrestle with my own brokenness; my own prejudices, selfishness, and mercilessness. I have begun to understand how some of the choices I make can negatively impact others and contribute to the injustices in my community. But I cannot just sit in my brokenness and guilt. God calls us to repent and move forward. To seek Him out and respond to the ways we are asked to “answer the call to Love and Serve the city”. And for me, I believe one of the ways God calls me to love and serve is through CSM.

Learn how YOU can serve with CSM in Nashville!

Hotels become temporary "home" for many in Boston

For many families finding themselves homeless, local hotels quickly become an alternative to being split up in shelters. Life in these hotels present many challenges for these families. 
Check out this recent Boston Globe article...


Learn how YOU can serve with CSM in Boston!

Living Lent: Lauren Lee

Living Lent: Answering the Call to Love and Serve the City

Throughout the 2012 Lenten season, we will be highlighting a few of CSM's wonderful staff team members and asking the question "Why do you work for CSM?" This week, we introduce Lauren Lee, CSM New York City Staff.

Being a new staff member for CSM was quite intimidating. I knew a lot about the organization, the mission, and the purpose of CSM. It was quite overwhelming to finally be on the other side of the door and see the amount of work everyone puts into this ministry. I am grateful for the leadership of my City Director, Tracee; for the New York City Associate City Director, Jami, who spends ALL her time managing the schedules; and for our amazing hosts, Emily and Aubrey, who lead the serving groups around the city. I am excited for my new role as “City Staff”! I will be handling the grocery shopping (for LOTS of people), making copies, running errands, trying out new restaurants, building relationships with our ministry sites, getting lost in the subways, and occasionally hosting (and much more!)

I recently hosted a CSM group for the first time and it gave me a whole new perspective for this ministry. The group traveled all the way to CSM New York from Tennessee. We made an instant connection and warmed up to each other very quickly. We went on a prayer tour of the city, served at different ministry sites, built relationships with different folks in the community, did some more praying, spent some time debriefing all that we learned, laughed a lot, enjoyed our free time, but what moved me the most was our sharing time on the group’s last night with us.

Each trip participant shared how they served God during the week. During that time, one of the members of my serving group shared the most intense and heartbreaking story of abuse in their past. After that, one after another, people started to share their burdens, life struggles, and heartaches with the group, and one after another, we prayed for healing, while giving praises to our Lord! A stressful week became a heartfelt night of tears (of both sadness and joy) and healing.

This one night reminded me why I chose this job – God has simply just grabbed hold of my heart for the people in NYC. I’m honored to be working for CSM and feel so privileged to serve under the leadership of Tracee and Jami. I love my job because I get to interact with different people around the city but also, being able to see lives transformed in the renewal of our Lord Jesus Christ, is just simply humbling.              


Learn how YOU can serve with CSM in New York City!

Joining Hands to Fight Crime in Harlem

The community in Harlem is seeking to take action against crime. Check out this recent article!



-Tracee Henneke, CSM New York City Director


Learn how YOU can serve with CSM in New York City!

NY Food Pantries Grow Own Veggies Year-Round

Clients of a food pantry in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn are able to grow produce year around because of an indoor farm. Check out the article...

-Tracee Henneke, CSM New York City Director


Learn how YOU can serve with CSM in New York City!

Living Lent: Jason & Kim Foster

Living Lent: Answering the Call to Love and Serve the City

Throughout the 2012 Lenten season, we will be highlighting a few of CSM's wonderful staff team members and asking the question "Why do you work for CSM?" This week, we introduce Jason & Kim Foster, CSM San Francisco Bay Area City Directors.

Six years ago, when God brought us together we were each pursuing taking students on short term mission trips, mostly internationally, as a career. We spent the first 3 years of our marriage doing that. In 2008, God opened our eyes to the similarity of ministry in cities in the US to overseas missions. We longed to love our neighbors, many who are not like us, those marginalized, forgotten and even hated, because Jesus loves them. If we love God, we will love them too. 


We joined the CSM staff in May 2010. This ministry combines our passions of youth and missions. San Francisco and Oakland are two of the top 10 most diverse cities in the US. We love working with youth pastors, putting together and facilitating mission trips for churches and youth groups to "do ministry" in the city and then return home to put in to practice "loving those in their own backyards". We also have a passion for mentoring CSM's seasonal staff, as they serve in urban ministry and grow as leaders.


Learn how YOU can serve with CSM in the San Francisco Bay Area!

SFO Combats Trafficking One Flight at a Time

SFO is taking amazing steps to stop trafficking in their airport. Check out this local report on what the airport is doing to train their staff...

Homelessness in the US

Did you see this discussion about homelessness and how it's affected veterans and families?  


The Daily Show had Shaun Donovan, with Housing and Urban Development, share a little bit about what is going on in government to help end homelessness, particularly for veterans in the US. 


We talk a lot in DC what the church is doing in our city, as well as the government.  What role do you think YOU have in helping to make people aware of the issues and ending homelessness in our country?


-Robyn Elmore, CSM Washington DC City Director


Learn how YOU can serve with CSM in Washington DC!

Art Therapy in the Kitchen

We here at CSM DC love to use art as an expression of worship.  We even incorporated different types of art last summer into our worship night and were excited and encouraged to see how many participants could glorify God in many different ways.  


One of our ministry partners is enhancing the lives of their clients through art and the homeless newspaper, Street Sense, is talking about it.  Click here to read more.


Robyn Elmore, CSM Washington DC City Director


Learn how YOU can serve with CSM in Washington DC!

Houston is Most Diverse City in US

For years, we have been educating groups about the multitude of cultures in Houston on our Prayer Tour. Recently,  a new report has identified Houston as the most diverse city in the country!

Check out this recent Houston Chronicle report...

- Paul Randall, CSM Houston City Director

Learn how YOU can serve with CSM in Houston!

Who's In Control?

A local pastor and DC resident challenges us to think about the way technology may impact our relationship with God in this recent Washington Post article. 


When groups come to CSM they get to experience somewhat of a technology fast and get to unplug from things that sometimes can be a distraction for us, and many times we see and hear God better because we're listening and looking a little bit closer than when we have all our gadgets that make it easy to disengage.  


During this season of Lent many people give something up as a discipline...have you thought about going a short time without some social media or electronic?  This article may make you think about it a little more.


-Robyn Elmore, CSM Washington DC City Director


Learn how YOU can serve with CSM in Washington DC!