Matthew Lucio with AI
ILC Assistant to the President for Communication
On March 15, over 600 people across Chicagoland came together for a powerful Sabbath of worship and service through twin events: Synergy and Global Youth Day (GYD).
This year's Synergy brought more than 200 Pathfinders and other members from across the area to West Central Seventh-day Adventist Church. Pastor Ralph Shelton and his congregation were amiable hosts. Hinsdale's orchestra provided music and Pastor Clifford Wallace, Camp Wagner Director, offered the homily.
After lunch, many of the Pathfinders mobilized to participate in service projects across Chicagoland which were part of Global Youth Day, which is the largest missional-evangelistic event in the Seventh-day Adventist Church worldwide. Inspired by the parable of the Good Samaritan, GYD invites young people to “Be the Sermon”—shifting the Sabbath focus from passive listening to active doing. And Chicagoland responded.
Partnering with local organizations and churches, volunteers tackled dozens of projects. Outside Pilsen Hispanic Church, teams served groceries, donuts, literature, and drinks to 500 individuals. Live Christian music sweetened the atmosphere. Mobile showers and a blood donation bus were also provided.
At Feed My Starving Children in Schaumburg, over 300 volunteers packed 42,336 meals for children in need. That was enough to feed 113 kids a daily meal for a year!
Thirty more volunteers supported a nursing home with meals and worship. Altogether, the community impact reached hundreds of lives, if not more.
“It was beautiful to see the church family come together despite weather, language, or background—becoming the hands, feet, and voice of Jesus,” Josant Barrientos (ILC Youth Director) said. “This is what a movement of hope looks like.”
But the vision doesn’t stop with one day. The goal is for Global Youth Day to become a launchpad for ongoing community engagement—year-round service projects that reflect God's love in practical ways and draw more people into the joy of the Christian journey.
There are many ways to get involved: through prayer, donations of time or resources, or by serving as a local ambassador—organizing projects and inviting others to join. Whether in a church pew or on a city street, the call is the same: Go and do likewise.
NEXT STEPS
View more pictures of the event on the ILC Flickr page.
Please send any news items of what God is doing around the Illinois Conference to communication@ilcsda.org.