Conventional wisdom might say launching a new LINC city in the middle of a pandemic, working from home, and Zoom meetings is strange timing and an uphill battle. 

When LINC Chicago launched in August 2020, however, it was the fruition of a process that had been going for several years, including years of prayer from supporting congregations and pastors, and not even the Covid-19 crisis could stop that. 

Lexi Schmidt, the City Director at LINC Chicago, calls this first year,

The Year of Foundation. Our hope is to lay the groundwork for decades of ministry. Each day someone new offers to commit to praying with us, supports us financially, and connects us to amazing leaders in the community. LINC Chicago didn’t have “proof of ministry” as we’ve gotten started, but we’ve had countless people believe this work will produce much fruit.

Lexi was a classroom teacher for 15 years and is also a trained clinical therapist. She credits God’s work through those professions to help her learn more about people and how to communicate real, true Kingdom life for all people. She comes from a family with two parents as church workers in urban centers and grew up seeing ministry in action both with and through them. 

Lexi says, “One of the things that I love most about LINC is that they believe prayer is foundational to all we do, and they constantly lead with prayer.  With this culture of prayer, they don’t put limits on what God can do and they have very bold asks.

As a result, our ministry can look very different from person to person, neighborhood to neighborhood.  

We thank God for Lexi (who maintains Giordanos is the best deep dish to be found in Chicagoland) and for the fruit of years of prayer and discernment regarding LINC Chicago, and we are looking forward to seeing fruit on the trees God has been planting this year!

Read more about Lexi’s background on her bio page!