A year-long evangelistic effort in the mid-1970s brought a team of Campus Crusade for Christ staff to New York City. Following that effort, several of the staff determined to stay. Over the next years they continued to deepen their understanding of urban issues and the needs of the poor and to nurture relationships with local pastors.
At the same time (late '70s, early '80s), Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, began to move forward on his own growing beliefs. He said he'd had "an almost audible impression from the Lord" that Campus Crusade was being unbiblical not to include ministry to "the widows, the orphans and the aliens" as part of its outreach.
Dr. Bright commissioned a Christian consulting group to conduct a year-long study to see what was happening in compassionate ministry in cities across the country. When this group got to New York City, they determined that what was happening through the efforts of Campus Crusade staff there was the most effective combination of ministry among the poor and intentional evangelism that they had seen.
This resulted in the commissioning of Here's Life Inner City in 1983 as a new ministry within Campus Crusade for Christ. For the next several years, the team continued to flesh out the ministry in New York. The next city to come on board was Los Angeles in 1989, followed in 1990 by Chicago. Currently there are Here's Life staff in 16 cities.
A summer project for college students, Summer in the City, began in 1984, exposing students to the needs of the poor as they served inner-city churches. In 1991, a spring-break project, Urban Immersion, was launched.
To help inner-city churches connect with people in their communities, Here's Life began offering resources to meet physical needs. Beginning with Thanksgiving Boxes of Love in 1987, this outreach has expanded to include items like PowerPacks (backpacks filled with back-to-school supplies), shoes, Easter Bags and Homeless Care Kits (blankets, toiletries, warm outer clothing).
Moving beyond immediate needs to more long-term development, Here's Life has introduced several training resources, S.A.Y. Yes! curriculum for at-risk youth, Holistic Hardware for life skills, WorkNet for career preparedness, New Focus for financial management — all are presented with a faith-based foundation. BeyondBars helps inner-city churches care for and mentor those impacted by incarceration.
To help train and equip volunteers, Compassion by Command, a media-based Bible study on God's heart for the poor, was produced in 2002.
Experience and resources, empowered by God, enable Here's Life to live out its mission: To serve and mobilize the church to live out God's heart for the poor so that all can grow in Christ and spiritually multiply.
