ABOUT JESUS LOVES KALAMAZOO
ROOTED IN JESUS.
UNITED IN PURPOSE.
Jesus Loves Kalamazoo brings together believers, churches, ministries, and community partners committed to seeing our region transformed through the love of Jesus.
OUR MISSION
GROWING COMMUNITY
UNITED AROUND JESUS
We exist to connect and mobilize the Body of Christ across Southwest Michigan, encouraging believers to love God, love their neighbors, and serve together so that lives are transformed through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
JLK creates practical opportunities for churches, ministries, volunteers, and community partners to work together in ways that strengthen relationships and meet real needs. Through outreach, prayer, service, discipleship, and shared initiatives, we help remove barriers between congregations and create space for the Church to serve the region as one Body.
OUR VISION
SEEING OUR REGION EXPERIENCE REVIVAL
We long to see Southwest Michigan transformed by the power of Jesus Christ—where hearts are renewed, lives are restored, churches are united, and communities experience the hope, healing, and wholeness found only in Him.
For us, revival is more than a moment or an event. It looks like people encountering Jesus and being transformed, churches walking in greater unity, believers growing in faith and discipleship, neighborhoods being loved well, and communities experiencing lasting change. We believe God is raising up a people who will live out their faith together and carry His presence into every part of our region.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
STATEMENT OF FAITH
We believe in one God, Creator of the heavens and the earth, infinitely perfect and eternal existing in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The perfection with which God created everything was subjected to a curse through the disobedience of humankind and, as a result, a separation between God and creation was formed. With this separation came sin, sickness, disease, and death all of which were foreign to the perfection with which God created everything.
Jesus Christ is the solution to this problem. Being fully God and fully human, he was born, died on the cross, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven and lives forever as the mediator between God and humankind. Through faith in Jesus alone, the Holy Spirit can now indwell all who believe and provide the salvation Jesus paid for.
We believe that the Bible is the Holy Spirit inspired Word of God and the complete revelation of His will for the salvation of humankind. It has divine authority for all Christian life and faith.
We believe in the personal imminent return of Jesus Christ and that, until that return happens, his body, the community of believers, is to work diligently to spread the good news and work to see God’s kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.
CORE VALUES
WHAT SHAPES THE WAY WE SERVE
Our core values are more than guiding principles—they shape the way we live, serve, and work together. Rooted in Jesus and grounded in Scripture, they guide how we love people, pursue unity, depend on prayer, and serve our communities with humility.
Anchored in
Biblical Truth
Anchored in God's Word as our authority for faith, life, and ministry.
Loving Others as Christ
Loved Us
Serving our neighbors with the compassion, grace, and love of Jesus Christ.
Humbly Serving
Our Neighbors
Serving with humility, generosity, and a willingness to meet people where they are.
Priority, Power, and Promise of Prayer
Making prayer foundational to all we do, trusting God for guidance, power, and provision.
Fostering, Preserving, and Celebrating Biblical Unity
Bringing together believers, churches, and ministries to serve Christ as one.
LEADERSHIP
THE TEAM STEWARDING THE MISSION
“Five of us went out together for street ministry. None of us had met before, and each of us came from a different church. But that day, we worked as one for Christ and showed God’s love together.”
- JLK Street Ministry Volunteer
OUR STORY
FROM A BURDEN FOR OUR CITY TO A CULTURE OF UNITY
What began in 2008 as a small outreach on Kalamazoo’s Northside has grown into a movement of churches, ministries, and believers serving together to make Jesus known throughout our region. From the beginning, Jesus Loves Kalamazoo has been about more than one event—it has been about bringing the Body of Christ together to love neighbors, meet practical needs, and live out the Great Commission side by side.
Over the years, that spirit of unity has continued to grow. At the heart of our story is a simple conviction: when the Church comes together around Jesus, serves with humility, and works in partnership, our communities can experience real and lasting transformation.
2008
2009-2012
2012-2019
2019-PRESENT
A HEART FOR THE CITY
Jesus Loves Kzoo began in 2008 as a week-long Vanguard Street Ministry outreach on Kalamazoo’s Northside. Volunteers from two local churches served in neighborhood parks through meals, children’s activities, personal care items, prayer, and sharing the love of Jesus. What began as a simple outreach became the start of a growing vision for churches and believers to serve the city together.
GROWING IN UNITY
In the years that followed, Jesus Loves Kzoo continued to grow as more churches and volunteers joined together for outreach. Ministry expanded beyond the annual event into training, weekly street ministry, follow-up, discipleship, and connection to local resources, while deeper relationships formed and a growing spirit of Kingdom unity took root across Kalamazoo.
BECOMING A MOVEMENT
Beginning in 2012, JLK entered deeper collaboration with Kalamazoo House of Prayer and Impact Kalamazoo, strengthening the connection between prayer, outreach, and youth ministry. In 2013, the summer outreach became known as JLK Catalyst Week, and by 2019 more than 50 churches and ministries were participating as JLK grew from an event into a broader Gospel movement.
CONTENDING FOR REVIVAL
As Kingdom relationships deepened, the vision expanded toward greater unity and year-round impact. Through prayer, worship, outreach, discipleship, partnerships, and service, Jesus Loves Kzoo continues mobilizing the Church of Southwest Michigan around a shared desire to see lives transformed, communities strengthened, and our region experience revival through Jesus.
