The Church and Community Project is a unique venture by a group of churches in Illinois and Indiana that began in 1987. With the help and guidance of the Center for Church and Community Ministries, leaders of these congregations have developed ministries of service and justice to reach out to marginalized people in their communities. In the process, they have built partnerships with a variety of other churches and agencies.

In this book, people from these community ministry projects tell of their experiences. Here are stories of joys and losses, obstacles and victories, tough decisions and quiet miracles. Children are taught, families are sheltered, frail elderly are cared for, and systems are challenged. In these pages, as in these communities, persons in need and those who seek to help become to each other Saints and Neighbors.