Jonathan Banks is caffeine-free.
Some might wonder how after a quick glance at the array of leadership positions he currently holds. Banks is the Chief Operating Officer at Urban Outreach Foundation, an executive pastor at Apostolic Faith Church Chicago, and Co-CEO of Together Chicago, among other things.
To boot, he’s an author, publishing “Raise Your GPA: God’s Way to Win @ School & Life” in 2017.
As Banks tells it, his work is a Spirit-fueled, grace-driven calling – no coffee required.
A life dedicated to servant leadership began in his formative years growing up in Philadelphia. Banks describes seasons where he lacked a father figure as a young child, eventually losing his biological father to cancer when he was 13 years old.
Hear how God is using Jonathan Banks and Together Chicago to instill lasting change in our full conversation:
The loss, along with the struggle leading up to it, shaped his perspective. What Banks calls a “victorious village,” a group that included his mother, stepfather, and a tight-knit surrounding community, modeled to him what it means to care for the lowly.
“I, like many others, have been persuaded that service is our highest calling,” Banks said. “It’s what I was shown growing up, and I truly recognize, like the Apostle Paul said, ‘What do I have that I have not received?’ I was given it freely, so I’ve got to give it freely.”
Banks is quick to acknowledge the pronounced challenges in his adopted home of Chicago, but he will also be the first one to tell you about a side of the Windy City’s story that often goes untold.
“Chicago has had its share of challenges with violence, and the news media loves to beat up on Chicago as if Chicago is the only community with some of these challenges,” Banks explained. “The Chicago that I see, the people that I interact with and engage with, I see a Chicago that is loving, kind, and generous. We have our issues like every family does, but Chicago is a city on the rise.”
Together Chicago was formed in 2017 to address prevailing societal issues with a comprehensive approach at a time when gun violence in the city approached all-time highs.
An emboldened group of Chicagoland business, faith, community, nonprofit, civic, and government leaders joined forces to confront such challenges at their root. They aimed to trade an oft-superficial approach for one of tangible, practical, and raw peer-to-peer service to reduce violence and catalyze thriving communities within the city.
Today, Together Chicago partners with hundreds of churches, government organizations, and other community initiatives to create lasting change in five primary areas: economic development, education, violence reduction, Gospel justice, and faith-community mobilization.
In short, Together Chicago collaborates with indigenous efforts to enable and facilitate hands-on work to bring about lasting, eternal impact.
That work takes many forms, such as TC’s legal clinics, mentorship services, or educational resources for at-risk youth, but all of it is in service of raising up the disenfranchised, disadvantaged, and broken.
Often, the most significant material change comes from showing those in need that someone truly wants the best for them and is willing to step into suffering to make it happen.
“When people feel like someone cares about them and that they have a safety net and a community, they become emboldened to trust God in new and fresh ways,” Banks said.
“The difference is real. The narrative is flawed, but God’s grace is shining a light that others are taking a second look at Chicago and seeing the amazing work that faith-based communities are able to achieve when we collaborate.”
The results are starting to become impossible to ignore. Banks cites nearly 20% drops in gun violence in individual communities, while official numbers from the City of Chicago show a 32.3% year-to-date drop in shootings from 2024 to 2025. Further city data from 2024 shows the lowest homicide totals since 2019 and a 21.6% decrease in violent crime compared to their height in 2020.
Banks pointed to boots-on-the-ground efforts like “positive loitering” as particularly impactful in reversing the trajectory of violence and other crime in the city. The effort involves a seemingly simple act of grilling out, worshiping, and interacting with communities where tragedy has occurred.
“We let them know that we are not giving away any part of any city to negative elements,” Banks said. “We just show the community that God’s love for them will never expire and that he has not forsaken them. Our churches and our organizations aren’t going to forsake them either.”
While gun violence and other deep-seated systemic issues in Chicago continue to rage on, as they do in most large U.S. cities, Together Chicago was built with a decades-long solution in mind.
But a 30-year plan is only achieved one event, one act of service, and one day at a time. Banks and Together Chicago plan to keep showing up.
To learn more about the work Together Chicago is doing, click here.
