Community Hope Center's Development Director Shares Story of Faith

You're Beautiful With Brian Trust! Ft: Christy Schult

ALTON - On a recent episode of “You’re Beautiful” with Brian Trust, Christy Schult shared how God has guided her through her career as an educator and her new position as the development director at the Community Hope Center in Cottage Hills.

Schult noted that God has been in her life since she was a child, and His influence is as powerful as ever. She believes Christianity does not have to be complex, but instead should be about the relationship you develop with God. She encourages people to focus on building that relationship and putting their trust in God’s hands.

“I think sometimes we make it so complicated to be a Christian. You have to know these scriptures, you have to be able to quote, you have to be able to pray in a certain way,” she said. “God never made it complicated for us. He gave us the Word. He gave us simple instructions. We know what we can do, what we can’t do. We know that…Really, He just wants to be our daddy. That’s all it is. We’re just telling people about our daddy. Who doesn’t want to have a daddy who loves them and is proud of them and talks to them and cares about every single little thing that they do?”

As an organization, the Community Hope Center provides food, clothing, resources and prayer to those in need. They have no income or location requirements. If you can make it to their address at 1201 Hope Center Lane in Cottage Hills, they will assist you. You can also call them at (618) 259-0959 to make an appointment or learn more about their services.

Schult prays every morning on the drive to work to ask God for His help. The Community Hope Center relies on Him to stay open.

“Every day, it’s the story in the Bible of the fish and the loaf. We have to feed 50 families today. How am I going to be able to get the finances in the door to be able to feed these 50 families?” Schult said. “That’s all God. That’s all God putting all this stuff together.”

She expressed her gratitude for God. As an educator and through her position at the Community Hope Center, Schult has discovered that many people simply need a listening ear.

She tries to be there for people and provide them encouraging words or a steady presence. This is partly why Proverbs 31:25–31 — “She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue” — means so much to her.

“That scripture, to me, is what a woman should be,” Schult said. “I don’t want to be known as somebody who layers trauma upon trauma upon trauma. I don’t want to be the educator who doesn’t understand that you slept in your car last night because your family is homeless. I need to know that. And I can’t know that unless I sit with you and I listen to you.”

As Schult meets more community members through her position at the Community Hope Center, these relationships help her develop her faith. She encourages other people to simply put their trust in God and allow Him to forgive and love you.

“Don’t make it complicated. It’s simple,” she said. “You don’t know about the crazy stuff I’ve done or said or miscommunicated. That’s what I need grace for. You can't give me grace. My family, as much as I love and trust them, they can’t give me grace. There’s only one that can actually give me grace and take away the stuff…God forgives all of it, and then, beyond that, He forgets it. That’s what’s so cool.”

Visit the official Community Hope Center website at CHCIL.org to learn more about how to receive assistance, how to donate, and upcoming fundraising events.

Watch or listen to “You’re Beautiful” with Brian Trust at 2 p.m. on Thursdays at RiverBender.com/Beautiful.

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