John Green

Emmaus Ministries was first conceptualized by John Green while he was working as a full-time volunteer with the Covenant House Faith Community in New York City in 1986. During his two years there, he developed an interest in ministering to young people on the streets, particularly the young adult men involved in prostitution. John further developed his interests and gifts in street ministry during the summer of 1989, when he spent time working with homeless and runaway youth on the streets of Guatemala City and Mexico City.

John continued working among young homeless adults when he returned to the Chicago area in the fall of 1989 to complete his BA in Christian Education at Wheaton College. Each week John would travel from the western suburbs of Chicago into the city to spend a night or two on the streets reaching out to young homeless men. As he had in New York, Guatemala, and Mexico, John built relationships with these men, most of whom were involved in prostitution.

While working with these men (known on the streets as "hustlers"), John developed a clear understanding of the particular needs of Chicago's young adult homeless population. Through conversations with hustlers and social service providers, John saw the severe need for long term support for this particular population of the homeless; thus Emmaus Ministries was born. John immediately began to pursue funding, administrative consultation and support for this vision, and in November of 1990 Emmaus Ministries was officially incorporated as a nonprofit ministry.

John completed an MA in Educational Ministries from Wheaton College Graduate School in 1992, and in 1998 he earned a Certificate in Non-Profit Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago. John was selected as one of "Tomorrow's Leaders Today" by the Public Allies organization in 1994 and was ordained to the Permanent Diaconate in the Catholic Church in May of 2002. In May of 2004, the Diaconate Community of the Archdiocese of Chicago presented "The Shared Ministry Award" to John and Carolyn Green "for witness of diaconate ministry following from a partnership of love and service to others." In the fall of 2004, John was awarded the "Local Hero Award" from the Bank of America, which included a $5,000 donation to the work of Emmaus. In 2006, Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., Archbishop of Chicago, nominated and sponsored John in the 2007 Fellows Class of Leadership Greater Chicago. Also in 2007, the Association of Chicago Priests recognized the work of Emmaus by presenting John the "Coordinating Board Award" at their annual dinner.

Besides Carolyn's primary work of being a full-time mom to four children, she is an accomplished singer/songwriter with five independent releases. She and her music partner Mike Choby perform under the name GreenChoby (www.greenchoby.com) throughout the Midwest and their music often reflects the stories and lives of the men Emmaus serves.

The Green's work has been featured in radio and TV on EWTN's Life on The Rock Show, the 700 Club, Moody Radio's Midday Connection, Focus On The Family, Relevant Radio, Catholic Answers Live!, PAX TV's Primary Focus Show, and Decision Radio Today.

The work of Emmaus has also been featured in various magazines and newspapers including: Today's Christian, The Chicago Tribune, Citizen Magazine, Religion Journal Online, The Texas Catholic Herald, Moody Student Magazine, New Covenant Magazine, The Covenant Companion, This Rock, Taylor University Magazine, The Christian Reader, Envoy Magazine, Wheaton Alumni Magazine, The Catholic New World, RE-Generation Quarterly, Christianity Today, Power For Living, Streetwise Newspaper, Cornerstone Magazine, The Rockford Observer, Superior Catholic Herald, Dupage News Press, Aurora Beacon News, and Akron Beacon Journal.

John and his wife Carolyn have three sons, Jonathan Paul (9), Daniel Logan (7), Peter Garrett (5) and a baby daughter, Claire Joelle (3). The Green Family currently lives in Silver Lake Ohio where they attend Holy Family Parish in Stow.

Recently, the Green's decided to remain in Ohio permanently. This has led to John resigning his employment with Emmaus Ministries and he now serves in a voluntary capacity as "Counsel to the Board."