our story begins in a chapel
service of Trinity International University where a student
named Joe Basile had a vision to see people giving people
a chance to hear, accept and be transformed by a relationship
with Jesus. he wrote this vision down in the back of his bible
and made a deal with God to become a lead pastor of a church
that was about people giving people a chance. at the time
his focus was on finishing school; however, Joe never forgot
the deal he made with God.
...people
giving people a chance to hear, accept and be transformed
by a relationship with
Jesus...
fast forward five years and two amazing youth ministry
experiences later to the fall of 2003. Joe was reminded of
his covenant with God. he immediately began his job search
for a lead pastor position. but who would hire him?
at this time Joe had tattoos, planned to get more and
was willing to push the envelope — even if it meant
making people angry — as long as the name of Jesus was
being proclaimed and God was being glorified. after a handful
of rejections from established churches in need of a lead
pastor, God brought Joe to the Midwest Baptist Conference
(MBC), a division of the Baptist General Conference (BGC).
the MBC, an association of churches that are passionate about
church planting, took Joe through their church planters’ boot
camp and told him that he would make a great church planter.
as a result of the new-found support and backing of the
MBC, Joe started the process of putting together a launch
team to start a new and radically different church … the Church
in Lombard. it was January of 2004 when a small group of 20
young adults who loved God met together and laid the groundwork
for the church. shortly thereafter, sunday night services
were held in the gymnasium of Madison Elementary School along
with the basketball hoops, gym mats on the walls and a fifteen-foot
totem pole that never really seemed to make any sense.
the official launch and birthday of the Church in Lombard
was September 17, 2004. God was and has continued to be good
to this church as we’ve seen many people give their lives
to Jesus and many being baptized in the name of the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit.
moving on to October of 2005, the church picked up and
moved to the Northgate Theatres at the northwest end of town.
prior to our arrival, the facility had been rehabbed and turned
into a teen night club/skate park with one theatre being left
untouched. using the theatre and hallways, we had tons of
space for ministry, but the ambience was something else all
together. what … red lights, black walls and blacked-out windows
aren’t good atmosphere for a church?
...regardless
of our surroundings we saw God continue to
move...
regardless of our surroundings, we saw God continue to
move; he was effective in our faithfulness.
one year later, we made yet another shift in our location.
close your eyes and think of an image of the classic church
building. that image that you have in your head is the building
that we moved into. we left the concrete and flourescent lights
of the theatre and found ourselves surrounded by the soft
wood and stained-glass windows of the historic Maple Street
Chapel in downtown Lombard. until recently that is where you
could find us every sunday, proclaiming God’s word and singing
praises to His name.
we now find ourselves settling
into new digs which will allow us the room and freedom to
grow until we find a permanent location. the move in August
brought us to the Marcus Theatres in Addison — just
east of the intersection of route 53 and lake street —
and due to the fact we will no longer be meeting in Lombard,
we changed our name to simply … the church.
we may not know the future of the church with regards
to physical buildings, but we do know this: God has been,
is now and forever will be effective in the lives of his children:
your family, your friends, your neighbors, your co-workers,
your community. we are about people giving people a chance
to hear, accept and be transformed by a relationship with
Jesus.