- 160 Johnson Ave, Sycamore, IL 60178
History
1835: First services were held in homes, they were living in pioneer days which were demanding, rugged and hard. Their faith did not falter nor fail. The first sermon preached by a lay preacher in 1836 the text was “Have Faith In God)” services were held in School House until 1845.
1845: moved services to Sycamore’s first courthouse. The town had few inhabitants, but intoxicants were being sold so it became a gathering place for many undesirables. The Church began holding revival services with people coming from near and far to hear the Word of God and a large number of converts were won for God and the Church.
1847-1908: The first of several Church Buildings were built as they never stopped growing in numbers and spiritual growth. In 1855 the Church conducted one of the greatest Revivals of its long history and over a hundred people were converted. Several young men of the community were directly influenced by these meetings to enter the Christian ministry.
1908: The church on Somonauk Street built a Sanctuary, the Gymnasium was added in 1923. It was stated that they needed to use the physical to attract people to an interest in Spiritual things.
1950: Second floor added to the gym. This was added because of the increase in Church School attendance and to provide space for youth activities. A Chapel was also added at this time.
1960: The Church membership had grown to 1350 members and was running out of space limiting today’s needs, particularly in the areas of education, worship, music, and fellowship. Also, the building needed a lot of repairs as well as too many long stairways. A building program was formed called “Our Faith in The Future”, beginning a fund to build a new Church. This building would provide for future growth and express renewed witness to the presence of God in the life of our congregation in this community.
The church at that time was fortunate to have faithful giving members. A lot of Dekalb Ag Stock was given to the church over the years by members. This stock became quite valuable in the 70’s, when the stock was sold it became the seed money for the new church building. In fact, the church council meeting became more about when to sell the stock than about the programs of the church.
Leaving the old church building and building a new church did not come without controversy. There was one couple who left the church because of the building project, however in later years returned because they had health issues and needed to attend a church that had no steps. They ended up paying off the final mortgage. God works in mysteries ways. The old church was sold and torn down and became what is now the city parking lot on Somonauk Street. The projected cost of the new church $1,200,000.00
On January 27, 1977 the first service was held in the current building on Johnson Avenue. It was built with Plans to Meet the Needs of Today and Tomorrow. The key features: all on one floor, enough space for current and future activities of the church. Also provided convenient parking and outdoor space for activities and future expansion. The sanctuary was built to foster a sense of intimacy and close fellowship. The window symbolizes the Holy Spirit. A dove etched in the glass symbolizes the Holy Spirit at Jesus’ baptism. The flames symbolize the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Beyond the window are the three crosses symbolic of Calvary and Jesus’ crucifixion. Seeing out the window reminds us to not to forget the world and it cares.
In 1993 a Joel Committee was formed as an outgrowth of the committee it was recommended that we needed more space for the growing activities of the church. A task force was formed and determined what the addition should include: which are, remodeling and modernization, storage, new reception area, additional office space, classroom/washroom/education/workroom/new entrance for preschool/mothers-day out/more parking/food pantry and gym storage/larger multi-purpose space. A building committee was formed and began the process of fund raising and planning. The groundbreaking was held in the Spring Of 1999 and was completed by the fall of 2000. The projected cost of $1,750,000.00. This building and the addition have provided the needs for the growing activities of this congregation well. However, they are just bricks and mortar, the importance of any building is the people who make this a viable church.