One church closes, another one starts in Elgin
One church closed its doors after 17 years while another one is getting off the ground and building a congregation, both in downtown Elgin.
Family Life Church at 270 E. Chicago St. closed after a final breakfast gathering earlier this month, while Elgin City Church at 51 S. Spring St. is starting monthly "preview" services Sunday, ahead of its official launch in February. Both are nondenominational Christian churches.
It was simply time for Family Life Church to close, said Pastor Bob Whitt of South Elgin.
"It wasn't about finances. It wasn't some theological issue. It wasn't that the church was divided. Sometimes God just says it's time to stop."
The church elders considered looking for new leadership for the congregation of 75 or so members, but decided closing made more sense, Whitt said. "If anyone ever wants to know how to dissolve a church in a very positive way ... I think we really did it."
Whitt said he will remain involved with the Elgin community, including through an initiative he helped get off the ground last year designed to build positive relationships between police and the community.
Family Life Church was in the Eagle's Nest building, which dates to 1871 and is for sale without a listed price, said Realtor Bob Kopp of Roman Realty Group in St. Charles.
"We are putting the word out that the building is available, and trying to see what type of offers come," Kopp said. "It's very important (to Whitt) to see another church with a vision and a heart for the community, to continue to minister to the community."
Meanwhile, Rusty Wimberly, founder and senior leader of Elgin City Church, is holding the church's first preview service at 11 a.m. Sunday. The church has been holding gatherings for a few months.
It's not easy to operate a church while spending money for the upkeep of a building, which is one of the reasons Elgin City Church meets at Olá la! Ijorere, a multipurpose event space on the first floor of Elgin Artspace Lofts, Wimberly said.
The new church takes a youthful, fresh approach to faith in order to make "what you hear on Sunday relevant on Tuesday," said Wimberly, 38, a native of Mount Prospect who has a degree in biblical studies from Judson University. He lives in Elgin with his wife, Sarah, and their young daughter.
"I love the Bible, and I love helping people grow in their relationship with God," he said.
Wimberly, who works full time as a web designer, said he was introduced to the church by a neighbor at age 8. As a child raised by a single mother, he could have easily gotten in trouble, dropped out of high school or even ended up in jail, he said. "I attribute where I am today to my faith and the relationships I had in the church," he said.
Elgin City Church is all about being among people, which is why its current space - with a full view of the street from floor-to-ceiling windows - is perfect, Wimberly said. The hope is that the church will expand into multiple, but still small, groups throughout Elgin in the next couple of years, he said. "We are not here to gather just for ourselves. We are here to be an expansion of life into our community."