Glen Ellyn neighbors hope to save church

Normally, it's churches that work to save others. But in Glen Ellyn, neighbors are rallying to save a local church.

The church at 625 Hillside Ave. was once Glen Ellyn Gospel Church, neighbors said. About five years ago, it became Christ Church. Last September, Saul Ebema became its pastor.

At one time, the Sudanese man watched his parents slaughtered by soldiers in his war-torn homeland. His brother was killed while the pair tried to escape being forced to fight with the same soldiers who killed their parents. Those losses began the journey that eventually would bring him to the United States, like so many other "Lost Boys" of Sudan.

Finding a haven in refugee camps, Ebema was saved a second time by earning a bachelor's degree at a seminary in Johannesburg. Once in America, Ebema attended seminary in Lombard and attended Christ Church while studying for a master's degree in divinity.

But now Ebema, or more accurately, his church, needs saving one more time.

Christ Church does not own the building its services are hosted in or the land the church sits on. That's owned by Believers Stewardship Services, a not-for-profit based in Dubuque, Iowa.

Christ Church has held what amounts to a rent-to-own contract with the not-for-profit. But low totals in the collection plate have left the church unable to make its payments for about eight months.

Now a developer has a new contract with Believers Stewardship Services. The plan would build a Montessori school where the church now stands, if the village grants the developers a special-use permit.

That's a vote Steve Horvath won't stand for. He and his fellow neighbors don't want a Montessori school in their neighborhood. What they want is the church they forgot about and the pastor with the remarkable past they're just getting to know.

"No one knew the church was struggling," Horvath said. "When we found out about the school, everyone kind of went, 'Wait a second.' We don't want to see the property modified."

Stopping that will take some loud voices and several "no" votes on the village board. If the developers don't get permission to build the school, or come up with some other plan by Feb. 15, the contract they have with Believers Stewardship Services expires.

Of course, that still leaves the problem of Christ Church being broke.

Horvath said that's not an issue anymore. He believes there are several solutions.

One answer involves selling one of the two lots the church sits on, cutting the debt in half. Then, neighbors would set up a not-for-profit for the church to back financing secured with a lender.

The alternative would be for some other church to move in.

Ebema said he's already been in contact with the Glen Ellyn Park District to find a place to continue services if the church loses its building.

"We really do not have any other place," Ebema said. "I'm afraid that the church might close. Nobody wants to be in a place that is not permanent."

Ebema will host an open house at the church this Sunday in hopes of rallying as many residents as possible into signing onto the plan Horvath and his neighbors have created.

The next step will be creating a group large and loud enough to convince the village board.

Open house

What: Christ Church open house

When: 4 p.m. Sunday

Where: Christ Church, 625 Hillside Ave., Glen Ellyn

For information: Write Pastor Saul Ebema, ebemasaul@hotmail.com