Highpoint Church merging with First Baptist Wheaton
Highpoint Church, already with locations in Naperville, North Aurora and Bolingbrook, will relaunch First Baptist Wheaton as its fourth location effective Sunday, Sept. 9.
The change comes on the heels of the retirement of Senior Pastor Mike Rowe, who provided 16 years of leadership at First Baptist Wheaton.
On May 14, First Baptist voted to become part of the 18-year-old, nondenominational Highpoint Church with an eye toward their shared mission of spreading the gospel.
"I knew if I were ever to see a drastic change in the impact that First Baptist Wheaton is having on the people of this community, it would be by merging with Highpoint Church," lifelong First Baptist member Jim Whitmer said.
Continuing its multisite model for ministry, Highpoint now will be in four suburban locations.
"It's not necessarily about people taking a step toward us at our original location in Naperville," Highpoint Senior Pastor Ron Zappia said. "It's about us taking a step toward people in their community - where they live, work and worship.
"This is why we believe in the multisite model. We want to meet people where they are and help them believe in, belong to and become like Jesus. That's why we exist."
"This is the new normal for healthy, outreach-oriented churches," said Highpoint Teaching Pastor Ed Stetzer, who also serves as executive director of the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism at Wheaton College and executive editor of the Christian leadership magazine Facts & Trends.
"We desire to show and share the love of Jesus at all of our locations, and that's certainly true of the Wheaton location as well."
For those living in Wheaton and surrounding communities, the new campus will provide a remodeled auditorium that can accommodate concerts and events; the Toddlers Campus preschool, offering quality educational programming for children ages 2½ to 6; and a strong partnership with local organizations focused on caring for refugees in DuPage County.
Highpoint Church's central offices are at 1805 High Point Drive in Naperville. For service times and more information, visit www.highpoint.church. Live online streaming also is available.