Relocation Statement

Article 8 of 8 from the Special Documents series

August 1999 - On August 3, 1999 the elders voted unanimously that we should stay in Oak Park. Our reasoning is as follows: We believe God called us to this village 84 years ago and we believe that call remains in force today. We recognize that Oak Park is a unique village with a national reputation. We believe Oak Park needs our witness for the gospel. God has given us a strategic location and a platform for impacting all of Chicago and the nation and the world.

Part of this decision means accepting the fact that we live in crowded conditions. While we would all like more room to grow, more parking, and more green space, we have consciously chosen to stay in Oak Park for the foreseeable future. In the past few months we have looked at other possible locations and find none that would enable us to fulfill God’s call in the same way as our current location. We understand that deciding not to relocate will involve major challenges regarding the expansion of our current facilities. And it may be mean that we will not grow as fast as we would if we moved to another community, bought a large piece of property and built a larger building.

We realize that people drive great distances to attend our church and we know that people outside Oak Park may not feel the same attachment to this village that we do. Nevertheless, this is our call and we reaffirm our desire to stay in this village at this location for the foreseeable future until God clearly calls us to do something else.