Bolingbrook Church Visit

I stopped in at the Bolingbrook Church this morning. What a lively congregation. They have a new pastor, Odea Sigh, who has just come to them from Fairbanks, Alaska. His sermon title was Holy Walk. It was based on the story of Enoch in the book of Genesis. He encouraged us to be strong in our walk with God.

After the service I had the opportunity to speak to a number of the members and even a few guests. They really have filled their church to capacity and are looking to add on. A large group stayed by after the service for a fellowship dinner. There was a class in the afternoon for new deacons as well as a small group Bible study.

There is something happening at that church.

Pathfinder Bible Achievement Program

One of the really fine programs of our church is the Pathfinder Bible Achievement Program. Each year children through there Pathfinder clubs participate in this event where they are tested on their Bible knowledge. The top achievers go from the local events on to the Lake Union event and eventually they can be North American Division winners. Each club has the opportunity to be a "first place club" as they compete against themselves rather than each other.

I had the privilege of attending the Southern Illinois Bible Achievement event in Marion a couple of weeks ago. The questions were all coming from the last half of the book of 2 Chronicles. I was amazed at the detailed knowledge that these young people have of their Bibles.

Concert at Central Hispanic Church

This evening I visited the Central Hispanic Church. We had a church board meeting at 6:00 p.m. but before that there was a musical program put on by the concert band and a choir from Fletcher Academy in Fletcher, North Carolina.

I thought the program was excellent, although I admit to a bias since the conductor of the band is my nephew, Greg Lindquist. Last night Pat and I had the entire group over to our house for supper. The house was full and we loved it.

The Fletcher group visited Louiville, Kentucky and Indiana Academy on their way to Chicago. Here they performed at North Shore Junior Academy, had a program with the youth group at Hinsdale Church Friday night, had the worship service for the church this morning and then the concert this evening at Central Hispanic Church.

I remember these sorts of tours from when our kids were in Academy. Lots of driving and sleeping on gym floors, etc. Great memories!

New Gurnee Church Building Project Completed

Last month the Gurnee Church moved into their new facility and had a special celebration. I wasn't able to be there that day but did get to visit them today.

Several years ago, this congregation sold their church building in Waukegan in preparation for building on the site where they have been operating a church school for many years. There have been many challenges to this project and it has taken far longer than they ever dreamed it would when they began but finally they are through with the first phase.

The new construction is attached to the school and contains a gymnasium (which serves as a gymnasium and as a worship center), restrooms, a kitchen (unfinished), and a couple of classrooms on the upper level. There is also a balcony that overlooks the gymnasium.

Larry Gill has been the Building Committee Chairman and he was all smiles today as he showed me through the facility. It has been a long road.

I was pleased to see the church full and the parking lot full. Those are good problems to have. Pastor Chris Holland preached a good sermon on living in the light.

Evangelistic Meetings in Canton

Last month I had the opportunity to conduct a two week series of evangelistic meetings in Canton, Illinois. I had a wonderful time there fellowshiping with the fine members and visiting in the homes of many people there in Canton and the territory around.

Canton is about 40 minutes south of Peoria. Geographically, it is an important church in the Illinois Conference as it stands alone in a large region of western Illinois. The church at one time was full of young families. Today that is much different. Many Sabbaths there are only 10 or 15 people in attendance.

To a certain extent, the decline of the Adventist Church mirrors the town of Canton. In the 1980's a large International Harvester manufacturing plant was shut down which led to great economic distress. It eventually was replaced by a prison as the number one employer in the community.

A Day With the Sheridan Church

I enjoyed this beautiful Sabbath with the Sheridan Church. Many months ago Steve Bell asked if I would come and preach in the morning and then go with a group of the members to the Seventh-day Adventist Church booth at the Sandwich Fair in the afternoon.

We had a fine time worshiping in the morning. I particularly was blessed by the music shared by a mother and her two young daughters. After the Sabbath School and the worship service we all made our way over to the Sheridan School for a delicious fellowship lunch.

After lunch was over I followed Steve Bell over to the Sandwich Fair Grounds to visit their booth. On an average day there are at least 100,000 people in attendance at this fair. This is the 101st year of this large fair. They told me that the Seventh-day Adventist Church has had a booth at the fair for a half a century.

I was amazed at the number of people who stopped by to pick up pieces of the abundant literature that was available in the booth. Kids from the church passed out balloons to young children that passed with their parents. The balloons said "Jesus Loves Me" on one side and the other side had printed TE4J.com which is a website which Steve Bell developed. TE4J stands for Touch Every 1 For Jesus. Have you ever heard of that?

One lady who stopped by the booth identified herself as a member of a church in Villa Park which is in the western suburbs of Chicago. She said that she often drives by our Addison Romanian Church on Saturdays and admires the dress of the members as they come and go from worship services. She wondered how they might influence the members of her church. She proudly told me that her great-grandmother was Romanian.

Another lady who stopped by told me all about her recent visit to Israel. She also told me of all the deaths and illnesses that have been plaguing her family. We were able to share together the joy and hope of our faith that sees us through difficult times.

I was so pleased to see all of the members from Sheridan and other area Seventh-day Adventist churches who have committed their time to be present in their community with a faithful witness. I was also happy to see how open many of the people were to stopping in to share a spiritual conversation. It was a great day! Steve, thanks for inviting me.

Visit to Gurnee School

Today I met up with Chris Holland, pastor of the Gurnee Seventh-day Adventist Church, for a tour of their school and the construction project on their new multi-purpose building.

I was pleased to learn that enrollment is up by 17 students this year over last. The place was really humming. The teachers seemed to be very engaged in their work and the students seemed to be into their programs.

The Gurnee Church is in the process of building a new gymnasium. Half of that building will be used as a church auditorium until they are able to build a sanctuary in the next phase of their development program. It looks like occupancy will be sometime late in November.

Recently, I attended a church board meeting for the Gurnee Church. I was impressed with the harmony on that board and the commitment to the mission of the church. I think the Gurnee Church has the potential to be the flagship Adventist congregation for the northern suburbs of Chicago.

Akita Campmeeting Day 1

It is the end of the first full day of Akita Campmeeting. While this gathering is always small, the number of people seems to have grown some from last year.

Our main speakers are Elder Dan Matthews and Dr. Lael Caesar. Dan Matthews is the former speaker/director of Faith For Today. In his retirement he is ministering on the pastoral staff of the Loma Linda University Church in California. Tonight he told Charles Sheldon's story, In His Steps. He focused us on the question, What would Jesus do?

Dr. Lael Caesar is a professor of religion at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. He is speaking to us from the book of Job.

All of us have assigned responsibilities. One of mine today was driving around in the security golf cart. I told people that I was playing to my strengths, driving around and talking to people.

It was a good day.

Rock Falls

Last Sabbath I preached at the Rock Falls Church. It was good to be with this congregation. The last time I was there was to conduct the funeral for my friend, Brad Lewis, who died in a scuba diving accident last year. Last week's visit was a much happier one.

The members of the church are rightfully proud of their newly renovated kitchen. We had a wonderful meal together following the worship service.

Tony Hunter is the pastor of the Rock Falls Church. He also has the Savannah and Moline Churches. This young man is a two time cancer survivor.

Visit to North Hispanic Church

I had a wonderful Sabbath today with the members of the North Hispanic Church. There was a tribute to fathers in celebration of Father's Day. They really did a nice job. We also had some wonderful music - Josh and Kimberly Rosales and a member named Perez from the Southshore Hispanic Church in the Lake Region Conference.

At lunch I learned that Pastor Rosales's first name, Rodolfo, means wolf. So he is now and forever will be remembered by me as the "Lone Wolf".

On the way home from church I was stopped in traffic for a Puerto Rican pride parade Division Street. When I went to start my car, the battery was dead. I love AAA.

Springfield School Groundbreaking

Springfield Church members showed up in force for the groundbreaking of their new school building on Sunday, June 8. The new building will contain classrooms, a gymnasium and a kitchen. The community around the church and school are pleased to have this addition to the complex. The church sees this as an opportunity to provide additional services to the community.

Local print and television news media covered the groundbreaking.