History
The Short Version of Our Story:
Church in the Loop is a new and growing church in the heart of Chicago’s downtown. In 2010, God led Brian Evans and his family to Chicago from Columbia, Missouri to start a church planting movement.
A church planting movement is based on the idea of starting multiple churches that in turn start new churches (that repeat this cycle over and over again). It's one thing to go and start a new church. It's another to prayerfully pursue a church planting movement.
Our vision is to plant churches all along the ‘L’ of the Chicago subway system. So this means that each line of the system would be a family of churches networking together, helping each other with various mission projects and outreaches, and sharing members and leaders with one another.
The first church of this vision, Church in the Loop, was established on St. Patrick's Day in March of 2013. It is located in the heart of downtown Chicago on the south side of the Loop at 24 E. Congress Parkway (Hostelling International, 2nd Floor) near the Jackson Red Line stop. Sunday services start at 11:00 a.m. and typically go to about 12:30.
The Long Version of Our Story*:
Brian was serving on staff at Calvary Baptist Church in Columbia, Missouri and everything was on track for a long ministry with a caring congregation that had seen his wife grow up in that church. Somewhere along the way, Brian got to be friends with Robert Goette, one of the pioneers in church planting for the Chicago area and leading staff members of the Chicago Metro Baptist Association (CMBA). For five years, Robert would call Brian and ask him to seriously pray and consider church planting in the Chicago area. Brian would pray, but God never seemed to give a green light about it, even though Brian has always felt a call to pursue church planting.
In 2010, Brian and Beth decided to celebrate their anniversary by taking a trip up to Chicago and also have a chance to visit with Robert and his family. The visit was awesome, and something unexpected happened on the drive home.
On the drive back to Missouri, God spoke to Brian and gave him a vision for church planting in Chicago. It was a simple idea: plant multiple churches along the subway system (called the "L"). He shared the idea with Beth and they just began praying about it and the timing of when to pursue it.
After a few weeks went by (this is in January of 2010), they felt the call was for that summer. So they shared it with their two sons, Josiah and Matthan. At the time, Josiah was a Sophomore in High School and Matthan was in his 8th grade year. Both boys were open to the idea of moving and starting over somewhere new, and they agreed that if God was really calling them that the best thing would be to take a leap of faith and move forward with it.
In the following Spring (2010), Brian and Beth shared the news with their church that God was calling the family to Chicago as church planters. The church was sad to lose them, but also excited that God was calling them to such a monumental task. They gave Brian and his family their full blessing to pursue God's will in Chicago.
And so in the summer of 2010, after having a garage sale, the Evans family packed what they had left into a U-Haul and drove up to the apartment they had found on Craigslist. It was in Evanston, and at the time they weren't really sure why God had called them to "land" in Evanston.
Both of the boys attended Evanston Township High School (ETHS), and made new friends in the process. They adapted extremely well, and consider the Chicago area their favorite place to live (the Evans family has lived in a lot of places over the years!).
A home-based Bible study group was started called "North Shore Crossing". The hope was that this small group would grow into a congregation, who could then begin the process of fulfilling the vision that God initially gave: To plant churches all along the L of Chicago. However, as things go, people come and people go. Students come, and then they graduate and move on. And so after about three years of trial and error, of ups and downs together, the group decided to disband after it had dwindled down to just one or two people.
Brian learned a lot about ministry in that setting. Trying to start a church planting movement in a home setting in America is extremely difficult and counter-cultural. Most people were excited to hear about a new church, but were reluctant to attend one in a home. It was just too far off the conventional "radar screen" of people's minds.
So what was the next step? Was it all over?
Brian knew that God had given him a vision for Chicago -- and it wasn't going away. So he and Beth continued to pray and seek the Lord.
In the meantime, God had done some wonderful things for their two sons. Josiah had received a full-ride scholarship to Northwestern University to study Computer Science. And that was partly because he attended ETHS, which has a special community relationship with Northwestern. And Matthan has become a leader in the youth group at Evanston Vineyard, even helping to lead worship with his guitar.
God spoke to Brian again, reconfirming the call and giving new direction. In prayerful Bible study, one day God used the story of Saul's conversion to give new direction. Jesus had told Saul (to be renamed Paul), that he was to go into the city and he would be told what to do when he got there. When Brian read these verses, it was like the words just lept off the page and into his heart. God was telling him the same thing: to go into the heart of Chicago and plant a flag for the Gospel.
So he began a weekly Bible study that still meets every Wednesday at the Corner Bakery downtown (35 E. Monroe), and people started coming. It grew into a mini-family of sorts, and when Brian shared his desire to start a church in the heart of downtown that would give birth to new churches all along the L, several of the participants were interested in being a part of it.
And so in March of 2013, on St. Patrick's Day, Church in the Loop was born. This is our story, and we are excited to see all that God has in store for us. Is He calling you to join with us and help? We hope so because we cannot do this alone.
*There's an even longer version, but it would require a cup of coffee with Brian and Beth to really soak it in... :-)
Church in the Loop is a new and growing church in the heart of Chicago’s downtown. In 2010, God led Brian Evans and his family to Chicago from Columbia, Missouri to start a church planting movement.
A church planting movement is based on the idea of starting multiple churches that in turn start new churches (that repeat this cycle over and over again). It's one thing to go and start a new church. It's another to prayerfully pursue a church planting movement.
Our vision is to plant churches all along the ‘L’ of the Chicago subway system. So this means that each line of the system would be a family of churches networking together, helping each other with various mission projects and outreaches, and sharing members and leaders with one another.
The first church of this vision, Church in the Loop, was established on St. Patrick's Day in March of 2013. It is located in the heart of downtown Chicago on the south side of the Loop at 24 E. Congress Parkway (Hostelling International, 2nd Floor) near the Jackson Red Line stop. Sunday services start at 11:00 a.m. and typically go to about 12:30.
The Long Version of Our Story*:
Brian was serving on staff at Calvary Baptist Church in Columbia, Missouri and everything was on track for a long ministry with a caring congregation that had seen his wife grow up in that church. Somewhere along the way, Brian got to be friends with Robert Goette, one of the pioneers in church planting for the Chicago area and leading staff members of the Chicago Metro Baptist Association (CMBA). For five years, Robert would call Brian and ask him to seriously pray and consider church planting in the Chicago area. Brian would pray, but God never seemed to give a green light about it, even though Brian has always felt a call to pursue church planting.
In 2010, Brian and Beth decided to celebrate their anniversary by taking a trip up to Chicago and also have a chance to visit with Robert and his family. The visit was awesome, and something unexpected happened on the drive home.
On the drive back to Missouri, God spoke to Brian and gave him a vision for church planting in Chicago. It was a simple idea: plant multiple churches along the subway system (called the "L"). He shared the idea with Beth and they just began praying about it and the timing of when to pursue it.
After a few weeks went by (this is in January of 2010), they felt the call was for that summer. So they shared it with their two sons, Josiah and Matthan. At the time, Josiah was a Sophomore in High School and Matthan was in his 8th grade year. Both boys were open to the idea of moving and starting over somewhere new, and they agreed that if God was really calling them that the best thing would be to take a leap of faith and move forward with it.
In the following Spring (2010), Brian and Beth shared the news with their church that God was calling the family to Chicago as church planters. The church was sad to lose them, but also excited that God was calling them to such a monumental task. They gave Brian and his family their full blessing to pursue God's will in Chicago.
And so in the summer of 2010, after having a garage sale, the Evans family packed what they had left into a U-Haul and drove up to the apartment they had found on Craigslist. It was in Evanston, and at the time they weren't really sure why God had called them to "land" in Evanston.
Both of the boys attended Evanston Township High School (ETHS), and made new friends in the process. They adapted extremely well, and consider the Chicago area their favorite place to live (the Evans family has lived in a lot of places over the years!).
A home-based Bible study group was started called "North Shore Crossing". The hope was that this small group would grow into a congregation, who could then begin the process of fulfilling the vision that God initially gave: To plant churches all along the L of Chicago. However, as things go, people come and people go. Students come, and then they graduate and move on. And so after about three years of trial and error, of ups and downs together, the group decided to disband after it had dwindled down to just one or two people.
Brian learned a lot about ministry in that setting. Trying to start a church planting movement in a home setting in America is extremely difficult and counter-cultural. Most people were excited to hear about a new church, but were reluctant to attend one in a home. It was just too far off the conventional "radar screen" of people's minds.
So what was the next step? Was it all over?
Brian knew that God had given him a vision for Chicago -- and it wasn't going away. So he and Beth continued to pray and seek the Lord.
In the meantime, God had done some wonderful things for their two sons. Josiah had received a full-ride scholarship to Northwestern University to study Computer Science. And that was partly because he attended ETHS, which has a special community relationship with Northwestern. And Matthan has become a leader in the youth group at Evanston Vineyard, even helping to lead worship with his guitar.
God spoke to Brian again, reconfirming the call and giving new direction. In prayerful Bible study, one day God used the story of Saul's conversion to give new direction. Jesus had told Saul (to be renamed Paul), that he was to go into the city and he would be told what to do when he got there. When Brian read these verses, it was like the words just lept off the page and into his heart. God was telling him the same thing: to go into the heart of Chicago and plant a flag for the Gospel.
So he began a weekly Bible study that still meets every Wednesday at the Corner Bakery downtown (35 E. Monroe), and people started coming. It grew into a mini-family of sorts, and when Brian shared his desire to start a church in the heart of downtown that would give birth to new churches all along the L, several of the participants were interested in being a part of it.
And so in March of 2013, on St. Patrick's Day, Church in the Loop was born. This is our story, and we are excited to see all that God has in store for us. Is He calling you to join with us and help? We hope so because we cannot do this alone.
*There's an even longer version, but it would require a cup of coffee with Brian and Beth to really soak it in... :-)