Grace Presbyterian Church (Peoria, Illinois)
Grace Presbyterian Church is a Protestant congregation located in Peoria, Illinois. The church's 1,700 members are currently affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America.[1]
History
Initially called the Fourth Ward Mission School, Grace Presbyterian was founded in 1862 as a Sunday School for area youth. It was associated with the Old School Presbyterian Church,[2] which identified with Calvinist Orthodoxy and emphasized education over revivalism.
D.W. McWilliams, the first superintendent, was a prominent railroad man who had relocated from New York to Peoria. He was able to secure a passenger rail coach to use as a meeting place. The school started with 19 children.
In 1868, the group organized as a church, taking the name Grace Presbyterian.[3]
The first permanent location at Wayne Street and Madison Avenue was destroyed by fire in 1890. However, the congregation continued worshiping on Peoria's "near north-side" for several generations.
During the Great Depression the church dwindled and barely survived due to financial difficulties.[4] The congregation voted to remain open by a single vote.
In 1957, the church moved to what would become a well-known location, the corner of Knoxville Ave. and Forrest Hill Ave.
The church experienced large and sustained growth throughout the 1960s, 70s and 80s under the leadership of Dr. Bruce Dunn. It was during this time that the church first gained widespread recognition - via Dunn's Sunday morning radio broadcast, "The Grace Worship Hour".
In 1981, the church voted unanimously to disaffiliate with the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. A congenial departure agreement allowed Grace Presbyterian to leave the denominational alliance without sacrificing property ownership rights. In 1982, after exploring several options, the church Session voted to join the Presbyterian Church in America.[5]
Education and Sunday School continue to be an important focus of the church, which moved to its current 60 acre campus in 2010.
Recent story
New campus
In 2010, under the leadership of Ben Johnston, the church built a new 110,000 square foot facility - containing worship space, classrooms, recreational and administrative areas. Based on five years of planning and discussion, the auditorium style worship center features theater seating and studio quality lighting.
Once known for its conservative and orderly mode of protestant worship, the congregation retained some traditional elements from the former building. The DeCou organ and the chapel stained glass, for example, were transferred from the previous building.[6]
A standing room only crowd opened the new sanctuary with great fan fare and no vocal opposition on October 10, 2010. The 1,600 seat sanctuary is situated within a 60 acre campus on Peoria's far northwest side.[7] Peoria's NBC affiliate (WEEK TV-25) continues to broadcast Sunday morning worship as they have since 1972.
According to the executive director the previous church structure was out-dated and ill-suited for the church's growing slate of programs.[8] Additionally, parking and safety had become a serious concern. Congregants who parked in an overflow lot were forced to cross a busy intersection in order to worship.
Leadership
Partial list of Ministers
| Dr. Bryan Chapell | 2013 | current |
| Dr. Ben Johnston | 2000 | 2013 |
| Rev. John Queen | 1993 | 2000 |
| Dr. Bruce Dunn | 1951 | 1991 |
Doctrine
Grace Presbyterian adheres to the Westminster Confession of Faith, subordinate to the Bible. The church emphasizes the following doctrines:[9]
- The Bible is the written word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and without error in the original manuscript
- The Holy Trinity
- The sinfulness and hopelessness of mankind in its natural state
- The graciousness and faithfulness of God towards his people
- Salvation comes from God alone as he sovereignly chooses those He will save
- The Holy Spirit indwells God's people to give them strength and wisdom
- Jesus is the eternal Son of God
- All aspects of life are for the Glory of God under the leadership of Jesus
- Jesus will return bodily and visibly, to judge all mankind and to receive His people to Himself
References
- ↑ "Presbyterian Churches in America". Stat.pcanet.org. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ↑ http://tb.history.pcusa.org/dbtw-wpd/Textbase5/Halls_WebQuery.htm. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ http://catalog.history.pcusa.org/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=20533&query_desc=kw%2Cwrdl%3A%20peoria%20and%20kw%2Cwrdl%3A%20Grace%20presbyterian. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ "Grace Presbyterian Church". Gracepres.org. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ↑ "Grace Presbyterian (PCA) in Peoria, IL to move into new building on October 10". Theaquilareport.com. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ↑ "Peoria Area Houses of Worship- October 15, 2013".
- ↑ "What's going on here?". Journal Star. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ↑ "New Grace Presbyterian Church". Cinewsnow.com. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ↑ "Grace Presbyterian Church Statement of Faith". Gracepres.org. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
External links
Coordinates: 40°47′42″N 89°40′12″W / 40.795°N 89.670°W