Greater Chicago Church

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About Us

Who we are

Here's the deal, we are GCC - dynamic, passionate and spirit-filled - hosting His Presence, developing leaders and impacting communities are what we focus on. GCC is a family of individuals that have found hope in Jesus, and simply want as many people as possible to experience the same freedom and transformation.

Where we come from

Greater Chicago Church is non-denominational and was birthed and named in 2008. Yet this community of faith was established and foundationally rooted many years before. We consider ourselves a people of legacy, building upon the generations of believers that have provided a place to worship and have helped to shape our beliefs in the goodness of God. GCC is a community that is fashioned around the presence of God. Honor and freedom in all contexts are deeply important to our core values and to how we worship. We believe that we are a people that have been crafted in the image of our God and it is our pleasure to live like Jesus.

Where we're headed

As a church community, we are committed to becoming more like Jesus. We welcome everyone who is on a similar journey and would consider it a privilege to walk out this process together. In pursuit of the presence of Holy Spirit, we believe that you will find family and encounter the loving power of God. GCC has a desire to impact our local communities as well as Chicagoland with the love of a good God and the transformative power that comes from living out a supernatural lifestyle. Our worship and our pursuit of the miraculous are the hallmarks of who we are and how we love to partner with what God is doing within community. Transformation starts within us and our heart is to steward that while being committed to providing a safe place where you will grow and develop.

What this means for you

What does this mean for you? Most importantly, you are always welcome at GCC. We're saving a seat for you. Wherever you are in your faith journey, you'll always be accepted as part of the GCC family. Beyond that, if you're ready to plan your first visit, click here or if you'd like to get in touch with a person on staff, click the button below.
CONTACT US

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Matthew 6:10

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Looking at Women in Scripture in a new light helps Looking at Women in Scripture in a new light helps us see more clearly the image of the Divine in them and us. Join us on FB live, YouTube or in person at 10:00a Sundays.
#StoriesMatter #BlackHistory #MoreThanAMonth⠀
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Belena is making black history as a professional costumer. She started attending DePaul University with focus in communication. While there she realized her passion was design and enrolled in The International School fo Design where she was encouraged to pursue the speciality of costuming by a professor. She considers herself a Type A costumer which means she loves to dream, create, construct, research as well as script all aspects of backstage costume changes for live theater, it is a job that requires creativity and excellent communication. ⠀
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Belena learned more than communication at DePaul. While there she became very involved in creating a Black Student Activities group that became quite a force on campus. The school administration was compelled to hire non-Catholic ministers, a gospel choir was started and so was a performance dance group. These groups connected with similar groups at other local universities, such as Northwestern, but also with schools out of the Chicago area such as U of I and ISU. They also partnered with Latino groups who faced similar racial discrimination on campuses. Not only did Belena leave her stamp on ⠀
DePaul, but she learned how to network and build relationships.⠀
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Since graduation, Belena has written and produced, and of course, costumed 2 of her own original productions utilizing any and all friends and family who expressed any interest at all or were able to carry a tune or step in time.  Belena also toured with The Color Purple  and interacted with many black actors who had never had a black costumer to work with before. Belena has worked on many Chicago theater productions and is one of a very, very few black costumers in the business today. ⠀
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Belena is happy to share some of her success strategies. Obediently following God’s lead never fails. It pays to be humble and ask others for advice, and to use it. Be fearless,  life is too short to NOT do what you are passionate about.  Be open to whatever God has for you. These are words of wisdom from a woman of God who is applying her time, energy and talents to the Justice Action Team for this time.
#StoriesMatter⠀ This month we'll be highlighting #StoriesMatter⠀
This month we'll be highlighting different stories of people in our church for #BlackHistoryMonth. Check out this week's from Lonyee Lampley...⠀
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My name is Lonyee Lampley. I am an African American woman born on the west side of Chicago. My roots are traced to Hines County, Mississippi. I’ve been a member of Greater Chicago Church since 2010. My top two favorite things - educating inner city youth and traveling the world, and I’m enjoying the opportunity to do both. Two years ago, I graduated from Bradley University with a Bachelor’s in secondary education and immediately after completing my bachelors, I was blessed with the opportunity to move to the United Arab Emirates and teach English to 9th-12th graders. After two years in the UAE, I returned to America and accepted a job in an inner city Chicago high school teaching African American Literature. I have a passion for serving in underserved communities and equipping students with the academic and personal skills to succeed. As you may know, there is a racial achievement gap and my goal is to discover a way to efficiently close this gap. I am driven by my motivation to ensure that there are equal learning opportunities for all.⠀
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Favorite Quote: My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style. - Maya Angelou
'Sometimes lament means opening yourself up to the 'Sometimes lament means opening yourself up to the process which just leads to more process, but knowing that God is always there.’ @jenjenyeahyeah 

As a church, over the last 5 weeks, we've taken a look at the book of Lamentations and what it means to grieve, have hope, be in process and still know that God is with us. ⠀
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Last Sunday, we invited 4 people who are a part of our church to share their story and experience with lament over the past 4 weeks and 2020 as a whole.⠀
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To hear the full message, head over to our podcast : https://buff.ly/2Dbl8zl
Join us tomorrow morning for our weekly gathering Join us tomorrow morning for our weekly gathering @ 10am!⠀
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We'll be wrapping up our series on Lamentations and will get to hear stories from different people as they share how they have processed grief and pain over the last 4 weeks.⠀
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Tune in here on Facebook, YouTube or join us in the Zoom room : https://buff.ly/2LeCq4j
Always truly means always. In everything. In every Always truly means always. In everything. In every season. No matter what.
#StoriesMatter⠀ This month we'll be highlighting #StoriesMatter⠀
This month we'll be highlighting different stories of people in our church for #BlackHistoryMonth. Check out this first one from Bernard Starks...⠀
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"Well, my experiences of being black have been a challenge at times. However, those challenges and God’s love have helped me grow and has molded me to the man I am today. ⠀
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Throughout my life, my parents have valued education in order for me to have a good life.  My mom grew up in public housing outside of Detroit, while my dad grew up in public housing for most his childhood on the South Side of Chicago. They both saw and experienced things that they did not want me to. Although not perfect, my parents did their best and were able to have enough money for me to go to Michigan State University without incurring debt. ⠀
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During this time, I was looked at differently. For white people, I was “intelligent” because I did not speak a way, they thought I should speak. For my race, I was not “black enough” because I didn’t grow up in Detroit and did not dress a certain way. The way I spoke didn’t help either. In ways, I was ostracized on all sides because I did not fit a certain box. It was difficult for me. During this time, I joined a multi-racial group that discussed topics such as racial inequality, segregation and destroying stereotypes. Some of those people I am still close to today. ⠀
It helped me realize that I was not ostracized. God was showing me that my black is beautiful. I do not need to be anyone but Bernard Starks, III. ⠀
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Although I still deal with those issues today, Jesus has always been there for me. He has given me a voice to uplift those who have been ostracized, isolated and hurting. I am in education because of that. I want the youth to love who they are and see how awesome they are because God made them that way."
We love what is happening in our church with the J We love what is happening in our church with the Justice Action Team!
On Saturday night we hosted a movie discussion on ‘Remember the Titans’.
The conversation was rich and insightful. 
As we enter what is historically Black History Month, our hope and raise is that different cultures and races would be celebrated each and every day - and that starts with us.
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Greater Chicago Church | 705 Jackson Blvd. Oak Park, IL 60304 | 708.434.5701 | office@greaterchicagochurch.com

   

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