our HISTORY
Grace Church began as a mission project with the arrival of settlers in the Naperville area in 1834. Among them were German-speaking families from Ohio and Pennsylvania who, in 1837, organized themselves as a class of fifteen persons that met regularly for prayer, Bible study, devotions and spiritual support. They formed the first class of the Evangelical Association in Illinois.
At first, the group met in the school house on Scott's Hill, but by 1843 they occupied a church building on Van Buren Street on a lot donated by Captain Naper. The frame building was constructed of planks from Big Woods west of the community and was finished with lumber from the larger town of Chicago (pop. 4,000) to the east. It was a simple rectangular frame building and, like most churches of that time, had separate entrances for men and women who remained separated throughout the morning.
Naperville was also the site of annual evangelistic camp meetings. These were often memorable occasions, with penitents and converts jumping about enthusiastically and praising God with loud cries and shouts. They were often, as well, targets of local rowdies who stood around outside shouting and threatening. In those early years, Naperville was often the location for meetings of representatives of the Evangelical Association from throughout the state and region, and several times hosted the General Conference of the denomination.
In 1859, a new building, Zion Church, was built on the site of the present Community United Methodist Church. In 1871, when Naperville promised $25,000 and eight acres of land, the decision was made to transfer North Western College (now North Central College) from Plainfield to Naperville. It was at that time that 25 people, who wished to worship in English rather than German, organized a second congregation of Evangelicals in Naperville. In that same year, church records show that a Sunday School was organized with over 200 persons attending. Church School classes were organized for persons of all ages, with class names such as "Lovers of the Bible," "Pearl Gatherers" and "Little Pilgrims." By 1877, there were over 400 enrolled in the classes.
Because of "difference of opinion as to church and college policies," the Evangelical Church split along factional lines. A new congregation was formed in Naperville as The Second Evangelical Church, and this was to become Grace Church. This new church met initially on the second floor of Scott's Hall, which was located where the bank building now stands at the corner of Washington and Jefferson streets. Within ten months, they had changed their name to Grace Church, and in March 1891 began to worship in a newly constructed building at the corner of Benton and Loomis streets. The lot on which the church was built cost $135, and in a single worship service they raised pledges and cash for the total $1,500 cost of the building!
The congregation remained in that building for 18-1/2 years until, in 1909, they moved into the newly constructed brick building at the corner of Ellsworth and Van Buren streets. The cost for the lot was $6,000 and for the building was $27,110. Donations and the sale of the old building provided almost $24,000, and the balance of $9,400 was raised in an evening service the night the church was dedicated.
In the following years, World War I cast a shadow over the life of the church and its Sunday School. Young men were drafted into military service and young women were busy with Red Cross work, sewing for refugees and making bandages for the wounded.
By 1922, after a split that lasted 30 years, the Evangelical Association and the United Evangelical Church reunited as a denomination, and the two Evangelical churches in Naperville rejoiced to be united again in one denominational
body.
In 1923, a fire of suspicious origin (supposedly an incendiary device) gutted the interior of the church. The members, meeting temporarily at the college, were nonetheless able to sing "Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow" and used the opportunity to expand and remodel the church. This time the cost was up to $61,800, and a building fund was established; the final notes were paid off in 1939.
Throughout most the years since 1909, a great Harvest Home Festival has been held in the autumn of each year, and monies raised in this annual event were divided between the building fund or other local church improvements and a mission outreach ministry. Likewise, from very early in Grace Church history, the congregation observed the season of Lent by holding weekly fellowship dinners which were followed by devotional talks, usually conducted by professors from the college or seminary.
In 1946, a merger took place between the Evangelical Church and the United Brethren in Christ, to form the Evangelical United Brethren Church. Grace Church was now "EUB."
In 1952, the membership of Grace Church topped the 500 mark; an average of 264 attended Sunday School. This was also the year that a boiler cracked and needed replacement. Again the congregation had to meet at the college for worship. Far more significantly, it was the year five young men from the congregation declared their intention to enter ordained ministry.
In the next few years, as the church continued to grow in membership and to expand its programs of ministry, it began to be necessary to hold two morning worship services. New classrooms were added, but in 1956, when the membership surpassed 600, it became apparent that the building at Ellsworth and Van Buren would not be large enough to accommodate the growth of Naperville. A study was begun to appraise and survey the needs of the church in relation to the growth of the community. This continued to be a
topic of heated debate within the congregation and the community; in 1963, the membership voted down a proposal to enlarge the building.
As one of our church historians, Mrs. Bea Gates, wrote: "For 15 years, we EUB's had to explain to newcomers to Naperville that the Evangelical United Brethren Church was 'just like the Methodists' and in 1968, in Dallas, the General Conference came to our rescue by voting merger with the Methodist Church and we became United Methodists." In 1964, Grace Church, First EUB Church, and First Methodist Church - all located within two blocks of each other in old Naperville - began to discuss together the future of our churches in Naperville. At a meeting in September 1965, after the merger of the denominations and much discussion of the future of the United Methodist Church in Naperville, Grace Church members voted to relocate.
After an additional year of study, the site on what is now 300 East Gartner Road was selected. Ten families of our congregation purchased the ten acre site and donated it to the church. Ground was broken for the new church in 1969, with a building cost estimate of $900,000, half of which was on hand in the Building Fund and half of which was raised in a single week by selling bonds to church members and friends. The first service of worship was held at the new Grace Church on February 21, 1971.
Several hundred members were involved in painting, pouring sidewalks, landscaping and carpentry, as the church was completed. When the church was first constructed at the Gartner Road location, there was no bridge across the river! Many critics of the relocation into such an inaccessible area were quickly silenced by the rapid growth of the congregation, which soon numbered 1,300. By 1985, the membership numbered more than 2,100, and the Administrative Board {noting that the church was built for a membership of only 1,500) called for a new committee to study the need for additional space and staff as the church continued to grow.
Today, there are three worship services each Sunday and Sunday School classes for children and adults. Nursery care is provided for infants and toddlers during all three worship services. Three full-time pastors, one part-time pastor, a full-time music/worship coordinator, a full-time director of youth, and part-time pastoral care director, complement an office and education staff of six. In addition, there are six part-time employees in the music ministry of the church, which lead choirs with members ranging in age from four to adult. We also have a Parent's Day Out preschool program with eight part-time teachers for children ages one through four.
The people of Grace continue to celebrate as an organized congregation in Naperville and welcome the opportunity to honor those who vision and dedication resulted in the magnificent church that exists today.
