Community Christian Church

-

-

Naperville's Community Christian to Expand

'bookends' being added to 'yellow box'

Published May 13, 2004 - The Naperville Sun

By: Ron Pazola

Community Christian Church expects to complete its new children and arts center at its south campus in Romeoville by fall, even as it makes plans to expand its facility in Naperville. The 25,000-square-foot, $2 million facility at 170 S. Highpoint Road will provide space for concerts, theatrical productions and arts classes, said Troy McMahon, a co-pastor at Community Christian Church. "We wanted to be an effective community outreach to artists and people who appreciate the arts," McMahon said. "We wanted to create a community with an urbanistic view. Art is such a critical part in people's religious lives and art is a reflection of who we are as a community."

Meanwhile, Christian Community's main campus, on the southwest corner of Ogden Avenue and Rickert Drive in Naperville is entering the second phase of its expansion. The "bookends" project, which will add space to both ends of the building, is expected to begin next spring and be completed in 2006, McMahon said. McBride, Kelly and Bauar Architects in Chicago will design the project.

The east expansion will be a gathering space where people can connect with each other and build relationships, McMahon said. The west end will be a three-story structure for children and student activities. The project has already been approved by the Naperville City Council. Church leaders are in the process of applying for a building permit. The final phase of the project, expected to start in five years, calls for a 1,400-seat auditorium and training center for the arts, which will house a recording studio, theater and rehearsal space. The three-phase project will cost $10 million to $15 million, McMahon said. The first phase involved the completion of Christian Community's 26,000-square-foot concrete building at Ogden Avenue and Rickert Drive in 2001. Church members call the structure "the yellow box" because of its appearance.

Community Christian Church, which has six locations in the area, has doubled the number of its congregation in the past three years, Executive Assistant Pat Masek said. The church now has 4,000 members. To accommodate the growing number of people participating in the church's worship services, a 10 a.m. Sunday service has been held at  Naperville North High School since April. Christian Community held its services at the school before its Naperville campus was completed three years ago.

To recruit new members, the church uses a marketing campaign that includes direct mailings and the use of "core groups" that invites family, friends and acquaintances to church activities. "Our decision to expand has always been dictated by our mission to help people find God," said Dave Ferguson, senior pastor at Community Christian Church.

The nondenominational community was founded in 1989.