Community Christian Church

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Finding a Home

Published July 9, 2004 - THE HERALD NEWS Joliet,IL

Caption: The Ciesniewski family attends Community Christian Church. John Ciesmiewski is the pastor of the Shorewood campus. The worship team at Community Christian Church, of which Amy Ciesniewski is a part, sings praise and worship songs.

John Ciesniewski and his wife, Amy, of Plainfield were out having dinner one night with friends and talking about spirituality when a man, overhearing their conversation, approached their table and invited them to his church, Community Christian Church in Naperville. They took advantage of the offer and are glad they did.

For the Ciesniewskis, who previously had been nominal church-goers, Community Christian Church offered a relationship with God through relevant, contemporary Sunday worship services and deep fellowship with other believers during small group meetings during the week, something they had never before experienced. It didn't take long for Amy to sing with the worship team and for John to become involved, too, first in children's ministry, then in adult ministry. At last, John thought, he had found his spiritual niche.

But when the church's leadership approached John with a pastoral vision for him, John hesitated, not certain that God could surmount the many obstacles (financial, material and obligatory) that stood in his way. He was wrong. Today, John pastors Community Christian Church's southwest and sixth location at Trinity Christian School(formerly Joliet Christian School, 901 Shorewood Drive,Shorewood.

Streamlined Approach

What makes Community Christian Church stand out from other churches is its streamlined approach to bringing God's message to the people who attend, John said. The leadership at the various locations plan, usually many weeks ahead of time, identical services to be held at each campus, he said. Many of the worship services center around a particular theme designed to bring its members closer to a relationship with God and to each other. For instance, several months ago, members were asked to visit the church's Web site at www.communitychristian.org and write down what one question they would ask God if given the opportunity. Five of those questions, such as "How do I know what I am here to do?", formed the basis of several weeks worth of Sunday worship experiences.

Beginning July 18, the theme "Summer at the Lake: An Encounter with Jesus Which Could Change Your Life Forever" chronicles Jesus' Galilean experiences. Community Christian Church teaches other churches how to reproduce this method. For more information, visit www.newthing.org.

Worship Services, Small Groups

Also, Community Christian Church tries to guarantee that, no matter your age or life situation, you can find worship services and small group meetings tailored to your needs. Adults have their own worship services, junior and senior high school students have their own worship services and young children up to fifth grade have theirs, too. Each group also has its own small group meetings. "There's moms' groups, men's groups, blended family groups and groups for those who are retired," John said. While the worship services celebrate their common faith, it really is the small groups that promote dynamic spiritual group by helping church members to form healthy, intimate relationships with other believers, John said.

"Many of these people had never opened up Bible before," said John. "I think it's impossible to find your way back to God without a small group because this is where, often for the first time, God's word is shown to them rather than spoken or told to them. "Most people today do not have anyone who will listen to them, encourage them or affirm them. Sometimes you have to intentionally create community so they know what it is. "Many of these people (in the small groups) make life choices based on those groups and even refuse job transfers because now they have something they never had before: genuine friends. "They're living the way God intended them to live. And they don't want to lose that."

Good Fit

For the last six months, Eric Heumann of Plainfield has attended Community Christian Church along with his wife, Dana, and children, Alexis, 6, and Tyler, 3. Through the years, Eric has attended various denominational and non-denominational churches. But none of them has ever grabbed his spirit like this one has. "It's really upbeat, very modern and there is no special order that everything is put into. Other churches have more of a ritual than learning about God and what Jesus has to tell us," said Eric. "The information that they give us affects your everyday life; it's not ancient. They don't just tell you what the Word of God is, but what it means and the way you should live your life and treat others. "Their Sunday School program is the best. When Sunday comes, the kids are very excited to go to church. They learn the same things we're learning, only on a different level."

Bob Lowe of Joliet has attended Community Christian Church for nine years and worships at the Shorewood campus. Although he had attended other churches in the past, none of them provided the answers he needed to life's problems. But the very first worship service at Community Christian Church hooked Lowe. "They made the Bible just come alive for the day-to-day world that I live in," said Lowe. "It was a church that could keep me on the straight and narrow and help me find the answers. I've learned so much about who I am and what I can be and I have such a good time. "I can't imagine anyone not enjoying it. There is never a problem with anyone falling asleep."

Community Christian Church had its humble inceptions in 1989 when two brothers from the south side of Chicago, Dave and John Ferguson, decided to form their own church in Naperville. "They wanted to start a church to help people find their way back to God," said John. "They wanted to be relevant to people without compromising God's word." Today, Community Christian Church has six locations. Two are in Naperville, and one is in Carillon, Romeoville, Shorewood and Montgomery. Similar churches, different names, also were begun in Thornton,Colo., (Jacob's Well) and in Bakersfield,Calif.,(Life Journey Christian Church). Two more churches are soon to be started in Detroit, Mich. Manhattan,N.Y.