{"id":28,"date":"2023-04-06T03:23:20","date_gmt":"2023-04-06T03:23:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/?page_id=28"},"modified":"2025-09-26T23:29:49","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T23:29:49","slug":"history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/?page_id=28","title":{"rendered":"History"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"28\" class=\"elementor elementor-28\" data-elementor-settings=\"{&quot;ha_cmc_init_switcher&quot;:&quot;no&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-8c8bb9e elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-column-slider-no wpr-equal-height-no\" data-id=\"8c8bb9e\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_ha_eqh_enable&quot;:false}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-7db9869\" data-id=\"7db9869\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d6208ab elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"d6208ab\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\"><i>Our History<\/i><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-caef019 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-column-slider-no wpr-equal-height-no\" data-id=\"caef019\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_ha_eqh_enable&quot;:false}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-0f8f4cc\" data-id=\"0f8f4cc\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-22f751e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"22f751e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Summit Bible Church had its origin in 1890 when a Sunday School was organized by the Lyons &amp; Riverside Township Sunday School Association as a way of reaching the growing and flourishing community of Summit. The Sunday School met in a public school building until political opposition forced them to move out. This led them to meet in various places until 1895 when Moses Wentworth (nephew of former Chicago Mayor John Wentworth) donated a large tract of land for the construction of a building. On Easter Sunday, April 14, 1895, the Wentworth Chapel was dedicated on the corner of Hunt and Douglas Avenue.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-e1ddf92\" data-id=\"e1ddf92\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-585c6e7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"585c6e7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/elementor\/thumbs\/IMG_3451-q7fmqu7lqcqkmo16wo5z9467lgfm9i7aui03ea7cu0.jpeg\" title=\"IMG_3451\" alt=\"Wentworth Chapel\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Wentworth Chapel <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-b65ed7f elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-column-slider-no wpr-equal-height-no\" data-id=\"b65ed7f\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_ha_eqh_enable&quot;:false}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-b2dedce\" data-id=\"b2dedce\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c9082be elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c9082be\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On December 20, 1905, the First Congregational Church of LaGrange felt led and voted to take over the support of the work in Summit. As the Sunday School grew, Superintendent Mr. C.D. Knies and other leaders prayed and planned for an organized church to be planted in Summit. Mr. Knies did not live to see this accomplished. He was called from this life in June 1910. Mr. G.H. McKay was then appointed to take over the leadership of the work. With the help of his leadership and the prayers of its future members, a church would exist seven years later as The Summit Congregational Church, registered on May 27, 1917 with 35 members.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-0dfb370 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-column-slider-no wpr-equal-height-no\" data-id=\"0dfb370\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_ha_eqh_enable&quot;:false}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-0f604a2\" data-id=\"0f604a2\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-98f21b9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"98f21b9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/elementor\/thumbs\/WhatsApp-Image-2023-06-03-at-3.00.06-PM-q7fw76lubsnqwd06vd0e3u5n8vdbm0bn8j84123kww.jpeg\" title=\"WhatsApp Image 2023-06-03 at 3.00.06 PM\" alt=\"Mr. C.D. Knies\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Mr. C.D. Knies<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-1d06501\" data-id=\"1d06501\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e0b8ae2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"e0b8ae2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/elementor\/thumbs\/WhatsApp-Image-2023-06-03-at-3.00.07-PM-q7fuyvhq5y05m3d6lpii2iof5zrfrnf5h854mhso80.jpeg\" title=\"WhatsApp Image 2023-06-03 at 3.00.07 PM\" alt=\"Mr. G.H. McKay\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Mr. G.H. McKay <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-0453e38 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-column-slider-no wpr-equal-height-no\" data-id=\"0453e38\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_ha_eqh_enable&quot;:false}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-7ebfa52\" data-id=\"7ebfa52\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a14e01e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a14e01e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Years of steady growth followed, and in 1919 the Wentworth Chapel was moved to the rear of the lot and a new auditorium was erected. In 1922, Rev. J. Roy Stephenson, a young recent graduate of the Moody Bible Institute, was called as the new pastor of the church. Rev. Stephenson would go on to serve 38 years at the church. Under his direction the church grew to over 200 members and more than 450 Sunday School attenders. This led to the church outgrowing three separate buildings with the final building being our current facility, dedicated on November 22, 1953. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-c4d83c9 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-column-slider-no wpr-equal-height-no\" data-id=\"c4d83c9\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_ha_eqh_enable&quot;:false}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-144fe5a\" data-id=\"144fe5a\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d43982c elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"d43982c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/elementor\/thumbs\/IMG_3431-q7fmvla8a79bsagzhssje0u43fgmgb1mri8arloof4.jpeg\" title=\"IMG_3431\" alt=\"Our Second Building\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Our Second Building<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-7e11a08\" data-id=\"7e11a08\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4eeeeb6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"4eeeeb6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/elementor\/thumbs\/WhatsApp-Image-2023-06-03-at-3.00.09-PM-q7fuyqsj7rtq01k0d5hd81v472elp5whskvp83zn34.jpeg\" title=\"WhatsApp Image 2023-06-03 at 3.00.09 PM\" alt=\"Rev. J. Roy Stephenson\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Rev. J. Roy Stephenson<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-bb7a7f3 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-column-slider-no wpr-equal-height-no\" data-id=\"bb7a7f3\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_ha_eqh_enable&quot;:false}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-cb1fd79\" data-id=\"cb1fd79\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2f7f8be elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2f7f8be\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yet the years of blessing did not continue uninterrupted. Due to vacancies in the pastorate, urban decline, and cultural change in Summit, the church\u2019s membership and health declined. Under the leadership of Rev. David J. Bauer, who assumed the pastorate in 1988, the church was brought back to the health and fruitfulness that it once knew. The church grew under the leadership of Dave and his wife, Dolores, with emphasis on a younger generation and the Spanish speaking ministry of a Christian &amp; Missionary Alliance church serving and holding services in the same building during his pastorate. This laid the foundation for the Spanish ministry that we have today.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-01a707b\" data-id=\"01a707b\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c54faa2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"c54faa2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/elementor\/thumbs\/Screenshot-2023-06-20-at-8.30.12-PM-q89mwswuehdzpo1gskkh2wbxyaiqadl5n3ltsk7u2a.png\" title=\"Screenshot 2023-06-20 at 8.30.12 PM\" alt=\"Rev. David J. Bauer\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-56f791c elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-column-slider-no wpr-equal-height-no\" data-id=\"56f791c\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_ha_eqh_enable&quot;:false}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-dd31d14\" data-id=\"dd31d14\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2dc30dc elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"2dc30dc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" src=\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/IMG_8972.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-126\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/IMG_8972.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/IMG_8972-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/IMG_8972-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/IMG_8972-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/IMG_8972-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Our Current Building<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-d436302\" data-id=\"d436302\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1ad50b2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1ad50b2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pastor Bauer would serve faithfully until January of 2005, when the leadership would be passed to Rev. Lee Selin, as the new pastor in a combination of Installation and merge of the Clearing Bible Church into Summit Bible Church. This merge allowed the CMA church to eventually purchase the Clearing Bible Church building and parsonage, near Midway Airport. The merge also facilitated SBC joining IFCA International, a fellowship of like minded Bible churches. Pastor Selin would serve as pastor until his sudden death in April 2011. Since then, with the help of the church planting and revitalization ministry Midwest Church Extension, SBC has brought in various pastors to minister at the church. Since 2025, Juan Gil has been serving as Pastor and preaching in both the Spanish and English services.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our History Summit Bible Church had its origin in 1890 when a Sunday School was organized by the Lyons &amp; Riverside Township Sunday School Association as a way of reaching the growing and flourishing community of Summit. The Sunday School met in a public school building until political opposition forced them to move out. This led them to meet in various places until 1895 when Moses Wentworth (nephew of former Chicago Mayor John Wentworth) donated a large tract of land for the construction of a building. On Easter Sunday, April 14, 1895, the Wentworth Chapel was dedicated on the corner of Hunt and Douglas Avenue.\u00a0 Wentworth Chapel On December 20, 1905, the First Congregational Church of LaGrange felt led and voted to take over the support of the work in Summit. As the Sunday School grew, Superintendent Mr. C.D. Knies and other leaders prayed and planned for an organized church to be planted in Summit. Mr. Knies did not live to see this accomplished. He was called from this life in June 1910. Mr. G.H. McKay was then appointed to take over the leadership of the work. With the help of his leadership and the prayers of its future members, a church would exist seven years later as The Summit Congregational Church, registered on May 27, 1917 with 35 members. Mr. C.D. Knies Mr. G.H. McKay Years of steady growth followed, and in 1919 the Wentworth Chapel was moved to the rear of the lot and a new auditorium was erected. In 1922, Rev. J. Roy Stephenson, a young recent graduate of the Moody Bible Institute, was called as the new pastor of the church. Rev. Stephenson would go on to serve 38 years at the church. Under his direction the church grew to over 200 members and more than 450 Sunday School attenders. This led to the church outgrowing three separate buildings with the final building being our current facility, dedicated on November 22, 1953. Our Second Building Rev. J. Roy Stephenson Yet the years of blessing did not continue uninterrupted. Due to vacancies in the pastorate, urban decline, and cultural change in Summit, the church\u2019s membership and health declined. Under the leadership of Rev. David J. Bauer, who assumed the pastorate in 1988, the church was brought back to the health and fruitfulness that it once knew. The church grew under the leadership of Dave and his wife, Dolores, with emphasis on a younger generation and the Spanish speaking ministry of a Christian &amp; Missionary Alliance church serving and holding services in the same building during his pastorate. This laid the foundation for the Spanish ministry that we have today. Our Current Building Pastor Bauer would serve faithfully until January of 2005, when the leadership would be passed to Rev. Lee Selin, as the new pastor in a combination of Installation and merge of the Clearing Bible Church into Summit Bible Church. This merge allowed the CMA church to eventually purchase the Clearing Bible Church building and parsonage, near Midway Airport. The merge also facilitated SBC joining IFCA International, a fellowship of like minded Bible churches. Pastor Selin would serve as pastor until his sudden death in April 2011. Since then, with the help of the church planting and revitalization ministry Midwest Church Extension, SBC has brought in various pastors to minister at the church. Since 2025, Juan Gil has been serving as Pastor and preaching in both the Spanish and English services.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"full-width","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"0","ocean_second_sidebar":"0","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"0","ocean_custom_header_template":"0","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"on","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"0","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-28","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>History - Summit Bible Church<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/?page_id=28\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"History - Summit Bible Church\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Our History Summit Bible Church had its origin in 1890 when a Sunday School was organized by the Lyons &amp; Riverside Township Sunday School Association as a way of reaching the growing and flourishing community of Summit. The Sunday School met in a public school building until political opposition forced them to move out. This led them to meet in various places until 1895 when Moses Wentworth (nephew of former Chicago Mayor John Wentworth) donated a large tract of land for the construction of a building. On Easter Sunday, April 14, 1895, the Wentworth Chapel was dedicated on the corner of Hunt and Douglas Avenue.\u00a0 Wentworth Chapel On December 20, 1905, the First Congregational Church of LaGrange felt led and voted to take over the support of the work in Summit. As the Sunday School grew, Superintendent Mr. C.D. Knies and other leaders prayed and planned for an organized church to be planted in Summit. Mr. Knies did not live to see this accomplished. He was called from this life in June 1910. Mr. G.H. McKay was then appointed to take over the leadership of the work. With the help of his leadership and the prayers of its future members, a church would exist seven years later as The Summit Congregational Church, registered on May 27, 1917 with 35 members. Mr. C.D. Knies Mr. G.H. McKay Years of steady growth followed, and in 1919 the Wentworth Chapel was moved to the rear of the lot and a new auditorium was erected. In 1922, Rev. J. Roy Stephenson, a young recent graduate of the Moody Bible Institute, was called as the new pastor of the church. Rev. Stephenson would go on to serve 38 years at the church. Under his direction the church grew to over 200 members and more than 450 Sunday School attenders. This led to the church outgrowing three separate buildings with the final building being our current facility, dedicated on November 22, 1953. Our Second Building Rev. J. Roy Stephenson Yet the years of blessing did not continue uninterrupted. Due to vacancies in the pastorate, urban decline, and cultural change in Summit, the church\u2019s membership and health declined. Under the leadership of Rev. David J. Bauer, who assumed the pastorate in 1988, the church was brought back to the health and fruitfulness that it once knew. The church grew under the leadership of Dave and his wife, Dolores, with emphasis on a younger generation and the Spanish speaking ministry of a Christian &amp; Missionary Alliance church serving and holding services in the same building during his pastorate. This laid the foundation for the Spanish ministry that we have today. Our Current Building Pastor Bauer would serve faithfully until January of 2005, when the leadership would be passed to Rev. Lee Selin, as the new pastor in a combination of Installation and merge of the Clearing Bible Church into Summit Bible Church. This merge allowed the CMA church to eventually purchase the Clearing Bible Church building and parsonage, near Midway Airport. The merge also facilitated SBC joining IFCA International, a fellowship of like minded Bible churches. Pastor Selin would serve as pastor until his sudden death in April 2011. Since then, with the help of the church planting and revitalization ministry Midwest Church Extension, SBC has brought in various pastors to minister at the church. Since 2025, Juan Gil has been serving as Pastor and preaching in both the Spanish and English services.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/?page_id=28\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Summit Bible Church\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=100091550532233\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-26T23:29:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/elementor\/thumbs\/IMG_3451-q7fmqu7lqcqkmo16wo5z9467lgfm9i7aui03ea7cu0.jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/?page_id=28\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/?page_id=28\",\"name\":\"History - Summit Bible Church\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/?page_id=28#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/?page_id=28#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/elementor\/thumbs\/IMG_3451-q7fmqu7lqcqkmo16wo5z9467lgfm9i7aui03ea7cu0.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-06T03:23:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-26T23:29:49+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/?page_id=28#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/?page_id=28\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/?page_id=28#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/elementor\/thumbs\/IMG_3451-q7fmqu7lqcqkmo16wo5z9467lgfm9i7aui03ea7cu0.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/elementor\/thumbs\/IMG_3451-q7fmqu7lqcqkmo16wo5z9467lgfm9i7aui03ea7cu0.jpeg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/?page_id=28#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"History\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/\",\"name\":\"Summit Bible Church\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Summit Bible Church\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cropped-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cropped-1.png\",\"width\":764,\"height\":290,\"caption\":\"Summit Bible Church\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=100091550532233\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"History - Summit Bible Church","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.summitbiblechurch.com\/?page_id=28","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"History - Summit Bible Church","og_description":"Our History Summit Bible Church had its origin in 1890 when a Sunday School was organized by the Lyons &amp; Riverside Township Sunday School Association as a way of reaching the growing and flourishing community of Summit. 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With the help of his leadership and the prayers of its future members, a church would exist seven years later as The Summit Congregational Church, registered on May 27, 1917 with 35 members. Mr. C.D. Knies Mr. G.H. McKay Years of steady growth followed, and in 1919 the Wentworth Chapel was moved to the rear of the lot and a new auditorium was erected. In 1922, Rev. J. Roy Stephenson, a young recent graduate of the Moody Bible Institute, was called as the new pastor of the church. Rev. Stephenson would go on to serve 38 years at the church. Under his direction the church grew to over 200 members and more than 450 Sunday School attenders. This led to the church outgrowing three separate buildings with the final building being our current facility, dedicated on November 22, 1953. Our Second Building Rev. J. Roy Stephenson Yet the years of blessing did not continue uninterrupted. Due to vacancies in the pastorate, urban decline, and cultural change in Summit, the church\u2019s membership and health declined. Under the leadership of Rev. David J. Bauer, who assumed the pastorate in 1988, the church was brought back to the health and fruitfulness that it once knew. The church grew under the leadership of Dave and his wife, Dolores, with emphasis on a younger generation and the Spanish speaking ministry of a Christian &amp; Missionary Alliance church serving and holding services in the same building during his pastorate. This laid the foundation for the Spanish ministry that we have today. Our Current Building Pastor Bauer would serve faithfully until January of 2005, when the leadership would be passed to Rev. Lee Selin, as the new pastor in a combination of Installation and merge of the Clearing Bible Church into Summit Bible Church. This merge allowed the CMA church to eventually purchase the Clearing Bible Church building and parsonage, near Midway Airport. The merge also facilitated SBC joining IFCA International, a fellowship of like minded Bible churches. Pastor Selin would serve as pastor until his sudden death in April 2011. Since then, with the help of the church planting and revitalization ministry Midwest Church Extension, SBC has brought in various pastors to minister at the church. 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