Living Hope — History
The beginning...
The Frankfort/Mokena area was starting to boom, and the Northern Illinois Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) recognized that it would be a prime area to serve with a mission church.
In 1995 the synod turned to Pastor Kendall Koenig to start the new church. Pastor Koenig agreed, and moved to Frankfort with his wife and young son. He began knocking on doors in the community, (approximately 3,000 that summer) inviting people to come be a part of this new church whose name, Living Hope, was derived from the scripture passage 1 Peter 1:3: “By His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a Living Hope!” On Oct. 15, 1995, Living Hope held its first service, with about 65 people in attendance.
Without a building to call its own, Living Hope members met at LincolnWay East High School. The church’s first worship services were held in the school choir room and the band room, and as the congregation began to grow steadily, services were moved into the school cafeteria. The early church office was in Pastor Kendall’s basement. Meetings and special functions were held in members’ homes, public parks, and park district buildings. There was even one Good Friday service in the front room of a local funeral parlor. Christmas morning services were held in a barn, graciously provided by a local stable, and later by the Kestel family, which owns a dairy farm. The members of Living Hope learned to worship God in a variety of surroundings, believing that church is more than a building.
Living Hope quickly became a thriving church, with its emphasis on youth ministries, small groups and community outreach. Partnering with St. Peters in Frankfort, the church provided an annual summertime Vacation Bible School program for the community. Living Hope also teamed up with YoungLife ministries working with area youth, supported a home for unwed teenage mothers in New Lenox, and provided aid to other local and global ministries.
The middle...
Living Hope’s search for land on which to build a permanent church home resulted in the procurement of an 8-acre site just south of the Frankfort Public Library on Pfeiffer Road, where the church’s first-phase, multi-purpose building, now stands. In 1998, a final generous gift from member Alma Miller paid off the land. But it would still be years before the actual building process would begin.
In 2001, Pastor Koenig received a call to a new church in Algonquin, Illinois, and Pastor Gene Piesker was called as interim pastor while Living Hope began its search for a new pastor. Pastor Gene served Living Hope for almost a year, successfully bringing the church through its first of several transition periods.
In March of 2002, Pastor Ben Bergren was called as the new pastor of Living Hope. Pastor Ben was instrumental in getting the final building process completed. Also, during his service at Living Hope, he introduced many new congregational activities like an all-church Bible study, through which the whole congregation was studying the same study material in different small groups that met monthly; an annual chili cook-off; an appreciation luncheon for volunteers; and other programs that continue today.
Living Hope continued to grow and pressed forward in its plans to build a permanent home. In October 2005, Living Hope broke ground. After 11 years without a permanent church home, on Dec. 10, 2006, the members of Living Hope moved into the new building at 21301 Pfeiffer Road.
In late December 2006, Pastor Ben Bergren accepted a call to a church in Rolling Meadows, and in January 2007, Living Hope called Pastor Kathy Flores as interim pastor. Pastor Flores served until March 31st, 2008.
The now...
April 2008....Living Hope welcomes pastor Howard Buchholz II as its new pastor.
....come be a part of our future!
