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| > | Venture Church Network 1 85338? 623207,882,925,32 Goodyear(GDYR), Maricopa County, AZ 1947 |
I became a Christian at First Baptist Vacation Bible School in the summer of 1968. One of my VBS teachers(and possibly Sunday School teachers) Nancy Sutton had also been my 2nd grade teacher for the first part of my year in public school. She left as my teacher less than halfway through the year because she was going to have a baby(I don't think she came back to teach at the school). I think having her as a teacher both in public school and at the church made me see that being a Christian was not something that automatically happened for everyone.
I was baptized at First Baptist in around July of 1969 when I was 8 years old. That is around the time the astronauts first landed on the moon. The pastor who baptized me Vincent Brushweiler was older and didn't normally baptize people that young but I convinced him I knew what I was doing. First Baptist-Glen Ellyn no longer exists. I'll write a little more about that church and my experiences there below in the "Inactive VCN churches" section.
A. Active VCN churches
(A25) My wife and I have a friend who went to Windy City for a number of years. That church was more strict than some others about wearing masks during covid. The founding pastor of Windy City is Bill Giovannetti. Bill and I co-led the red Awana team in Pals at Wheaton Free Church while he was in college and I was in high school.
Active EFCA churches for which I don't have info on when they were founded(so they are sorted by zip code)
I. Inactive VCN churches
(I1) 1997(05/04) Agape Presbyterian moved to site of former Prospect Heights Baptist. My wife and I have a friend who grew up going to PHBC.
(I2) Around 1971, pastor George Lambrides started at First-Glen Ellyn. Although he was younger than Pastor Brushweiler, he stated that working with youth was not a specific priority for him. As indicated above, my parents moved to Wheaton Free Church.
One memory I have of First-Glen Ellyn was when we were sitting toward the found and I inadvertently started singing along with the choir. I was in Stockade there which is part of Christian Service Brigade. One of the things we did there was shoot BB gun at targets in the basement. Probably the only time I shot any kind of gun. The bathroom in the basement had a lavatory sign on it(it took me a while to figure out what that is). We used to release balloon from the parking lot with stamped post cards to see how far they went(and I guess to invite people to the church). I remember once someone had a postcard come back from Michigan. I think things like that are no longer done for environmental reasons.
The parsonage was not the pastor's residence, instead I think it was used for youth groups etc but I was too young for that so I only was there a few times.
At myheritage.com/names/george_lambrides, if you search for "Pastor George Lambrides of the Springfield First Baptist Church officiating" there is info on a funeral Pastor Lambrides officiated at in 1982. I suspect that is the same Pastor Lambrides although the Baptist Church in Springfield is part of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Inctive VCN churches for which I don't have info on when they were founded(so they are sorted by zip code)
| Zip | Name | Address | Phone Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 600701566 | Prospect Heights | 308 E. Camp McDonald Road, Prospect Heights, IL | |
| 601373673 | First | 800 Saint Charles Road, Glen Ellyn, IL |
| Zip | Name | Address | Phone Number | Church |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 600701566 | Agape Presbyterian | 308 E. Camp McDonald Road, Prospect Heights, IL | 847-788-9990 | Prospect Heights |
| 601373622 | Parkview Community Church | 764 Saint Charles Road, Glen Ellyn, IL | 630-469-4306 | south of site of former parsonage for First - Glen Ellyn |
| 601373673 | Ackerman Sports & Fitness Center | 800 Saint Charles Road, Glen Ellyn, IL | 630-317-0130 | site of former building for First - Glen Ellyn |
|
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| Me reading in the basement of First-Glen Ellyn probably for Sunday School |
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