Articles for tag: Joliet Illinois

August 15, 2020

Finally Moving Forward

5 Strategic Ministry Shifts During the Pandemic Changed Our Perspective By Matt Summerswith Janice Summers Just as the Israelites wandered in the wilderness wondering when they might go back to Egypt, we have found ourselves wondering when we might go back to the way things were just a few months ago. Our wilderness is Joliet, Illinois, in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic. Joliet is the third-largest city in Illinois, home to 150,000 residents. Some think Joliet is a suburb of Chicago, nestled just outside the sprawling metropolis, but she is her own community. Both cities were founded in

September 1, 2017

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Church Planting

A New Church Planted in an Old Church

By Matt Summers This month, Crossroads Christian Church (the urban church we planted in Joliet, Illinois) celebrates its 10-year anniversary. During that time, we have grown from several dozen people into a thriving congregation of more than a thousand with a vision to reach thousands more for Christ. We have built our ministry by meeting the social and spiritual needs of our community. We have baptized 500 people into Christ, remodeled our original church building, built a larger worship center, started a Spanish-speaking congregation, and now we are relocating to a new building that will facilitate even greater growth and

August 31, 2017

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Community Outreach

Free Indeed: Crossroads Christian Church, Joliet, Illinois

By Justin Horey Joliet, Illinois, is a prison town. The Joliet Correctional Center opened in 1858 and housed inmates for nearly 150 years until it was closed in 2002. The prison shaped Joliet”s culture for a century and a half, even bringing fame and notoriety; it served as the setting of the opening scene in the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers and the site of the first season of the Fox television drama Prison Break. Even though that prison has been closed for 15 years, the Statesville Correctional Center remains open just outside of town, so the prison influence continues.