DeWanna Oliver
DeWanna Oliver and her husband Joe, a retired Illinois Baptist pastor and IBSA zone consultant, were members of First Baptist Church Crystal Lake for six years. After the pandemic, Oliver said the church had been “steadily losing ground, running around 12 or 13 people at best. Our pastor had retired. But we were in good shape financially. Our people were good tithers.”
The church reached out to IBSA Health Team Leader Scott Foshie for guidance. Foshie helps churches reassess and revitalize their health while developing a strategic plan. “They had a great facility in a location with over 80,000 people within 10 miles of the church, but they were seeking God about the best ways to connect with those people,” said Foshie.
“As church members continued to seek the Lord, they began to realize that they weren’t going to be able to do it on their own,” Foshie said, “and that God was calling them to reach out to another church in an effort to see a new season of mission and growth.”
That’s where Tommy Thompson, pastor of Ashburn Baptist Church, in Orland Park came in. He has a heart for church revitalization, which is now being duplicated across Chicagoland. It started with Ashburn Baptist Church.
“What began as church revitalization when I arrived six years ago, has become a template to save dying churches across Chicago, by God’s grace,” Thompson said. “Although that was not my original plan or intent, it has become crystal clear that God wants to use Ashburn Church to save dying churches through revitalization and replanting, as we strive to help people find new life in Jesus.”
“I think replanting can be a hard sell for some people,” said Oliver, “but we knew we were going nowhere in a hurry if something didn’t happen.”
Members helped renovate the church sanctuary.
It was a two- and half-year process, some of it is chronicled on the church’s Facebook page. Small groups met, much time was spent in prayer, some remodeling was done – and a special service was held to celebrate the legacy of First Baptist Crystal Lake as well as the future of the replanted church.
On Easter Sunday, Ashburn Baptist Church-Crystal Lake launched with 85 people in attendance. A few weeks later, two new believers were baptized!
“We’re excited looking forward to it with anticipation to see what God has in store,” Oliver said. “We’re seeing new people from the community showing up. People from the neighborhood are coming, which is thrilling.”
One of the things that excites Oliver most about the replant is, “We have a plan, and we know how to get there.”
According to Thompson, “We have now planted or replanted four churches in the last six years and are in the process of replanting yet another church, First Baptist Church Willow Springs, which will become Ashburn-Willow Springs Espanol and our sixth campus.”
John Yi, IBSA Church Planting Catalyst, assisted in the replanting process. “I think this is a great example of partnership, of one church coming together with another,” he said. “The congregation decided to replant, and Ed is one of the leaders who has gone through the church revitalizing pipeline.”
Pastor Ed Han, his wife Ellen, and their three sons.
Ed is Pastor Ed Han the Campus Pastor of Ashburn-Crystal Lake, an approved church planter with Send Network/Send Chicago.
“Pastor Han is just the fit for us,” Oliver said. “I just praise the Lord!”
Thompson is mentoring the new pastor as he serves in his first church. “God is using Pastor Ed and his family,” said Thompson. “Through this vital work of replanting, we are now laying a foundation for years to come, and Ashburn’s sacrifice has once again preserved a gospel witness in the Crystal Lake community.”
“This has become our mission…saving dying churches across Chicago,” he said. “I want to give the next 20 years to continuing this mission preserving a gospel witness in as many communities, as God allows.”
Submitted photos
To learn more about church revitalization, email Scott Foshie at Scott Foshie@IBSA.org.