SolusChristus
Puritan Board Freshman
I know someone who will be going to Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. Does anyone know of any solid Presbyterian churches near Moody? I know there are some in the Chicago area but many are too far from Moody.
Church Recommendation
- Thread starter SolusChristus
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MatthewBall
Puritan Board Freshman
SolaScriptura
Puritanboard Brimstone
Will this person have access to a car?
21 miles away from Moody Bible Institute
SolusChristus
Puritan Board Freshman
No, just access to the L train system or the bus system.
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Regrettably, I don't think the L train system has a route that far away from near Moody.
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SolaScriptura
Puritanboard Brimstone
So, as a Moody alumnus I assure you that anyone who chooses to go to MBI, regardless of what they might have said to you, is not too principally concerned with being “solid Presbyterian.” 
(Sorry to burst your bubble!)
And that happens to work out nicely in this situation since there are a number of solid evangelical, though not “solid Presbyterian” churches within close proximity.
Given the lack of transportation- I suggest that Moody Church will be a great short term solution until the PCM office plugs them into a different church for their required ministry service. (When I was there, Erwin Lutzer was the pastor at Moody Church and his preaching was sublime.)
(Sorry to burst your bubble!)And that happens to work out nicely in this situation since there are a number of solid evangelical, though not “solid Presbyterian” churches within close proximity.
Given the lack of transportation- I suggest that Moody Church will be a great short term solution until the PCM office plugs them into a different church for their required ministry service. (When I was there, Erwin Lutzer was the pastor at Moody Church and his preaching was sublime.)
Jake
Puritan Board Senior
I heard on a podcast that the OPC is looking to plant a church closer to there, with a dearth of NAPARC churches nearby. But looks like it's not planned until next year. https://www.reformationchicago.com/
Frisian Gardener
Puritan Board Freshman
Not sure how "solid Presbyterian" they are (for example, being in an old RC "Polish Cathedral", there's a potential it has more 2CVs than a French junkyard), but there is a PCA in Bucktown. https://covenantchicago.org/
Jake
Puritan Board Senior
Yes I saw this looks like the closest PCA church, except maybe a mission work.
Their building is a former part of an "Old Catholic" group that is not in Communion with Rome: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_National_Catholic_Church
The building sure does have a lot of 2nd commandment violations. An acquaintance of mine told me about as he was shocked it was a part of the PCA when he visited.
SolaScriptura
Puritanboard Brimstone
Yeah, Chicago Metro Presbytery is not exactly known for being a bastion of old school southern presbyterianism.
Edward
Puritanboard Commissioner
Well, we bought an old Southern Baptist building, and it still has some 2CVs. And I remember going to Sunday School as a young child to my grandmother's SBC church, and the picture of Jesus on the wall of the classroom. So don't be too hard on the Poles when there are Baptists to pick on.
SolusChristus
Puritan Board Freshman
I should have clarified more about the situation: she is a member of my church (PCA) and is attending Moody (I believe for free). It's complicated, but she also does not have a car or transportation available besides the L train/bus. She also has a brother who attends Moody which was part of her decision to go there but other options (ex. Reformation Bible College) were not really feasible. In summary, her main reason for attending is not because she is in agreement with Moody's theology. She's a somewhat new member of our church and has been learning Reformed theology; I do not think she would describe herself as dispensational for example.So, as a Moody alumnus I assure you that anyone who chooses to go to MBI, regardless of what they might have said to you, is not too principally concerned with being “solid Presbyterian.”
And that happens to work out nicely in this situation since there are a number of solid evangelical, though not “solid Presbyterian” churches within close proximity.
Given the lack of transportation- I suggest that Moody Church will be a great short term solution until the PCM office plugs them into a different church for their required ministry service. (When I was there, Erwin Lutzer was the pastor at Moody Church and his preaching was sublime.)
Thank you for the Moody Church suggestion - that *might be where her brother attends but I am not sure. Interestingly, she said her brother's pastor or someone he knew recommended that she attend our PCA church in central IL which is the reason that she and some of her siblings first visited and eventually became members.
Yes, I have heard that about Chicago Metro Presbytery so that is actually the reason for my asking for recommendations on here! The PCA church that was closest to Moody did not align with our church based on what I saw on the website/livestream.
SolaScriptura
Puritanboard Brimstone
I understand. When I went to Moody I did not go as a convinced/committed dispensationalist, it was simply all I knew. And at Moody, I learned that I was NOT a dispensationalist.
I will pray that she has a generally positive and edifying experience there, as I did.
TheInquirer
Puritan Board Junior
David Helm’s church is PCA and located in Chicago - https://www.christchicago.org/ - sorry, formerly PCA and now independent.
J.L. Allen
Puritan Board Junior
Here's another resource. https://chicagoreformed.org/
I was a member at Westminster OPC in Countryside, IL, during my time at Moody. If she can find other Presbyterians, she might be able to carpool.
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She can also look into a church helping her with a rideshare each week.
I was a member at Westminster OPC in Countryside, IL, during my time at Moody. If she can find other Presbyterians, she might be able to carpool.
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She can also look into a church helping her with a rideshare each week.
darrellmaurina
Puritan Board Junior
I can't make referrals to specific Reformed churches in downtown Chicago, but I want to STRONGLY urge the Reformed people within driveable distance to reach out to this sister.
When my wife was at Wheaton, I tried, over and over again, to get some of the better Reformed churches in the Wheaton area, of which there are several, to reach out to my wife and show at least some interest. This was decades ago and I hope things are better now, but I was very unhappy with the total -- and I truly do mean TOTAL -- lack of followup by any confessionally Reformed church at all. Zero. It wasn't for lack of effort on my part. Call after call by me to local pastors, even after multiple long-distance drives by me of over three hours to personally take her to two different churches. No results. No followup. Even after personally attending church with her and meeting the pastors.
All it would have taken would have been a phone call, or an offer of a ride, and she would have been attending an OPC or conservative PCA every Sunday.
We in the Reformed world often do a terrible job of reaching out to college students, particularly younger singles, and then we wonder why they wander off into broadly evangelical churches that make outreach their main focus.
Again, this was long enough ago that I'm fairly sure all the pastors involved are retired and most of the elders are no longer on session. Many are probably not just retired but dead. I'm not blaming the churches today.
I am saying that isn't the way to treat college students.
When my wife was at Wheaton, I tried, over and over again, to get some of the better Reformed churches in the Wheaton area, of which there are several, to reach out to my wife and show at least some interest. This was decades ago and I hope things are better now, but I was very unhappy with the total -- and I truly do mean TOTAL -- lack of followup by any confessionally Reformed church at all. Zero. It wasn't for lack of effort on my part. Call after call by me to local pastors, even after multiple long-distance drives by me of over three hours to personally take her to two different churches. No results. No followup. Even after personally attending church with her and meeting the pastors.
All it would have taken would have been a phone call, or an offer of a ride, and she would have been attending an OPC or conservative PCA every Sunday.
We in the Reformed world often do a terrible job of reaching out to college students, particularly younger singles, and then we wonder why they wander off into broadly evangelical churches that make outreach their main focus.
Again, this was long enough ago that I'm fairly sure all the pastors involved are retired and most of the elders are no longer on session. Many are probably not just retired but dead. I'm not blaming the churches today.
I am saying that isn't the way to treat college students.
Andres
Puritan Board Doctor
This is an excellent church - Westminster Presbyterian Church. Pastor Joshua Smith is a close, personal friend. I realize it may be a bit of a challenge if your friend doesn't have transportation but if she is interested in visiting, I could get you Pastor Smith's contact info and they can see if any members might be able to provide a ride. They are a very welcoming church.
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I personally know of several Wheaton students that used to visit Westminster RPCNA, which I referenced above.
Theoretical
Puritan Board Professor
I've visited one of my best friends in Chicago several times. He and his wife attend Holy Trinity Church, an independent polity WCF congregation. I think it's a pretty sound place overall, and has been a good church home for my friends.
htcchicago.org
Sending you a PM with more details.
Holy Trinity Church
Our vision is to see the city of Chicago transformed by the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We meet in the loop at 218 S. Wabash on the 2nd floor. Services weekly at 10:30 a.m. Come and join us!
htcchicago.org
Sending you a PM with more details.
SolusChristus
Puritan Board Freshman
Thanks! She may be open to visiting if she's able to carpool.
Theoretical
Puritan Board Professor
I've been there too and it's an insanely ornate building, even by Catholic standards. The preaching was good, but it was definitely on the very high church side (heavily into the calendar) for a PCA (it'd be low for a non-1662 Anglican). When I'd done my research several years ago, it struck me as the best PCA in the Chicago metro area. But all things considered, I'd probably go with Holy Trinity over it if limited to the City.
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darrellmaurina
Puritan Board Junior
Yes, I visited there back in the 1990s for a Reformed theology conference and was very surprised. I can't speak for its current architecture.
If my memory is correct, the building once housed a parish of the Polish National Catholic Church. For those who don't know the history, that is a group of Polish churches that rejected the decisions of Vatican I on papal authority. That denomination eventually joined the "Old Catholic" movement that started with Dutch Jansenism, and is now one of the most conservative, if not the most conservative, denomination in the "Old Catholic" movement. There had been serious discussions between various "Old Catholic" denominations and the Anglicans in the 1800s and early 1900s, but most of that fell apart as it became clear that the Anglicans were moving in a more liberal direction than what traditionalists among the "Old Catholics" wanted, and the more liberal "Old Catholics" hit the gas and sped far ahead of the Anglicans.
Being a group that left the Roman Catholic Church over papal authority, while remaining quite conservative and traditional unlike many of the Old Catholic denominations, parishes in the Polish National Catholic Church, particularly the ones with older buildings that date to the 1800s or 1900s, tend to look "more traditionally Catholic than the Roman Catholics" in an attempt to prove their legitimacy.
The problem with the conservative Old Catholics is that while they are right in rejecting modern Catholic doctrines of papal authority, holding instead to more collegial role for the bishops that in practice looks a lot like pre-Reformation Roman Catholicism in which the "conciliar" movement argued that councils of the church, not the Pope, had final authority and the Pope was merely first among equals, the conservatives among the Old Catholics still affirm the decisions of the Council of Trent, regarding it as a legitimate council and therefore having binding authority over the church.
That puts Old Catholics into a different position than the Eastern Orthodox, where some of the bishops who try to be nice to Protestants will point out that there have been no ecumenical councils binding on Eastern Orthodox since the Reformation and therefore whatever decisions made by various patriarchs and local councils that are critical of Protestants are merely advisory and not formally binding. The Old Catholics, because they affirm Trent, can't say that. They affirm Trent's anathemas against Protestantism.
If my memory is correct, the building once housed a parish of the Polish National Catholic Church. For those who don't know the history, that is a group of Polish churches that rejected the decisions of Vatican I on papal authority. That denomination eventually joined the "Old Catholic" movement that started with Dutch Jansenism, and is now one of the most conservative, if not the most conservative, denomination in the "Old Catholic" movement. There had been serious discussions between various "Old Catholic" denominations and the Anglicans in the 1800s and early 1900s, but most of that fell apart as it became clear that the Anglicans were moving in a more liberal direction than what traditionalists among the "Old Catholics" wanted, and the more liberal "Old Catholics" hit the gas and sped far ahead of the Anglicans.
Being a group that left the Roman Catholic Church over papal authority, while remaining quite conservative and traditional unlike many of the Old Catholic denominations, parishes in the Polish National Catholic Church, particularly the ones with older buildings that date to the 1800s or 1900s, tend to look "more traditionally Catholic than the Roman Catholics" in an attempt to prove their legitimacy.
The problem with the conservative Old Catholics is that while they are right in rejecting modern Catholic doctrines of papal authority, holding instead to more collegial role for the bishops that in practice looks a lot like pre-Reformation Roman Catholicism in which the "conciliar" movement argued that councils of the church, not the Pope, had final authority and the Pope was merely first among equals, the conservatives among the Old Catholics still affirm the decisions of the Council of Trent, regarding it as a legitimate council and therefore having binding authority over the church.
That puts Old Catholics into a different position than the Eastern Orthodox, where some of the bishops who try to be nice to Protestants will point out that there have been no ecumenical councils binding on Eastern Orthodox since the Reformation and therefore whatever decisions made by various patriarchs and local councils that are critical of Protestants are merely advisory and not formally binding. The Old Catholics, because they affirm Trent, can't say that. They affirm Trent's anathemas against Protestantism.
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