How it started
Ridgeland Church dates all the way back to our founding in 1926. What began as a small group of people gathering in a second floor village meeting room in Argo, IL transformed into a thriving church community in the southwest collar suburbs of Chicago. The church, originally Argo Church of the Nazarene, expanded and out grew four different locations in the Summit-Argo neighborhoods from 1926-1964.
Moving to Oak Lawn
In 1964, the church caught a vision of opening a day nursery in order to serve the growing number of mothers in the workforce. So, they made the difficult decision to leave their neighborhoods in Summit-Argo and move to Oak Lawn in order to pursue the vision set before them. Since 1965, the church as been faithfully serving their neighbors through Little Lights Academy and various ministries within the church and the Oak Lawn community.
Telling a new story
In the Summer of 2021, we began a journey to become a healthier and more faithful church. A global pandemic, stagnation, decline, shifting culture, and changing community dynamics takes its toll on a small church. The church leadership discerned that there was a need for significant change; and that if it didn't change, the church would likely cease to exist. Expedited by a pastoral transition, we got to work discerning what a healthy and faithful church looks like in our context. We shifted our mission, vision, and primary focus. We changed our name and how we presented ourselves to the community around us. We lived in the tension of being an "experimental" church, trying all kinds of things as we sought to actively learn who we are as a congregation and how to best serve our neighborhoods.
Over the course of three intense years we failed, learned, grew, shrunk, at times excelled, and everything in between. Through it all, we became healthier.
In the Summer of 2024, we felt the need to again begin the process of discerning how and where we were being called as a church. We were led in prayer to ask where the Holy Spirit wanted us to go from where we were at. This is when Flourish 2027 came into view, a three year vision to become a flourishing church. While we had gotten healthier, we felt the Spirit was leading us to flourish through intentional culture building, holistic spiritual formation, missional empowerment, kingdom generosity, and multiplication.
Flourishing means to go beyond ourselves and to see heaven come to earth all over the Metro-Chicago area.
Embracing that flourishing means to say "Come, Holy Spirit" in all things and go where the Spirit moves.
Over the course of three intense years we failed, learned, grew, shrunk, at times excelled, and everything in between. Through it all, we became healthier.
In the Summer of 2024, we felt the need to again begin the process of discerning how and where we were being called as a church. We were led in prayer to ask where the Holy Spirit wanted us to go from where we were at. This is when Flourish 2027 came into view, a three year vision to become a flourishing church. While we had gotten healthier, we felt the Spirit was leading us to flourish through intentional culture building, holistic spiritual formation, missional empowerment, kingdom generosity, and multiplication.
Flourishing means to go beyond ourselves and to see heaven come to earth all over the Metro-Chicago area.
Embracing that flourishing means to say "Come, Holy Spirit" in all things and go where the Spirit moves.