Christ United Methodist Church has anchored a stretch of Highcrest Road just east of downtown Rockford since 1956. Seven decades in, the congregation has grown well beyond a single worship space, filling its campus with a preschool center, counseling offices, and rooms for children, youth, women, and musicians. Its shorthand for the work is written across the top of every page: gather • grow • go.
Two Sunday Services, Two Settings in the Same Sanctuary
Worship at Christ UMC centers on two Sunday services in the Sanctuary, entered through door #2. The 8:00 a.m. service is the casual one, a smaller gathering with a more intimate feel. Holy Communion is shared every Sunday at 8:00. At 10:00 a.m., the Sanctuary fills for the traditional service, with a larger crowd and a more established feel. Communion is served on the first Sunday of each month. The 10:00 service is livestreamed on YouTube so members and friends can worship from anywhere.
Both services run about an hour. Visitors can dress however they are most comfortable; members show up in everything from blue jeans to Sunday best, and there is no dress code. Bulletins are available online each week.
A Campus Built Around Ministry, Not Just Worship
The 4509 Highcrest Road campus includes the main worship and ministry center, a preschool center, the Trinity Building (home to counseling offices and several United Women in Faith groups), and the Grace Building, which houses the church offices. Office hours run Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and Friday from 9:00 a.m. to noon. The preschool sits a short drive away at 1505 N Alpine Road, its own address and phone line.
A Children's Wing That Takes Safe Sanctuaries Seriously
Children's ministries are led by Co-Director of Children's Ministry Grace Lee and Associate Pastor Taekhwan Lee, with Pastor TK also directing the youth ministry. The Sunday morning rhythm for children starts at 9:00 a.m. with Activity Time in the Great Hall, where kids can play and move while parents head to adult Sunday school. At 10:00, children move into Kid's Worship, a service designed for them with songs, games, crafts, scripture memorization, and a kid-friendly message.
Nursery care is available for babies and toddlers during the 10:00 worship service. Families register with Pastor TK before dropping off. The church follows a written Safe Sanctuaries Policy that reflects the United Methodist Church's commitment to making the congregation a safe place for children, youth, and elders, and staff are trained under those guidelines each year.
A Youth Ministry with Its Own Worship, Band, and Puppets
The youth ministry welcomes students in grades 6 through 12. Two weekly gatherings anchor the year. 412 meets Wednesdays from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Youth Room (door #6) and focuses on relationships through games and activities, plus a year-long group project. SALT meets Sundays from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the same room, a youth-led worship service with a message, small group time, and games. Both run September through May.
Beyond the weekly schedule, youth have a praise band that leads worship at gatherings, retreats, and some Sunday services, open to any student who sings or plays an instrument. The Hands of Christ Puppet Ministry meets Wednesdays from 5:00 to 5:40 p.m. between May and September and performs monthly during the 10:00 a.m. service. Every July, youth and adult volunteers head out for Workcamp, a week of volunteer service projects in the community. Middle and high schoolers also gather for a winter retreat in February and a fall retreat in October, both held at Lake Geneva Youth Camp.
United Women in Faith: Circles, Crafts, and Pads for Ghana
United Women in Faith at Christ UMC gathers women for spiritual formation, leadership development, fellowship, and missions. Three Circles meet monthly and welcome visitors any time of year:
- Harmony Circle meets on the second Tuesday morning at 9:30 in member homes and is currently studying a Joyce Meyer study on Colossians.
- Rebekah Circle meets on the second Wednesday morning at 9:30, usually at the church and sometimes at restaurants, with a mix of ages.
- Priscilla Circle meets on the fourth Monday at 10:00 a.m. in the Trinity Building, year-round.
Special interest groups round out the women's ministry. G4G Ghana gathers on the third Monday of each month from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. in the Trinity Building to make washable sanitary pads that are sent to girls in Ghana through a Northern Illinois-based organization; no sewing experience is required. Out-to-Lunch Bunch tries a new restaurant on the last Thursday of each month. Greeting Card Makers meet on the third Tuesday at 9:00 a.m., and the Quilting Group meets every Thursday morning from January through October, producing quilts and table runners for the annual Ta-Da sale and the fall craft show.
The Preschool at 1505 N Alpine Road
Christ United Methodist Preschool has been teaching children of the Rockford community for more than 50 years. Run from a separate building at 1505 N Alpine Road under Director Debbi Thurston, the preschool uses a teaching approach similar to The Creative Curriculum, balancing teacher-directed and child-initiated learning in literacy, math, science, and social studies.
The center is open year-round from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Half-day and full-day programs run August through May, with summer camp offered from June to the start of the next school year. Children are grouped by age into Lollipops (age 2), Jelly Beans (age 3), Gummi Bears (ages 3 to 4), and M&Ms (ages 4 to 5), each with an emphasis on social-emotional growth and self-help skills, building toward more formal instruction and Illinois learning standards in the older classrooms. Registration opens each January, with a non-refundable annual fee. Financial assistance and multiple-child discounts are available.
Counseling Ministries in the Trinity Building
Two licensed clinical social workers maintain private practices inside the Trinity Building at Christ UMC. Linda Bjur, LCSW, works with clients facing trauma, crisis, relationship difficulties, and life stressors, using mindfulness, solution-focused techniques, and EMDR. Carol Fisher, LCSW, has been a private practice psychotherapist for more than 20 years and integrates faith into her work with anxiety, depression, and life changes. Both accept most insurance coverages, and financial assistance is available on request.
Music, Service, and the Hands-and-Feet Teams
Music ministry at Christ UMC includes a Sanctuary Choir and a Bell Choir, both open to those interested in joining. The audiovisual team supports worship each week under Audiovisual Director Josh Hayag, who also welcomes youth musicians into the youth band. Other serving teams let members pitch in around the campus and community: a Snow Removal Team and a Landscaping Team keep the grounds, an Angel Gift Project and Thanksgiving Baskets reach neighbors at the holidays, and a Welcoming Ministries team greets newcomers on Sundays. Director of Communications Taylor Greenland keeps the church's newsletter, bulletins, and weekly emails flowing.
Gather, Grow, Go: The Mission in Plain Language
Christ UMC describes its calling with three verbs. We gather together as the body of Christ, both in person and online. We grow as we move from believer to follower. We go to make a Gospel impact in the world through our words and actions. The vision that flows from that mission is to be the body of Christ as the congregation loves God, serves others, and makes disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Wesleyan Roots, Connectional Giving
The congregation sits within the United Methodist tradition, founded on Wesleyan theology. The What We Believe page highlights four anchors of that heritage: God's grace as a gift that prepares people to follow Jesus, the Wesleyan Quadrilateral of Scripture, tradition, personal experience, and reason, the call to holiness of heart and life, and the connectional ties that bind United Methodists together in faith, service, and the pursuit of peace and justice. Doctrinal standards are drawn from the United Methodist Book of Discipline.
That connectional identity shows up in giving too. Each month, Christ UMC joins other churches in the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church to support a Mission Links project, partnering with disaster relief, missionary support, health services, and other ministries beyond the congregation's walls. Members can give online through Tithe.ly, by texting GIVE to (815) 769-5180, by setting up electronic funds transfer through the accounting office, or by mailing a check to the church.
Getting Started at Christ UMC
Visitors can email the office at info@christumc.cc or call (815) 399-5910. The church sends two weekly emails, a prayer list on Wednesdays and an e-newsletter on Thursdays, plus a monthly newsletter. Vacation Bible School, an annual tradition, has ranged over recent years from Road Trip to Kingdom Quest, and the summer also brings Workcamp in July and youth retreats at Lake Geneva Youth Camp. Anyone exploring Rockford for a church home is welcome to come as they are, sit where they like, and stay as long as the music moves them.