Avenue Christian Church sits at 5750 Holmes Ave. in Clarendon Hills and draws people from the diverse stories and culture of Chicago's western suburbs. It is known for a multigenerational approach to Christian life: a 10 a.m. Sunday gathering where contemporary worship leads into weekly Bible teaching and communion, with dedicated ministries for newborns, children, students and adults. Avenue describes itself as independent and non-denominational. Its mission is stated plainly: Together, we will help people find new life in Jesus Christ. Its vision is to help people Connect to Jesus, Become like Jesus and Proclaim Jesus, and its four defining values are grace, community, authenticity and mission.
A Sunday Service That Is Easy to Join
Regular worship begins at 10 a.m. Sunday at 5750 Holmes Ave. and is also available online. The service usually lasts about 65 to 70 minutes. The worship team sings contemporary music with lyrics displayed on screens, so a visitor can sing along or simply listen. The Bible is taught every week with an emphasis on applying biblical truths to life today. Free Bibles are available at the back of the auditorium, a Bible is provided in the seat back, and guests may also bring their own.
Avenue observes communion weekly, describing it as a remembrance of Jesus' death and resurrection and opening it to all followers of Jesus Christ. A prayer team is available after the service in the auditorium for anyone who wants prayer. The foyer is a relaxed place to grab coffee before or after worship, and an Info Area offers information about the church and its groups for study and fellowship. Visitors can also receive a free gift at the Info Area.
- What to wear: Whatever feels most comfortable. There is no dress code, and most people dress casually.
- Where to park: Visitor parking is in the first row of the north lot, closest to the building.
- Cost: Attendance is free. A voluntary offering is received during the service, with no expectation or pressure to give.
- Children and students: Programs run from birth through eighth grade during the 10 a.m. service. High school students may worship with adults and also have a gathering every other Sunday evening.
Guests who would like a person to meet them on arrival can use the first-visit form. It records the planned arrival and number of visitors so the church can greet people, show them around and answer questions. For those joining from elsewhere, Church Online provides the live worship option, and sermons remain available to watch.
Birth to College: A Family Ministry Built Around Scripture
Avenue describes family ministry as its birth-to-college ministry. Rooted in Deuteronomy 6, it holds that church and family work together in lifelong discipleship. Its gatherings and regular activities are intentionally intergenerational, combining faith, fun and fellowship while seeking to interest, inform, involve and equip parents and other caring adults to lead the next generation toward following Jesus.
Avenue Kids from birth through fourth grade
The nursery welcomes newborn infants through 24 months and provides loving care during each service. A private nursing room and changing area are available. The preschool program serves children ages 2 through 5 with activities, songs and Bible stories, with separate classrooms for two- and three-year-olds and for four- and five-year-olds. Elementary ministry takes place in Kid Works Studio, where kindergarten through fourth graders join games, interactive activities, energetic songs, age-based Bible teaching and small groups.
Students with a space of their own
Students in grades 6 through 8 meet at 10 a.m. Sunday in the Student Center, where they have space to connect and learn about Jesus. The Sunday Night Youth Group serves grades 6 through 12 from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. High school students are also encouraged to join the adult worship service or serve in a Sunday morning ministry; the high school gathering meets every other Sunday evening. Parents are supported with an overview of the family lesson, questions for children, and preschool and elementary lessons and devotionals.
The Avenue Kids area is protected by multiple security volunteers and a tag-based check-in and check-out system. Volunteers and staff serving children are background-checked through the national database, providing parents and students with a clearly described safety system.
Life Groups of Six to Twelve
Avenue Life Groups are small groups of six to 12 people designed for genuine fellowship and growth in faith. Groups meet weekly or every other week, either at Avenue or in homes, to study God's Word, pray and serve inside and outside the church. They can be age- or stage-specific or intergenerational, and they meet nearly every day of the week, mostly in evenings. A typical group lasts 6 to 12 weeks, with breaks around Christmas and summer.
Rooted is the church's focused 10-week small-group experience. It combines interactive learning with a regular rhythm of prayer and Bible study, and it asks participants to build habits of community, serving and generous living. More than 250 students and adults have taken part in Rooted.
Men's groups across the week
Men's Life Groups meet at several times and locations so participants can go deeper in faith with other men. Don Womacks leads a Monday 10 a.m. group in Wheaton, and Al Adams hosts a Monday 7 p.m. group at Avenue. Keith Grundhofer's Westmont group meets every other Tuesday at 7 p.m. Fred McGuire hosts a Wednesday 7:45 a.m. group on Zoom, while Jesse Willett's Wednesday 7 p.m. group at Avenue meets every other week.
Women learning, creating and connecting
Avenue Women hosts Bible studies throughout the year in the context of smaller life groups. A weekly Wednesday afternoon study runs from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., while a biweekly Wednesday evening session runs from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. The ministry also gathers women for evenings of crafts and creativity, with work tables, board games and card games. These activities provide space both for concentrating on a project and for conversation and fellowship.
Creativity as Worship
Avenue Arts brings together musicians, vocalists and production teams to enhance the congregation's worship experience and create space for people to experience the goodness of God. The ministry seeks to equip and celebrate creative and technical gifts within the church family, from the worship stage and sound booth to cameras and design work. Eight ministry areas welcome people of all ages, and leaders mentor new team members. No previous experience is required, only a willingness to participate.
- Worship: Musicians and vocalists lead the congregation in praise each week.
- Sound and lighting: Teams mix front-of-house and livestream audio and shape the lighting for worship and service moments.
- Livestream and media: Camera operators and directors carry services to viewers, while the ProPresenter and media team runs lyrics, Scripture and visuals.
- Photography, story and design: Photographers capture church life, graphic designers and video producers tell the story of what God is doing, and set designers build and style the stage and other worship spaces.
The arts teams rehearse and gather weekly. Their shared aim is to create distraction-free environments that enhance the beauty and fullness of the Gospel collectively and creatively.
Serving Through Care, Hospitality and Practical Work
Participation at Avenue extends beyond attending gatherings. The church organizes volunteers into care, hospitality and work teams, and the practical roles reflect the needs of both congregation and community.
- Care teams: The Encouragement Team, Golden Grace Ministry, Prayer Shawl Ministry and Pastoral Deacons serve people within the church family.
- Hospitality teams: Sunday morning coffee and communion preparation, greeting, ushering, weddings and funerals help visitors and members feel cared for.
- Work teams: Sunday morning security, building maintenance, outdoor landscaping and design-and-build projects care for the property and support practical needs.
Avenue also makes its facilities available for rental. Its giving ministry supports local neighbors and community organizations, nationally based Christ-centered organizations and global missionaries. Giving can be made in person with cash or check, through the church app, by bank transfer or bill pay, by mail, and through stocks, mutual funds, life insurance or estate gifts. Giving options include one-time and recurring gifts.
Local Mission: Meals, Food, Families and Safety
Avenue's local mission work begins with practical needs in DuPage County and nearby communities. The church has committed to serving 40 meals twice each month with DuPage PADS and Community Kitchen of Downers Grove, an organization that brings churches together to provide dinner for people experiencing homelessness. Volunteers can serve or bring food, and children as young as nine may help when accompanied by an adult. Dinner shifts run from 5:00 to 6:45 p.m.
People's Resource Center operates in Wheaton and Westmont to meet basic human needs while promoting dignity and justice. Its food pantry distributes food and connects residents with supportive resources, with volunteer shifts for stocking, distribution and customer assistance. West Suburban Community Pantry also provides food and referrals across DuPage and Will counties; its volunteer work includes sorting donations, stocking shelves, packing online orders and helping customers shop.
The church partners with Caring Network, a pregnancy resource center that offers confidential medical, emotional and spiritual support to women and families with unplanned pregnancies. Evangelical Child and Family Agency specializes in domestic adoption and provides programs, resources and counseling for foster families, single parents and vulnerable children and families. Reclaim13 focuses on healing, prevention and education for survivors of commercial sex trafficking, while Safe Families for Children surrounds families in crisis with a community of volunteers who help keep vulnerable children safe and families together.
Sunshine Gospel Ministries brings a focus on youth ministry, neighborhood development, family enrichment and partnerships between inner-city and suburban communities. Together, these relationships show Avenue's local mission emphasis moving among meals, pantry access, pregnancy support, adoption, family stability, trafficking recovery and youth development. These partnerships do not stand apart from Avenue's regular life: the meals and pantry work require recurring volunteers, while the relationships also connect people with groups, care ministries and the wider life of the congregation.
Global Mission: Disaster Response and Church Planting
Two international partners extend Avenue's mission beyond the Chicago area. International Disaster Emergency Services responds to natural crises in the United States and around the world with disaster response, emergency care and hunger relief, addressing physical and spiritual needs. Impacto Latino trains, equips and supports church planters in Latin America so they can proclaim the Gospel and make disciples who themselves make disciples.
Avenue also hosts a congregation with a distinct linguistic and cultural focus. Hinsdale Chinese Christian Church meets every Sunday at 2:30 p.m. in Avenue's Student Center. Led by Pastor Zhenjun Wang, it offers a Mandarin-speaking service and welcomes families of any nationality into community. This gathering is Hinsdale Chinese Christian Church's service, while Avenue describes it as one of its local mission relationships.
A Building Renewed for Children and Worship
Avenue's capital work has focused on the spaces used by children and the main auditorium. New projectors and a new sound system have been installed, along with a new HVAC unit in the Kids Area. The nursery and preschool rooms received new carpet and paint, giving Avenue Kids areas consistent colors and themes. The auditorium mortgage was refinanced, and a principal payment helped reduce the monthly payment by nearly $4,000.
These improvements are practical expressions of the church's focus on children, hospitality and shared worship. The same building that houses the 10 a.m. service, nursery, preschool, elementary rooms, Student Center and foyer also serves as the base for groups, volunteer teams, mission partnerships and facility rental.
Essentials That Unite, With Room for Non-Essentials
Avenue presents its essential beliefs as a concise summary rather than a creed. It asks members to be united in these essentials, give one another liberty in non-essential matters and show love in all situations. The essentials center on God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Bible, humanity's fall, salvation, the church and baptism.
- God and Jesus: Avenue believes in one God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus is God's one and only Son and the one and only Savior, fully human and fully divine. His life, crucifixion, bodily resurrection, ascension and future return are affirmed.
- The Holy Spirit and Scripture: The Holy Spirit is active and operative within the triune God and indwells every Christian. The Bible is God's inspired Word and final authority for faith and practice.
- The human condition and salvation: People willfully sinned against God and are lost apart from Jesus Christ. Salvation and forgiveness come only by grace through Jesus' blood, involving faith in Christ, repentance, confession of Christ and immersion, while none of those alone assures salvation.
- The church and baptism: The church consists of Christians everywhere and is entrusted to the authority of its elders. Baptism is described as an outward expression of an inward decision to place faith in Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior.
These convictions are reflected in the regular rhythm of Avenue: Word-centered teaching each week, weekly communion, baptism as a personal public step of faith, elders serving the congregation, and grace-centered community offered to people at different stages of faith.
From a First Visit to a Next Step
Avenue describes a three-part path for connecting: attend a Sunday service and visit the Info Area, sign up for Next Steps to learn more about the church and meet people, then begin growing in community through a group. People who are new to faith, church or Jesus can explore introductory conversations on following Jesus, prayer, worship, why to read the Bible, finding community, resting in Jesus and connecting with others. A spiritual-gifts survey offers another way to consider how a person might serve. The Next Steps Experience is designed to help newcomers learn about Avenue, meet church members and think through the next step in their faith journey rather than making the transition alone.
Grace, Community, Authenticity and Mission in Clarendon Hills
What characterizes Avenue Christian Church is the way a simple weekly gathering is connected to a wide network of discipleship. Contemporary worship and Bible teaching lead into children's rooms, student spaces, small groups, arts teams, care ministries and service partnerships. The same focus extends from DuPage County and Chicago to disaster response and church planting in Latin America.
In Clarendon Hills, Avenue Christian Church holds these rhythms together as one community: by grace, in authentic community, on mission and in pursuit of new life in Jesus Christ.