Easter 2003 at the Howard Johnson
Love Fellowship Baptist Church traces its beginnings to a single Sunday in Romeoville. On April 20, 2003 - Easter Sunday - 135 people gathered at the Howard Johnson Hotel on Independence Boulevard for the church's first public worship service. A year earlier, Pastor Bryan R. Price had sensed the call to plant a new church in this Will County community. After seeking the Lord in prayer with his wife Traci, training through the Illinois Baptist State Association of the Southern Baptist Convention, and the blessing of his home church, Alpha Missionary Baptist Church of Bolingbrook, the core group of families was ready to launch.
From the hotel, the congregation moved to an elementary school, then to a converted warehouse, and in 2010 to the facility on Independence Boulevard that the church now calls home. The story is told plainly in the church's founding record: "God led us from a hotel, to an elementary school, to a converted warehouse; and in 2010 God provided the means for us to purchase our own facility." The motto that frames the whole ministry is short and direct: Reaching People; Helping them Grow.
A Pastor Who Answered the Call to Plant
Dr. Bryan R. Price has served as senior pastor since that first Easter service. Raised in the Bolingbrook area, he made a profession of faith at age 12 and was baptized, but dates his committed walk with Jesus to age 20. He was licensed to preach in 1995 at Alpha Missionary Baptist Church under the leadership of Rev. William M. Rorer and was ordained to the gospel ministry in 1999.
Price holds an undergraduate degree in Business Management from Benedictine University, a graduate degree in Biblical Studies from Wheaton College, and in 2019 completed a PhD in Leadership Studies with a concentration in ministry leadership at Dallas Baptist University. His doctoral dissertation examined the pulpit ministry of Gardner Calvin Taylor as a model of preaching that inspired social change between 1950 and 1970. He has held various positions of leadership within the Southern Baptist Convention on the state and local levels and remains active in local community committees. He and Traci have been married for thirty years and have four children: Bryan Jr., Trecia, Brenton, and Treyanna.
What Sunday Morning Looks Like
The rhythm of Sunday at Love Fellowship begins at 9:05 AM with Growth Groups - the church's name for Sunday school. Classes are offered for every age, from nursery through adult, and are designed as a casual, question-friendly environment where teachers help participants apply Scripture to daily life. The FAQ is direct about the morning dress code: "On any given Sunday you will find men in suits and women in dresses sitting next to someone in jeans, T-shirts and gym shoes." Ample parking and comfortable seating are noted as part of the visitor experience.
Morning Worship begins at 10:30 AM and typically runs no later than 12:00 PM. The order of service includes corporate prayer, scripture reading, choir-led singing, a meet-and-greet time, an offering, and a sermon preached by Pastor Price or another member of the pastoral staff. After every sermon, an invitation is extended to anyone who wants to follow Jesus or unite with Love Fellowship. Visitors are welcomed but never asked to stand or identify themselves, and no one is put on the spot.
Worship at LFBC is intentionally expressive. The church believes biblical worship engages the whole person, and a service is one where it is "not unusual to find yourself clapping your hands, shouting amen, pondering intensely a biblical passage, laughing, and crying all in a short hour and a half service." The music ministry supports that range: an Adult Choir typically leads the singing, and a Children's/Youth Choir, a Sign Language Choir, and a Liturgical Dance and Mime Team round out the gifts in motion during worship.
Children's Church and the Nursery
Children are welcomed at every level of the morning. The Sunday Growth Groups include classes for every age, and during Morning Worship the church offers a Children's Church for ages 5 to 11 and a nursery for infants through age 4. Children's Church follows the same general order as the adult service but is designed for younger understanding - songs, games, snacks, projects, and a kid-friendly version of the message. The nursery team is trained and reads Bible stories, watches children's DVDs, and provides play time.
Each summer, Vacation Bible School takes over the building for a full week, typically running 5:30 to 8:30 PM. The 2025 theme was "Magnified," encouraging children to look closely at the details of God's world and proclaim His greatness. VBS registration is handled online through Lifeway's Kid Event Pro system, and the week wraps with a Family Night for parents and kids together.
Growth Groups and the Midweek Gathering
Sunday Growth Groups are the primary small-group engine of the church. The Young Adult Growth Group, aimed at adults 18 to 30, gathers for spirited discussion centered on biblical truth, often over a shared meal. The general Sunday Growth Groups reach every age group in the church, and the Growth Group Teaching Team is one of the named in-house service opportunities.
The Midweek Gathering meets Wednesday evenings for Bible study, usually led by Pastor Price. The forum is casual and participatory. Each week includes extended time for questions about the Bible, prayer for one another, and prayer for the community and the world. One-on-One Discipleship extends the same pattern into personal mentoring: a more mature believer, called a "growth partner," is paired with a newer believer for an eight-to-sixteen-week journey of study, prayer, and shared life.
Men's Hour, Ladies of Love Fellowship, and the Youth
Three smaller affinity groups give the church most of its midweek color outside the formal ministries. Men's Hour meets at 8:50 AM on the first Saturday of each month for a time of discussion on the issues and challenges unique to men, with the goal of fostering relationships and filtering conversation through God's word. The Ladies of Love Fellowship gathers at 3:00 PM on the fourth Saturday of the month and at other special times throughout the year. Activities have included Priscilla Shirer Bible studies such as War Room and The Whole Armor of God, occasional women's retreats, and the Ladies Annual Christmas Gathering, where a host opens her home for a day of shared cooking. A prayer-partner system pairs each lady with another for regular prayer and encouragement.
The Youth Group meets at 10:30 AM on the third Sunday of each month. Teens and young adults are the focus of the Godly Expression Showcase, an annual event that invites music, dance, rap, and spoken word as forms of worship. Past showcases have featured live performances, dynamic guest speakers, free food, and giveaways.
Food 4 the Soul and a Global Mission Reach
Food 4 the Soul is the church's community food pantry, opening its doors at 10:00 AM on the third Saturday of each month. The pantry began after the church recognized families in Romeoville forced to choose between groceries and other household bills. The James 2:14-17 call to pair faith with deeds is quoted directly on the pantry description: "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds?" A separate Community Day each summer adds another outreach moment: in recent years the church has hosted five hours of food, games, music, and free backpacks loaded with school supplies for neighborhood children.
Missions at Love Fellowship is structured around partnerships. The church currently supports five church-planting missionaries: two in Chicago, one in East St. Louis, one in New Orleans, and one in London. Anyone with a desire to see others come to know Jesus is invited to join the work, which can mean local travel, out-of-state trips, or international partnerships.
In-house service opportunities extend beyond the choirs and teaching teams. The Usher and Greeter Team, the Audio Visual Team, and the Liturgical Dance and Mime Team each keep the weekly gathering running. The church also maintains a Community Need Request Form for those seeking practical assistance and a separate Prayer Request Form for prayer needs, both accessible from the main menu. Giving is handled online through Pushpay at the giving page, and the full service and sermons are livestreamed on YouTube.
What Love Fellowship Believes
The church's statement of beliefs is laid out in twelve articles. Love Fellowship affirms one sovereign God existing eternally in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and the verbal inspiration and inerrancy of the Old and New Testament Scriptures in their original writings. The church affirms the Virgin Birth, the sinless life, the atoning death, the bodily resurrection, and the present heavenly ministry of Jesus Christ as Lord, High Priest, and Advocate. It teaches that human beings are born with a sinful nature because of the fall of the historical Adam and Eve and are justified by faith in Christ's shed blood alone.
The church affirms the work of the Holy Spirit in indwelling believers, empowering them for godly living, witness, and understanding of Scripture. It confesses one holy universal Church as the body of Christ, charged with worship, gospel proclamation, and care for the poor and needy. Love Fellowship holds to the bodily resurrection of the just and unjust, the everlasting blessedness of the saved, and the everlasting punishment of the lost, and it looks for the personal, visible, and imminent return of Jesus Christ.
The values that frame the life of the church are family, community, accountability, integrity, spiritual growth, loyalty, discipline, and participation - each described in the church's own words. The vision that holds the pieces together is a church that is purpose-driven, biblically based, governed by the Word of God, guided by the Holy Spirit, and engaged in growing God's kingdom from Romeoville outward.
Becoming Part of the Family
Newcomers who want to join the church are guided through a seven-step process: respond to the invitation at the close of the sermon, speak with one of the trained encouragers about God's plan of salvation, attend the five-week Equipped for the Journey new-member orientation, meet with the pastor, join a Growth Group, schedule a baptism date, and on the Sunday of baptism receive communion and a certificate of membership. The Where to Begin path lays out a parallel three-step route - become a follower of Jesus, become a member of LFBC, and become a growing Christian. Anyone curious about a relationship with God is invited to call the church office at 815-886-8450 or write to info@lfbconline.com, and the building at 730 N. Independence Blvd. in Romeoville is open every Sunday morning for anyone who wants to come and see.