A Congregation Born of a Peaceful Separation
Immanuel Presbyterian Church gathers on Batavia Road in Warrenville, a small western suburb set between Wheaton and Naperville in DuPage County. From the outside, the building could pass for any modern suburban church, but the story of the people inside runs back to a different era and a different name. Immanuel was born in 1989, when 250 members of Bethel Presbyterian Church, along with their senior pastor Robert Harvey and the entire board of elders, walked out of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church together and formed a new congregation.
The split, while painful, was orderly and prayerful. Bethel had been organized in the late 1950s as a "campus church" near Wheaton College, attracting students and faculty with innovative worship, careful preaching, and a willingness to engage contemporary issues. Over the years, those who worshipped at Bethel grew increasingly uncomfortable with the OPC's restrictions on lay participation in worship and leadership, particularly regarding women. The elders sought orderly change within the denomination but were unsuccessful. After much prayer and discussion, the congregation voted to begin again as a new Presbyterian and Reformed body.
The denomination they chose was a good match: the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, a young and small body that has sought to combine evangelical zeal with the Reformed tradition. The EPC also became the only conservative Presbyterian body in the United States to permit the ordination of women to all church offices, a feature that was central to Bethel's sense of calling. Immanuel also carries a strong commitment to worldwide mission, in step with the EPC's focus on under-evangelized countries.
Years at the College of DuPage and a Home in Warrenville
For almost a decade after the split, Immanuel held its Sunday services and Christian education at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn. During those years, the congregation helped plant Parkwood Community Church, a congregation started by and for second-generation Asian Americans, and actively supported the InterVarsity chapter on the campus.
In 1999 the congregation moved to its current location on Batavia Road in Warrenville, a town of only a few thousand residents. Members pitched in to finish the new building and, later, an adjacent Ministry House. Since then Immanuel has become a steady presence in Warrenville's ministerial association and has supported Warrenville Youth and Family Services, a church-sponsored social service agency. A food pantry that began at Immanuel in 2012 and a community gardening space have given members regular contact with their Warrenville neighbors. The sanctuary, the Ministry House, and the grounds together form a campus that feels both lived-in and open to the surrounding community.
Worship at 10:30: Reformed, Blended, Rooted in Scripture
Worship is at the heart of life at Immanuel. The congregation gathers at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday mornings, with a livestream beginning at 10:25 a.m. for those who cannot be present. Services follow the Reformed tradition and pause near the beginning to remember human need for Christ's forgiveness and to acclaim God's great gift of salvation. Scripture shapes every part of the service, and lay people of all ages participate, whether reading, praying, serving Communion, or leading other elements.
The sermon is treated as central, and most sermons are expository, drawn carefully from a specific passage of Scripture. Recent preaching has been carried by Rev. Eric Amundson, whose messages and titles are listed along with the weekly bulletin.
On the first Sunday of each month, Immanuel celebrates the Scots' Form of Communion. On those Sundays, children remain in the sanctuary with their families so that the whole body of Christ is present to share the Lord's Supper together. Visitors who attend a Communion Sunday get a glimpse of the congregation's Reformed convictions about the sacrament and its deep commitment to intergenerational worship.
Music at Immanuel is blended, by design. The worship team makes use of organ, choir, orchestra, and a worship band to support congregational praise. The goal is not entertainment but elevation: every good gift is used to lift high the name of Jesus. Visual art also has a place, and a dedicated Arts in Worship ministry coordinates artistic elements that symbolize truths or clarify themes tied to a particular service or season of the church calendar.
Sundays at Immanuel: Classes, Children, Youth
Before worship, the building fills with the sound of Sunday school. At 9:30 a.m., adults of all ages gather for intergenerational classes, while children and youth head to their own rooms. Children's classes begin with the Sunday School hour at 9:30, then the children join the first part of the 10:30 worship service before heading downstairs for a Children and Worship program designed for them. Nursery care is provided for both hours.
Middle schoolers and high schoolers have Sunday school classes at 9:30 a.m. and then meet together for Youth Group on Sunday evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The teens are known and loved here, and the youth ministry takes seriously its call to walk alongside adolescents as they grow in faith.
Adults at Immanuel are particularly well served. The church runs one of the more substantial lay Christian education programs in the area, with classes offered in multi-week series throughout the year. Past series have included studies on Ephesians led by Andy Le Peau, a founding elder of Immanuel and former editorial director of InterVarsity Press; an Introduction to the Reformed Faith by historian Mark Noll; a Life of Christ series with Jim Wilhoit; a quick history of Presbyterians from Knox to the EPC by Mark Noll; courses on reading the Bible with Andrew Abernethy; a thoughtful series on German hymnody and Bach cantatas with Colin Holman and Clint Shaffer; and a multi-part Evangelical Theology 101 taught by Dan Treier. Recordings of recent classes are kept in an online archive.
For members wanting to dig deeper, the church also offers a Learning for Serving curriculum that walks through the EPC's Book of Order, Book of Discipline and Worship, Reformed theologies, and church officer training.
Image Ministry: Welcoming Every Body
One of the distinctive ministries at Immanuel is Image Ministry, an effort to help every church welcome, include, and serve alongside individuals and families who need extra support. Immanuel partners with Wheaton College's Center for Faith and Disability and WITH Ministries in this work, and the church hopes to continue enriching its congregation and community through the active presence and participation of members of all ages and abilities.
A support group meets regularly for Image Ministry, and an Image Ministry Prayer Team gathers to pray for parents, youth, and children connected to the ministry. The church encourages anyone who needs accommodations in the worship service or Sunday school setting to contact Children's Minister Annika Durbin.
Sunday in Spanish: La Iglesia Roca Eterna
On Sunday afternoons at 2:00 p.m., the sanctuary fills again with a different community. La Iglesia Roca Eterna, a Spanish-speaking Christian Missionary Alliance fellowship, meets in Immanuel's sanctuary, bringing lively, Christ-centered worship in Spanish. The relationship reflects Immanuel's long-standing willingness to share its facilities and its broader commitment to multicultural ministry that began with the early work alongside Parkwood Community Church.
Food Pantry: A Door Open to Warrenville
Immanuel's food pantry is one of the most active expressions of its faith. The pantry opens its doors on Sunday afternoons from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. and again on Tuesdays from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. A bilingual prayer leader is available during Tuesday hours, so visitors can pray over current struggles along with receiving food assistance.
The pantry began at Immanuel in 2012 and has grown into a busy ministry that connects members with neighbors in Warrenville. Designations for the pantry can be made through Tithely alongside the General Fund, Deacon Fund, and Long-Term Maintenance fund.
Prime Timers, Stephen Ministry, and Prayer
Folks of retirement age are not at all retired at Immanuel, where they participate in almost every aspect of church life. Prime Timers meet regularly to fellowship and hear one another's stories, and some gather for morning coffee groups or bereavement support. Pastor Alva Steffler shepherds the Prime Timers with special care.
Immanuel also runs a Stephen Ministry, a well-known program that equips lay caregivers to provide one-on-one Christian care to people experiencing grief, hospitalization, divorce, job loss, or other life difficulties. Prayer is woven into every committee and team, and the elders, deacons, and staff pray regularly for the church family. Prayer retreats are held three or four times a year for intentional prayer for the church and missionaries, with time set aside for individual devotional reading. Healing services occasionally take a Sunday education hour or evening, and elders are available to pray privately with anyone who asks.
Women's, Men's, and Outreach
Separate women's and men's ministries give members additional settings for fellowship, study, and service. Outreach and Missions includes support for missionaries and ministries beyond Warrenville, with a printed missions directory kept in the Gathering Place as a prayer guide.
Giving, the App, and Staying Connected
Immanuel uses Tithely for online giving, accessible through the Tithely app for iPhone and Android. Donations can be made by credit card, debit card, ACH transfer, or stock gift, and donors may also cover processing fees so that the full intended amount reaches the church. Funds can be designated to the General Fund, the Deacon Fund, the Food Pantry, or the Long-Term Maintenance fund. Checks mailed to the church office are also welcome.
The church also uses Instant Church Directory to help members stay in touch with one another, and the directory app is available for mobile devices.
Statement of Faith and Identity
Immanuel's own statement of faith reflects its place in the Reformed tradition and its affiliation with the EPC. The congregation understands itself as evangelical and Reformed, committed to the authority of Scripture, the centrality of preaching, the regular celebration of the Lord's Supper, and the historic Presbyterian standards that have shaped the EPC. The church also takes seriously its identity as part of a denomination that ordains women to all church offices.
The church's motto captures the heart of its life together: "God with Us. Christ in Us. Hope for the World." Worship, learning, fellowship, and service all flow from those three phrases.