Independent Baptist Church sits on West Boughton Road in Bolingbrook, Illinois, a Chicago suburb in Will County. Founded in 1973 by a small group gathered in a local school, the church has grown into a multi-racial, family-oriented congregation that still gathers three times a week for traditional worship, Bible study, and fellowship. Its identity is shaped by a deliberate independence from outside denominational control, a steady emphasis on expository Bible teaching, and a strong missions heart that has sent members to places as far away as Ghana, Japan, and the Philippines.
From Brook View School to a Colonial-Style Building
Independent Baptist Church first met in Brook View School (now John R. Tibbott) when Dr. Jack Sellards, a former stone quarry businessman from Normal, Illinois, gathered eight others for the first service. His goal for an independent, Bible-preaching church was realized on July 22, 1973. Pastor David Shoaf became the pastor in Bolingbrook in December 1975, and by the end of 1976 the church had quadrupled in size and purchased a parsonage. By 1979 the congregation had saved enough to buy the present property on West Boughton Road.
The church's early building on that site was a remodeled 120-year-old barn, originally part of the Erickson farm, that members rebuilt using about 10,000 donated hours of labor. On March 17, 1989, an arsonist destroyed the structure, but the church body pressed on, meeting in a recreation room and then back in a school until the current colonial-style building rose on the original barn site. With a moderate-size congregation, the new structure stands where the old timbers once did, and the central emphases on Bible teaching and family ministry have not changed.
What Visitors Find on Sunday Morning
The Sunday Morning Worship Service begins at 10:00 a.m. Greeters stand at the doors to welcome newcomers and hand out a weekly bulletin that lists the day's services and upcoming events. The service is built around Gospel-based hymn singing, traditional music from the IBC choir and orchestra, and biblical preaching that the church describes as practical, Christ-centered, and challenging. The northwest entrance is easily accessible from the parking lot.
Children have a place in the service from their earliest days. Nurseries are available for infants and toddlers through age 2 during every scheduled service, with pager-based parent notification so that no child is released to anyone but the matching pager holder. Junior Church is offered during the morning service for 3- and 4-year-olds and for kindergarten through 2nd grade students, focusing on kindness, respect, prayer, and reverence through Bible teaching, stories, music, and crafts. The last Sunday of each month, Junior Church expands to include children through 6th grade. All services are streamed live on the church's Facebook page.
Sunday School and the Wednesday Bible Study Hour
On Sunday evenings at 6:00 p.m., the building fills again for Sunday School classes for all ages. There are individual children's classes for preschool and grade-school students, teen classes, a college-age singles class, a ladies' class, and an adult class. Several times a year, the adult classes offer special electives that let adults choose what to study. Past electives have included Biblical Manhood, the Dr. Jim Berg study God Is More Than Enough, a course called Brokenness, Genesis Flood, How to Study the Bible, End Times studies, Responding to Life's Challenges, How to Help Someone with Problems, an Overview of Various Cults and Religions, Biblical Leadership Qualities of a Godly Man, and Relationships.
Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. bring the third weekly gathering for Bible study. Nurseries are open as usual, and the children's wing offers Pee Wee Patch Club for ages 3 through kindergarten year-round, Kids4Truth for grades 1 through 6 during the school year, and a Kids' Summer Program in June, July, and August. Teens and adults meet in their own classes at the same hour.
What IBC Believes
The church's doctrinal statement affirms one triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - who is the eternal Creator, sovereign, perfect, and infinite. The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Word who became man through the Virgin Birth, lived without sin, died on the cross as the perfect Lamb of God to bear the full penalty of divine wrath, rose bodily from the grave, and ascended to heaven to serve as Advocate and Intercessor. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin and guides, teaches, and helps believers who surrender to Him. Scripture, the Old and New Testaments, is the very Word of God, verbally inspired in all parts and wholly without error.
The statement also affirms the existence of Satan as a fallen adversary, the sinfulness of all people by nature and choice, and salvation by grace through faith as a free gift received only by personal faith in Christ. Two ordinances are observed: baptism by immersion of believers, which publicly identifies them as true believers, and the Lord's Supper, a memorial of Christ's death. The church looks for the personal, visible, and glorious return of Christ and teaches that at death the spirits of true believers go immediately to be with Christ in heaven, while the unsaved descend immediately into hell until the final judgment and everlasting punishment.
On the question of what makes a Baptist distinct, the church points to three convictions: only believers are baptized, churches should be self-governing and accountable to the local congregation rather than to a distant religious organization, and Jesus Christ is the only and eternal Savior.
Senior Pastor Jack Lezza and the Pastoral Team
Pastor Jack Lezza became the Senior Pastor of Independent Baptist Church on June 2, 2019. He grew up in the Chicago area, attended IBC most of his life, and accepted Christ as his personal Savior at a young age. He attended Pensacola Christian College, began a career in business and sales, then graduated from Trinity College of the Bible with a major in Pastoral Ministry. In 2007 he was ordained at IBC, in 2012 he received NANC (now ACBC) certification in biblical counseling, and in May 2017 he earned a master's degree from Bob Jones Seminary. Before becoming senior pastor he served as Youth Pastor at IBC from 2002 to 2019, sits on the board of the Biblical Counseling Center, travels with Equipping Nationals Worldwide to help train national pastors, and runs a chapter of Freedom That Lasts.
Pastor Troy Shoaf serves as Assistant Pastor. He was born in Illinois and grew up at IBC, where his father was pastor. After graduating from Bob Jones University with a Composite Science Education degree, he and his wife Jennifer taught at Tabernacle Christian School in North Carolina. He became youth pastor at Tabernacle Baptist Church in 2004, was ordained in 2007, and returned to IBC in 2008 as an assistant pastor. He is finishing a master's degree in Bible from Maranatha Baptist University and also serves as police chaplain for the Bolingbrook Police Department. Brian Wessel leads the IBC choir and orchestra, which provides traditional gospel music for the Sunday Morning Service.
Pastoral Counseling and Freedom That Lasts
The pastoral staff is trained through the Association of Biblical Counselors (ACBC) and offers one-on-one counseling for grief, anger, depression, addictions, marriage, parenting, conflict resolution, and other life issues, grounded in the conviction that Scripture is sufficient for all of life's trials. Appointments are scheduled in advance through the church office.
Freedom That Lasts is a Christ-centered, Bible-based discipleship ministry that the church offers for people who want to be mentored through addictions or other struggles. Participants move through a student manual with different levels, keep a spiritual life journal, study and memorize Scripture related to each step, and meet weekly in a small group for accountability, encouragement, and prayer. Each session closes with a short Bible study led by Pastor Jack. The program is built on the biblical qualities of saving faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.
Faith Bible Institute on Sunday Nights
For adults who want to go deeper, the church hosts Faith Bible Institute, a three-year, college-level study through the Word of God led by Brother John Yates. Students move chronologically through the entire Bible and systematically through every major doctrine, with the option to earn college-level credits. The class meets on Sunday nights at 6:00 p.m. alongside the regular Sunday School hour, runs two semesters per year with a winter and a summer break, and combines solid Bible teaching with interactive DVDs, student workbooks, and discussion.
Children and Teens: The IBC Youth Plan
All children's and teen teachers and workers at IBC are required to sign the church's Child Policy, attend an annual policy refresher, and pass a background check. The nursery team follows the same standards. Pee Wee Patch Club meets year-round on Wednesday nights at 7:00 p.m. for children ages 3 through kindergarten, with singing, Bible verses, stories, and activities. Kids4Truth, held September through May for grades 1 through 6, is built around 12 doctrines taught over a two-year cycle, with Bible memorization, question and answer time, a children's choir, games, and devotions. A child can join at any time during the year, and visitors are welcome.
The teen ministry's purpose, in the words of the church, is to see young people become spiritually mature individuals, and it is built around a three-part plan: Bible knowledge that shapes life decisions, Christ-like character in every situation, and evangelism and discipleship that helps others grow. Teens meet for an interactive Bible study on Sunday evenings and gather on Wednesday nights at 7:00 p.m. for games, testimonies, spiritual challenges, and food. Regular activities include a Memorial Day family picnic, a Fall Festival with outdoor games, food, and bonfire, teen camp, and a yearly banquet, with monthly outings that have included paintball, softball, Nerf night, and a Digital Decathlon scavenger hunt.
College-age singles meet for Sunday School on Sunday nights and enjoy a monthly activity together, with past outings including baseball games, paintball, concerts, and plays. Mission trips for the group are offered every year or two; young adults have recently gone to Costa Rica on two such trips.
Adult Life at IBC: Choir, Men, Women, Seniors, and Marriage
The church describes itself as multi-racial with many different backgrounds and talents, and its adult ministries reflect that mix. The IBC Choir and Orchestra, directed by Brian Wessel, present special music at the Sunday Morning Service with a focus on traditional gospel music. The women of the church build community through ladies' fellowships, bridal and baby showers, Sunday School classes, meals for new mothers, and special outings. The men meet on Saturday mornings at 7:00 a.m. to pray together, gather for a Prayer Breakfast three or four times a year, and head north in the fall for a muskie fishing retreat in Michigan's north woods. A Marriage Retreat with a guest speaker is offered early each year at a resort only an hour or two from Bolingbrook. Adult singles often meet informally at a local restaurant on Sunday evenings after the service, and the seniors group (age 55 and up) takes trips together to places like Shipshewana and Fair Oaks Farm in Indiana, enjoys dinners after musicals and plays, and meets occasionally for a senior luncheon at the church.
Small group Bible studies are another adult ministry, limited to 12 participants each. Groups meet at the preference of their members, on Saturday mornings or one evening per week, either at the church or in homes. Studies that have been offered include Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace, Ladies Fellowship, Trusting God, Shepherding a Child's Heart, and classes titled Meat, Bread, and Biblical Repentance. New groups are announced at the public services.
Missions Around the World
Independent Baptist Church supports missions around the world in prayer, service, and finances. The church deliberately partners with a smaller number of missionaries and believes in equipping the nationals of any given field to do the work of the ministry. Organizations and ministries the church supports include International Partnership Ministries, Arab World Mission, Berea Baptist Church, Heritage Baptist Coalition, Baptist International Missions, Baptist World Missions, Equipping Nationals Worldwide, International Baptist Missions, Baptist International Evangelistic Ministries, South India Baptist Bible College, and Faith Bible Institute.
Mission trips have taken IBC pastors, adults, and teens to Ohio, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Camp Ironwood in California, and internationally to Canada, Costa Rica, Ghana, Japan, Jordan, Ukraine, Lebanon, New Zealand, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, and Suriname. The church periodically holds a Missions Conference, with the most recent ones labeled the 2022 and 2025 Missions Conferences.
Reaching Out from West Boughton Road
Each year the church hosts a youth soccer camp for children in grades 1 through 6, with stretching, soccer drills, scrimmages, a Bible story and verse each day, and an awards ceremony and cookout on the final day. In the fall, the church opens its parking lot for a Trunk or Treat outreach that draws children and families from the surrounding neighborhood. The IBC family also gathers for an annual Labor Day picnic, an adult Christmas party, ladies' conferences and brunches, and a yearly budget presentation that walks the congregation through the coming year's finances.
For those exploring the Christian faith, the church offers a teaching called God's Bridge to Eternal Life that walks through the basics of the gospel, and Pastor Jack and the office staff are glad to talk with anyone who has questions about a relationship with Jesus Christ. The address is 380 W. Boughton Road, Bolingbrook, Illinois 60440, the phone number is 630.759.1900, and online giving is available through the church's Give page.