“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
1 Corinthians 12:27
1982.
The history of Park Forest Baptist Church began as a home Bible study under the leadership of its first pastor Jim Nolten. The first public worship service was held on September 12th, 1982, at the Big Wrangler Steak House on North Atherton Street with 19 local people present. Six months later, the church moved worship services to Village Inn Pizza Parlor. On its first anniversary, the church moved to the Holiday Inn where it continued to meet for four years.
Finally, in October of 1987, the growing congregation moved into its new multi-purpose facility. On 24 acres, 3030 Carnegie Drive is situated at the intersection of Valley Vista Drive and Carnegie Drive.
1987.
Today
The strength of the church over its brief history has been its commitment to standing under the authority of the Scriptures in its teaching along with a spirit of Christian love. In 1998, the church added a youth pastor to its staff. In the spring of 2000, a children’s director was added. After many years of faithful service, Jim Nolten, the church’s founding pastor, retired in the summer of 2016. The church then called Jeremy Field to be its lead pastor in the fall of that same year. Jeremy had previously served as the youth pastor from 2007-2013.
Today, the church is excited about continuing to be a part of God’s kingdom work in the world as we faithfully serve our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
[sermons]