The Bible Hope - About Us

160 years in the Chicago area

What Do Christadelphians Believe & Teach?

We believe that the Bible is God’s only revealed message to mankind, given to bring responsive individuals to a loving obedience to God and His ways, and to give man hope through the precious promises God has made.

The Bible is our only authority and we believe it should be read prayerfully and with reverence at all time. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Romans 16:25-26; John 17:17)

Certain key teachings stand out. We invite you to thoughtfully consider these teachings with your Bible in hand.

God: There is only one eternal, immortal God. Jesus Christ is His only begotten Son, and the Holy Spirit is His Power. (Isa 45:5; Lk 24:49; Eph 4:6; 1Tim 1:17)

Man: Man is mortal and a sinner before God. His whole being is prone to sin, and the punishment for sin is death- real death, the end of all life. (Job 4:17; Psa 146:4; Ecc 9:1-6; Jer 17:9; Mk 7:21-23; Rom 3:23, 6:23)

Jesus: In His love, God sent the man Jesus into the world to save men from their sins. Those who believe in him will not perish, but have eternal life. (Mt 1:21; Jn 3:16)

Hope: The only hope of life after death is the resurrection of the body and everlasting life in God’s Kingdom on Earth. (Eph 1:18, 4:4-6; Jer 29:11-14; Rom 8:23-39

Sacrifice of Christ: Though he committed no sin, it was necessary for Jesus to die to show the righteousness of God and to redeem those who receive this sacrifice by faith. God raised him from the dead, gave him immortality, granted him all authority on earth and in heaven, and set him as mediator in heaven between God and man. (Acts 2:23-36; Rom 3:21-26; Eph 1:19-23; 1Tim 2:5; Heb 4:14-16)

Return of Christ: Jesus will return to the earth soon. He will then raise many of the dead, judge them with the living, and give his faithful followers everlasting life in Godís Kingdom. (Dan 12:1-2; Mt 25:31-34; Lk 21:20-31: Jn 5:28-29: 2 Tim 4:1; Rev 22:12)

Kingdom of God: The Kingdom of God will be established on earth with Jesus as King. His capital will be Jerusalem, his dominion will be worldwide, and his government will bring righteousness and peace without end. (Lk 4:43; Mt 4:23, 6:9-10; Jer 3:17)

The Promises: The Gospel is inseparable from the promises which God made to Abraham and David in the Old Testament times. These promises find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. (Gen 13:14-17, 22:15-18; Gal 3:6-9, 26-29)

The Way of Salvation: The way to enter the Kingdom of God is by faith. This involves belief in His Word, the Bible, and obedience to its requirements that men and women confess their sins, repent, be baptized and follow Jesus faithfully. Ultimately, it is only by Godís grace through Jesus that we are saved, not by anything we do. (Mt 16:24-27; Mk 16:16; Jn 3:3-5; Acts 2:37; Eph 2:4-5; 1 Thes 2:13; 2 Tim 3:14-17; Heb 11:6)

Love: God’s love for us is at the root of his whole plan. Love should also be a major part of our reaction to His message. (Mt 22:34-40; Jn 3:16, 13:34; 1 Cor 13:4-13: 1 Jn 4:7-21)

Our Hope

Imagine our world without pain, disease, suffering, violence, war or even hate. Imagine our world without natural disasters such as deadly earthquakes, tornadoes, famine and hurricanes. Imagine our world without pollution or environmental toxins. Imagine our world without lies, gossip, anger or any kind of sin. Imagine our world without sorrow, sadness, crying or even death! That is the Bible hope of eternal life in the Kingdom of God on earth.

"But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31)

"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.” (Rev 21:4) (See also Numbers 14:21; Isaiah 2:2-4; Isaiah 35, Matthew 5:5)

Our Mission

We embrace the Good News in the Bible about the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. (Acts 8:12) . Our mission is to share our hope as a lightstand in the Chicago area. We are anxiously waiting for Jesus' return to the earth to set up his promised Kingdom. We invite you to join us on our journey as we hope in Jesus for eternal life.

Our Purpose

To bring awareness of the true hope of God and the full gospel of Christ to our community. We do this because we believe it is a correct application of the commandment of Christ (e.g., Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:19-20). We teach it to show our gratitude to God who has had others teach us the truth of Scripture. And we preach it in love so that others will repent, believe in the Kingdom of God, be baptized in to Christ, and so becomes heirs of the promises of God (cf. Mark 1:14-15, Acts 2:38-39, 22:16, Galatians 3:26-29).

Who Are The Christadelphians? Are They New?

The Christadelphians are a small religious body who have deliberately attempted to get back to the faith and character of the early Christian church. We have been in existence since 1848 as a worldwide community. The name 'Christadelphian' means "Brethren in Christ".

Where Are Christadelphians Found?

We are located throughout the world. Like the early Christians, we meet in homes, rented rooms, and in some cases, our own halls.
(Acts 1:13; 2:46; 18:7; 19:9; 28:30)

How Are Christadelphians Organized?

We are a lay community patterned after first century Christianity. Members of each congregation are addressed as "Brother" and "Sister", and all have an equal joint responsibility for the welfare of the church. A strong common belief binds our Brotherhood together.
(Matthew 23:8-12; Romans 12:4-6; 16:1; 1 Corinthians 12:4-27; Galatians 3:28)

What Do Christadelphians Believe and Teach?

We believe that the Bible is God's only revealed message to mankind, given to bring responsive individuals to the obedience of faith. The Bible is our only authority, and we teach that it should be read prayerfully and with care at every opportunity.

What Kind of Life Do Christadelphians Lead?

God's Way of salvation gives effective direction to our lives. We try to rely fully upon God and develop a faith that is active in prayer and good works. At the same time, however, we recognize that salvation is by grace.
(1 Corinthians 1:3-11; 1 Peter 2:1-5; 2 Peter 1:5-11; James 2:17,5:16; Ephesians 2:5-10)

With God's help, we seek to please and obey Him every day, striving to imitate Christ who faithfully obeyed his Father and unselfishly gave himself for mankind.
(Philippians 2:13, 4:13; Ephesians 3:20; Philippians 2:1-5; Rom 12:1-2; Ephesians 5:1-2)

We therefore endeavor to be enthusiastic in work, loyal in marriage, generous in giving, dedicated in preaching, cheerful in living, and happy in our God.
(Ephesians 6:6-8; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; 2 Corinthians 9; 2 Timothy 4:1-5; John 16:33; Matthew 5:1-16; Philippians 4:4-7)

Church History

In 1866, about thirty people gathered in Chicago to begin church meetings at various homes. This congregation separated itself from Christendom by believing “the things concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ.” (Acts 8:12) The Christadelphian Ecclesia (Church) of Chicago was formally established on November 12, 1867 and incorporated under the laws of the state of Illinois. The brethren met in Dyhrenfurth College until the great Chicago fire on October 9, 1871.

Bro. John Thomas and Bro. Robert Roberts visited this church several times in the early years to teach biblical doctrine and prophesy. Bro. Thomas Williams moved to Chicago in 1892 and published The Great Salvation and printed 10,000 copies for the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893. Williams had founded The Christadelphian Advocate magazine in 1885 and the role of editor passed to A.H. Zilmer upon his death. The Zilmer family expanded in future years and included his son Herbert and grandsons Norman and Glen Zilmer as active leaders.

Around 1924, the Ecclesia rented rooms in the old Capital building at the northeast corner of State and Randolph streets in downtown Chicago. When the Capital building was demolished, the Ecclesia moved to Kimball Hall and met there for several years. Later rooms were rented in the Garrick Building at 180 N. La Salle.

The membership became increasingly unhappy with paying rent and moving every so often, so purchase of a building on Fairfield Avenue was approved by the Ecclesia, and the first meeting was held there on December 3, 1950.The membership became increasingly unhappy with paying rent and moving every so often, so purchase of a building on Fairfield Avenue was approved by the Ecclesia, and the first meeting was held there on December 3, 1950.

The building was rather old but was found suitable for all church purposes. Before long however, another church group approached the Ecclesia with an offer to buy the old building and build a new one. Negotiations were conducted and the Ecclesia moved to 3735 N. Narragansett Ave. in Chicago.

As time went on, more and more members moved to the western suburbs, and it was agreed by the membership in 1989 to sell the building and look for a more central location. In the process of moving to the western suburbs, the members met for a while at the Moose lodge on Rt. 83 in Elmhurst, and then the Peace church on St. Charles Road in Bellwood.

After a few years the Ecclesia purchased their current building at 1S438 Highland Ave. in Lombard. Sis. Jen Zilmer had “discovered” this church building while shopping at a garage sale and talking to a member there. God has continued to provide for our community in various ways! Most recently, there was a merger between the members of the Elgin and Lombard churches, and both share in the history of the Chicago Ecclesia. In 2013, we welcomed our first wave of refugee members and our meeting has been enlightened by new members from Congo/DRC, Iran, Mexico and Cameroon. We aim to build each other up as a light stand in the Lombard community while we wait for Jesus second coming to set up his kingdom on earth.