Mahomet Christian Church:
A History of Blessing and Service
The Mahomet Christian Church was begun through the prayers and encouragement of the First Christian Church in Monticello, Illinois, and its preacher, Arthur Peterson. Stuart Couve, representing the Central Illinois Evangelizing Association, also served as an advisor in the initial stages. An advertisement was placed in “The Mahomet Citizen” in March of 1975, inviting anyone interested in discussing planting a Christian Church in Mahomet to meet in Mike Tilford’s home on March 10th. The meeting revealed that several people in Mahomet were attending Christian Churches in other communities and were interested in discussing the possibilities of a new work in Mahomet.
After some further discussion, approximately eight families planned a Sunday Evening Bible Study service beginning on April 6, 1975, in the Lincoln Trail School. Fifty people attended that first service with Clarence Taylor, an elder from the Saybrook Christian Church, leading the study and Joy Moore, from Saybrook, leading the singing.
Sunday evening meetings continued as plans were made for full services to begin in July. On July 13, 1975, both morning and evening services began with attendance of 65 in the morning and 45 in the evening. Gary Finley, who commuted from Rapid City, Illinois, served as the weekend preacher and directed an active calling ministry in the area as the Church continued to grow.
On November 30, 1975, Gary Barnes was called as the first full-time preacher for the church. An abandoned building on Main Street, which is now the Mahomet Township office, was rented to serve as an office for the minister and a part-time secretary. During this time, the church grew in attendance and funds were increasing which were to be used for the purchase of land suitable for a building site. Building plans and designs were considered, and a survey was taken of the entire Mahomet area to increase the outreach of the Church.
Gary Barnes left in March of 1977, and Charles Wogman from Lincoln Christian College, Bruce Parmenter from the Christian Counseling Center, and Bill Schoville, a former area preacher and campus minister, shared the pulpit. In August of 1977, Bill Schoville was called as the full-time preacher, and the Church began to pursue the purchase of land to build a house of worship. The five acres of land where the church is now located was purchased for $30,000.00 ($21,000.00 from the Church savings and $9,000.00 from the Christian Men’s Association). Ground was broken for the first building on August 1, 1978. To assist in the growing ministry needs of the Church, David Schoville was called as an Associate minister on August 13, 1978. David later moved into the position of Senior minister, and Bill Schoville switched to the Associate position.
After a year of hard work and sacrifice by many men and women from the Mahomet congregation and other congregations, services were held in the new building on August 5th, 1979, with an attendance of approximately 90 people. The building was dedicated to the Lord’s service during a special “Dedication Day” service on September 30, 1979. It was an especially inspirational day as Dr. Wayne Shaw, from Lincoln Christian College, preached the special 2
message. Two baptisms, 1 transfer of fellowship, and 6 rededication decisions highlighted the day.
As the congregation grew to an average attendance of 165, plans were made for an additional educational space. Ground was broken for the addition to the building on Sunday, April 27, 1986. Several classrooms, a kitchen, new offices, and an open foyer area provided much-needed space for the growing congregation. The new addition was dedicated on March 29, 1987.
After Bill and David Schoville concluded successful ministries of ten and eight years respectfully, a period of six months passed as a search began for a new preacher. During this interim several individuals provided Sunday messages, most notably Mac Burberry, who filled in most of the Sundays during the search period. The congregation extended a call for the Senior Minister position to Kyle Hoff, and Kyle began serving the Mahomet congregation on Easter Sunday in April of 1988. The congregation then extended a call to Mac Burberry to serve as the associate minister with an emphasis on working with the young people of the church. During the next three years, the congregation grew to an average attendance of nearly 200 and moved forward in many areas of service and spiritual growth. Kyle Hoff left the Mahomet Congregation and returned to serve a congregation in his home state of Oregon in February of 1991.
The congregation then called Mac Burberry to the Senior Minister position beginning on February 10, 1991, and on June 23, 1991, called Pete Verkruyse, to serve as an Associate Minister for children and adult education. Boomer Roland was called to serve as Youth Minister on December 1, 1992, and Pete Verkruyse resigned as Associate Minister in the spring of 1993 to take a professorship position at Kentucky Christian College in Grayson, KY.
Due to continued growth, the congregation chose to move to a Double Worship Service and Sunday school format in the spring of 1994. The average worship attendance for 1995 was 215. Youth Minister, Boomer Roland, resigned in June of 1997. Despite the decrease in staff, the church continued to experience consistent growth in the average worship attendance.
As a result of this growth, a Future Facilities Team was formed in the fall of 1997. The team conducted surveys and studies with the help of AAA Church Building Services. Brian Norman was hired as Youth and Children’s Minister in June of 1998.
After a year and a half of prayer and study by the Future Facilities team, two recommendations were presented to the congregation. The first, approved in the summer of 1999, was to conduct a capital stewardship campaign, which resulted in commitments of more than $580,000. The second was to pursue plans for a preliminary drawing that was presented to the congregation in the winter of 2000. On February 13, 2000, the congregation approved the construction of a new auditorium and the renovation of the current facility. The construction and renovation were completed at a cost of 1.5 million dollars. The first service in the new sanctuary was held in November of 2001, and a celebration service was held the following weekend.
In 2002 Brian Norman moved into the role of Minister of Discipleship, Charlie Miller was named part-time Youth Minister, and Barry Friesen (an intern from LCC) was named Worship Minister. 3
In 2002, MCC grew to an average attendance of 289 and then started to decline. During 2003 the average attendance decreased to 227 and has remained stable at that level. In August of 2003, due to budgetary problems, the positions of Minister of Discipleship and the part-time Youth minister were eliminated, and Senior Minister, Mac Burberry resigned at the end of the year. The elders began to consult with Dr. Robert Lowery from Lincoln Christian College and had several informational meetings with the congregation to explain the transition period and the changes that were needed. After that, Dr. Pete Verkrusye and Dr. Robert Lowery served as interim preaching ministers, and the elders continued to consult with Dr. Lowery in order to prepare to call a new Senior Minister to Mahomet Christian Church.
David Johnson was then called to the Senior Minister position and began to serve in June of 2005. The congregation once again began to grow, and the need for a full-time youth minister was determined. After a search, Jeff Dyson accepted the call to that position in June 0f 2009. David and Jeff then worked together effectively to meet the needs of the congregation. David served until his retirement and untimely death in February of 2022. At that time the congregation approved the promotion of Jeff Dyson to the Senior Minister position and began the search for a Minister of Youth. In January of 2023, Josh Morford was hired to serve as Minister of Youth and the number of young people involved in the church has increased under his leadership.
The work and mission of the Mahomet Christian Church continues to be leading unchurched people to be fully devoted followers of Christ as evidenced by the additions to the church since the recent transition period began. A number of individuals have been baptized into Christ and others have transferred their fellowship to our church. In addition, MCC has developed and expanded its ministry of service through the distribution of food to the community, as well as many other service activities, as we place our faith in action as a church For God and For You.