Wheaton Evangelical Free Church merges with Naperville church

WHEATON – A mother and daughter church have reunited after the Wheaton Evangelical Free Church and a Naperville church merged earlier this year.

The Wheaton church at 520 Roosevelt Road now operates under the umbrella of Naperville-based The Compass Church’s Wheaton campus, said Darcy Ruscitti, the executive director of ministry at Compass Church.

The Wheaton church had been in decline for several years, down to a congregation of about 300 members after average weekly attendance as high as 900 in 1997, according to the Compass Church website. The Wheaton church had tried a merger with the Orchard Free Church in Arlington Heights two years ago, but it wasn’t a fit for both sides, Ruscitti said.

“It was just a God thing – one little moment happened after another in the conversation about how we can help a church that’s having some issues,” she said.

The two churches have a shared history. In 1957, a few years after the Wheaton church opened, several members branched off to start what was then called the Naperville Evangelical Free Church.

The two began talking about a deal in July 2014 to make the Wheaton Evangelical Free Church the third location for The Compass Church and first outside of Naperville.

In January, Compass Church Senior Pastor Jeff Griffin began commuting between the home Naperville church and the Wheaton location to see how feasible two services each Sunday would be and to integrate into the community.

In a sermon posted to the church’s website nine months ago, Griffin said it was “a journey of getting to know each other and prayerfully pursuing whether this is in fact God’s plan to help us reach our God-given mission and to help them reach their God-given mission.”

Both congregations voted on the merger in April, according to the Compass Church website, with 93 percent voting for it at the Wheaton Evangelical Church and a unanimous vote at The Compass. Griffin will travel between the main Naperville campus and the Wheaton campus every Sunday to deliver a sermon and existing pastors and staff will remain at Wheaton.

Ruscitti said that as many as 193 Compass Church members live closer to the Wheaton location and could decide to switch over.

She said the churches’ staffs already have begun working together, helping to leverage resources and experiences.

“The church has such a beautiful, rich history – so how you can keep that legacy moving forward is with a refresh, some new branding and a new vision,” she said. “That’s what we’re coming alongside to be able to do.”

To find out more about the Compass Churches, visit www.thecompass.net.