Church Profile
Christian Bible Church is a non-denominational bible church located in rural east-central Illinois on State Route 49, halfway between Cissna Park (pop 850) and Rankin (pop 600). We were founded in 1969 as a result of a split with the Apostolic Church over matters of theology and doctrine. Today we are broadly conservative and evangelical in our theology and practice. From the beginning, our church has had made supporting missions around the world a priority, with roughly 1/3 of our budget being used to that end. We presently support 16 missionaries and are always looking for opportunities to increase that number.
Most of our parishioners come from the Village of Cissna Park, though we also draw from Rankin, Paxton, Hoopeston, and the smaller surrounding communities and countryside. The church family consists of all ages from one year old to ninety-three, and newly married to sixty-six years of marriage. The average age of our parishioners is 51, and we are mostly moderate-conservative in our theology and practice. We do not keep a membership roll for theological reasons, and the average weekly attendance is 70 and we are continually attracting new people from the community.
During our Sunday morning service, we enjoy a traditional, but not exclusively so, worship style. Modern and ancient songs and hymns are presently accompanied by a piano, though in the past we have welcomed the accompaniment of drums, guitars, and an electric keyboard. We also have a modern, well maintained audio-visual system and a website that streams recordings of the weekly sermon.
We have an adult Sunday school class that meets one hour before the worship hour. During the worship hour we offer Sunday school classes for children pre-school age 4 through 6th grade and a nursery is available as needed. We also have regular Sunday evening services providing further adult education in the Bible. A priority of our church is teaching the full counsel of the Bible, drawing spiritual truth from every book of the Word of God. Additionally, we offer communion approximately every other month.
In the summer we host a Vacation Bible School program that is very well attended by the church and surrounding communities, with a 2023 average daily attendance of 70, offering the children of our community a fun environment where the gospel is taught. As a feature of our VBS program, we offer a balanced meal to every child.
The area economy revolves around agriculture, and the values and rhythm of the communities in our area reflect that. Cissna Park is a very close-knit community with a thriving business district. The town boasts a Clinic, dentist, convenience store and gas station, bank, hardware store, furniture store, flower and gift shop, restaurants, a coffee shop, and numerous other independent businesses including an amateur theater. Most of what a person may need can be found in our village at a local business, though there are other amenities within a 30 minute drive to another town. Another benefit of our community is the Cissna Park School District, offering K-12 public education.
