Bloomington-Normal was the target city for two GTCA gospel trips in 2011 and 2012. Through migration and the fruits of the gospel, the Lord continued to increase in Normal, and in August 2013, the church in Normal was established.

Presently there are eleven adults and seven children meeting in Normal. In Peoria, IL, a city 40 miles to the west, there are seventeen adults and eleven children meeting. The saints in Normal and Peoria have much fellowship, coordination, and blending together, functioning like two districts of one church. The saints meet together twice each month on the Lord’s day in the saints’ homes or at the ISU campus. There is no meeting hall currently, but the saints’ homes are always open for fellowship, small group gatherings, and other church meetings.

Much of the church in Normal’s labor is on the ISU campus. Through one brother who works there full time, a campus club was established, and the saints have risen up to care for students through campus bible studies, club activities, and by opening their homes to them. In addition to the campus, there is also a strong burden to care for the children of the saints. In caring for the children, the Lord opened the door to reach out to other Christian families in Normal through a weekly Saturday afternoon small group they join. Also, there is a Bible camp each summer where 20 children of the saints and new families attend.

The saints in Peoria are seeking the Lord’s leading in how to re-establish a presence on the Bradley campus following the pandemic. However, during that period, the Lord blessed the families with many new children, resulting in a turn of the gospel burden toward the community. The saints are looking to the Lord to be connected to local families through neighborhood outreach and distribution events at local farmers’ markets and other venues.

The saints also blend regularly with other churches in Central Illinois/St. Louis region through monthly prayer times and other blending times during conferences. Young people, college-aged saints, and serving saints have many opportunities to pursue the Lord together through Midwest YP activities and college conferences, including the National and Midwest College Trainings, typically held in nearby in Urbana-Champaign.

Indeed, the fields are white; we are beseeching the Lord of the harvest for more co-laborers to gather materials for His building and His testimony.