Our Story

The Arising Church began as a Bible study that originally met on Thursday nights in Crystal Lake, IL in 2013. The people were spending time together throughout the week, helping with moves, bringing meals when family members were sick, and it became apparent that this was more than just a weekly gathering, this was a church. We had no money for decorations or chairs so we asked people to bring rugs and find chairs on the side of the road, a name was given and the meeting time was moved to Sunday mornings and The Arising Church began to grow beyond what a living room could hold. 

We knew that God was unfolding something special when we found a community outreach center called The Pointe in 2014. Each week, the growing community of people continued to meet in homes and spend time together worshipping and getting into the Word of God. On Sunday mornings, we would set up chairs and instruments and spend time in the presence of God. As people began to hear about us, we continued to grow. 

When the time came to look for a new home, we found one at an old manufacturing building on 100 S. Main St. in downtown Crystal Lake in 2015. When we first moved in, we only needed to rent one room and planned to break into the next room 6 months down the road if needed. In the first few weeks in that space the Holy Spirit began to move mightily. We broke the wall down to take over the second room and a few months later we broke another wall down into the third room. We continued to meet in living rooms and barns and gather together throughout the week. 

When we heard the building at main street was being purchased in 2016 we had to look for a new home. We discovered the old Westlanes bowling alley at the corner of Route 14 & Route 176 in Crystal Lake. It would need a major overhaul and take some time to get but we knew it was the right place. This meant though, that we need to meet somewhere in between leaving Main St. and getting in to this new space. So we threw up a giant 4000 sq ft tent in the backyard! We met there during the summer of 2016. 

County regulations limited the amount of time that we could stay in the tent and our new home wasn’t ready yet. God brought along some friends from The Other Side (a sober night club and hangout) in Crystal Lake. There was graffiti on the walls, a multilevel stage, a second floor and a pool table…it was perfect. They let us use the space for 6 months totally free of charge! Each week we turned an office into a kids space and set up chairs as we encountered the Living God. We made some great friends along the way and people’s lives were continuing to change. God was moving! 

After a wild journey and 7 different spaces over 4 years, we finally got to move into our new home in February of 2017. God provided miraculously over and over again and brought us to a place that was perfect for us. People kept stepping up over and over again to help with everything we needed. Every bit of work that could be done by the people in the church was and it truly bonded everyone together.