First Presbyterian Church of Waukegan

First Presbyterian Church of Waukegan

"Verse of the Day"

Church Home 122 north martin luther king jr. avenue, waukegan, il 60085

The First Presbyterian Church of Waukegan is a church family committed to a faithful walk with God and comprising people from all sorts of backgrounds. The goals outlined in our Mission Statement at the top of this page reflect our belief that the Bible is God's trustworthy message to us, a message that demands our attention and addresses our deepest needs. It teaches us the following key ideas:

God is the good and powerful creator of all things, including mankind.
Evil and guilt have separated mankind from God.
Jesus, the Son of God, died and returned to life to mend that separation.
Those who trust in Jesus are forgiven by God, have new life from God, and will spend eternity with Him.
Those who trust in Jesus should gather to encourage and teach each other.

Flavoring our worship with quality music is an important aspect of our church's ministry and legacy. We are gifted with many who sing, play instruments and ring bells. Many more appreciate those who are blessed with these gifts. While we are serious about our faith and trust in our Lord, we are a good-natured group which loves to laugh together and fellowship over food. (Attending one of our legendary potluck meals will serve as testimony to that.)

We are easy to find in a gentrifying area just west of Waukegan's downtown. Situated immediately north of City Hall and south of the Methodist church, there is plenty of free parking. Recent sermons have been archived: click on the "Worship" tab to the left, then click on "Sermons" to see the list.

Feel free to contact us through this site or visit us any Sunday morning!

We are pleased to be members of The Confessing Church Movement.

Denominational Affiliation Status

On December 4, 2011, the congregation of First Presbyterian Church of Waukegan voted overwhelmingly to seek dismissal from the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) and to seek membership in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). Our congregation has always upheld the authority of the Old and New Testaments as the only standard for faith and obedience, and in the EPC, we find a body of fellow believers that shares this conviction and a commitment to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. We are excited about this new chapter in our life together and we invite you to join us! As this process unfolds, we will continue to post updates and useful links to related information or articles.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

(Hebrews 4:16, ESV)

Follow a Bible reading plan this year!

Local Congregation Extends Partnership with Clinic in Mexico

This June, First Presbyterian Church, Waukegan IL will send a mission team to partner with the Alpha Omega Bible School and Clinica Tzeltal Manos de Cristo in Ocosingo, Chiapas, Mexico. First Presbyterian has sent five teams since 2007 helping to build the Clinica, teaching Vacation Bible School and worshiping in the local churches.

This year, since the clinic is complete, the team will go to a village near Palenque, a famous Mayan ruin, to help put the roof on a new church. They will also teach Vacation Bible School and live and worship within the village.

Doreen DesJardins of Waukegan, who has been to Chiapas on all five of First Presbyterian’s trips, says: “I love the work God provides for us. It is fun and challenging and it never ceases to amaze me how God can put a group of people of such diverse skills, languages, ages and turn us into a TEAM for Him.”

The church is sponsoring a rummage sale to benefit the mission trip on Friday May 17 and Saturday May 18 from 9 am to 3 pm in the lower level of the Christian Education Building. Those wishing to donate items to be sold may contact the church office.

Negotiations With Presbytery Begin

The dismissal process from PCUSA has kicked into high gear. On April 5th we received the draft of a formal offer from the Chicago Presbytery's Administrative Commission. The following day your Session met for two and one-half hours digesting and discussing the details. Prior to this time, Session approved a negotiating team of Rich Jensen, Laurie Tazelaar, Gregg Walter and Pastor Dave Eikenberry.

On April 12th the negotiating committee met with the Commission. Many questions were raised and points clarified. Subsequent to that gathering, an informational meeting was held with the congregation on Sunday, April 21st. A history of our contentious property issue was reviewed, samples of other church dismissal conditions were discussed, and details of the current draft for our dismissal terms were revealed. The negotiating committee fielded questions from our members.

Friday May 10 will be the next meeting between our negotiating team and the Commission.

It is beneficial to see the experiences of other churches as they have left the denomination, as there is little uniformity from one Presbytery to another. For more examples of the terms other churches have dealt with in their dismissal process, go to Discernment Resources and Denominational Comparisons. Also use this location for a downloadable file on Churches seeking to realign their denominational affiliation from the PCUSA to another Reformed body: Updated 4/22/13.

First Pres., Eikenberry Received Into EPC

The First Presbyterian Church of Waukegan and its pastor, David Eikenberry, were formally received into the Rivers and Lakes Presbytery of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. The vote took place at the EPC's meeting April 27 and 28 held at the First Presbyterian Church of Aurora. The move is pending dismissal from the Presbytery of Chicago (PCUSA).Prior to the late April meeting, the elders of the church had received four hours of training from an EPC teaching elder. A four person panel appointed by the EPC examined session members on a Saturday in mid-April.Eikenberry had to pass a series of three examination interviews, the final one being on the floor of the Presbytery meeting.