A plea was made at the African Methodist Episcopal Chicago Conference on September 12, 1979 by E. Gibson, M. Finley, and S. Finley requesting an A.M.E. church in DuPage County. The formal request was that "the A.M.E. Conference assist with the organization and the financial support of an A.M.E. church in DuPage County." On September 16, 1979, we were informed that Rev. Donald Harwell had been appointed by Bishop H. Robinson to organize a church.

The first organization meeting was held Thursday, September 20, 1979. The first church service was held on September 30th in the Holiday Inn in Glen Ellyn. After two additional services at the Holiday Inn, our congregation moved to the Park Blvd. Farmhouse of the College of DuPage. On October 21, we moved to the Park Blvd. Bible Church in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

On December 6, 1981, our first service was held in the old Second Baptist Church, which was then DuPage A.M.E. Church, 412 Crescent St., Wheaton, Illinois. By 1989, the membership had grown to approximately 200.

On Saturday, October 14, 1989, Bishop J. Haskell Mayo assigned Rev. James F. Miller as the Pastor of DuPage A.M.E. Church. On Wednesday, January 17, 1990, we closed on the purchase of our parsonage located in Wheaton. On Wednesday, January 9, 1991, we closed on the purchase of the parish house, the white house adjacent to the church. On Monday, November 30, 1992, we closed on 1.6 acres of land at 4300 Yackley Avenue, Lisle, Illinois, as the site of our new church, with a membership of approximately 600.

On April 17, 1994, we moved from our church home on Crescent St. to the Holiday Inn, Glen Ellyn, the same site of our first church meeting 16 years earlier. On April 22, 1994, our property on Crescent St. was sold in preparation for the groundbreaking of our new church. On Monday, August 28, 1995, we began construction of our new church home. On August 25, 1996, we held our first service at 4300 Yackley Avenue, Lisle, IL, Bishop Robert Thomas Jr. led the dedication. Currently the membership exceeds 1700.

Yackley Avenue Inaugural Service (Click on images to enlarge)

The parking lot expansion was completed on August 13, 1999, providing 50 additional parking spaces. The seating area and classrooms on the upper level of the church building were completed in April 2001, adding an additional 100 seats. The state-of-the-art computer lab seats 10 persons along with an instructor workstation.

In June 2001, the church purchased a ½-acre lot across the street from the main building. Plans are underway to develop this lot to provide additional parking.

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