Church History
The Fox Lake Baptist Church, originally known as the Fox Lake Baptist Chapel, had its start in weekly Bible classes in a home in February, 1955.
In June of 1955, Roger Bergeson, our 1st pastor, was hired by the Midwest Baptist Conference to try to develop a church here. Local visitation was done one day a week, and on October 30, 1955, the first service was held at 89 E. Grand Avenue. Sunday School, morning worship, and midweek services were held almost from the start. We started with 32 in Sunday School.
The formal organization of Fox Lake Baptist Church took place on May 21, 1958 with 32 charter members representing 19 families. The church officially affiliated with the Midwest Baptist Conference in September, 1958. Over the early years the church met at a beauty parlor, a pizzeria, and the Hamsher Funeral Home in Fox Lake.
On February 18, 1959, we voted to buy our present 2 2/3 acre property on Nippersink Road which was purchased in July.
On April 9, 1961 ground was broken for our first building. A cornerstone was placed in the new building, our present gym, on September 24, 1961. The Church served as its own contractor and much volunteer labor was used. It was constructed at a cost of $48,000. The first public service was for Bible study and prayer on Wednesday, December 27, 1961. Four nights later, we had our first New Year's Eve watch night service with 21 present.
The 1st Baptismal service in our own building was on March 31, 1963. Previously, baptisms were held at other Baptist Churches and at the Camp Hickory pool.
Pastor Bergeson informed us of his leaving in early 1964. Pastor Bergeson [Mary] served from June 1955 to July 26, 1964. For the year, we were without a pastor, 26 different men filled the pulpit. The average attendance during this time was 193.
In September 1964, during the annual business meeting, we voted to purchase Lot 4 in Nippersink Estates and to build a parsonage there.
In June 1965 we welcomed Rev. John Breitholtz as our 2nd pastor. The new parsonage had just been completed when Pastor Breitholtz and his wife Marjorie came.
On September 30, 1965 we started the AWANA Club Program. At the first meeting there were about 100 girls and boys in attendance. A dedication and open house was held at the new parsonage on October 24, 1965.
Pastor Breitholtz served from June 13, 1965 to July 19, 1970. The pulpit committee extended a call to Rev. Howard Olson [Mabel] on November 4, 1970. The Olson family including their son, Ric, arrived on March 10, 1971 and Pastor Olson preached his first sermon on Sunday, March 14, 1971.
On Palm Sunday 1972 we started two morning worship services – average attendance was about 190 people. Plans were started for a new worship sanctuary to be built. On June 2, 1974 we held a groundbreaking ceremony for the the new sanctuary. One September 3, 1975 the men of the church started digging the foundation for our new sanctuary. On December 19, 1976, Pastor Olson led the way into the new sanctuary and we had a time of prayer and thanksgiving. Total cost of the new sanctuary including a choir loft was approximately $275,000 – made possible by many hours of donated labor and some materials. The building was dedicated on January 23, 1977.
Pastor Howard Olson [Mabel] served from March 14, 1971 to May 18, 1980.
Pastor Jerry Marshall candidated on October 26, 1980 and was called as the fourth Pastor of the church. Pastor Marshall [Cindy] served from December 7, 1980 to July 16, 1987. With pastor Marshall came discipleship classes every Thursday evening. Pastor Marshall moved on to another church in Missouri.
On May 6, 1982 we voted to adopt the Elder form of church government and approved the rewriting of our Bylaws and Constitution. On February 22, 1983 we approved the new Constitution.
Our fifth Pastor was Jim Hanna [Elizabeth] who served from October 1988 to August 1993. Jim moved to California to plant a new church with the Baptist General conference.
Our sixth Pastor was Mike Vanlaningham [Sue] who served from April 1994 to January 1999. Mike moved on to become a teaching Professor at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.
Paul Smalley became our Interim Pastor [seventh Pastor] and served from January 1999 to early December 1999. He moved on to a church in northern Wisconsin.
Rev. Chuck Vitel [Sue] became our eighth Pastor on December 13, 1999 and shepherds our flock to this day. Read his biography in “Meet our Pastor.”
Church starts anew with new name!
For many years the idea of changing the name of our church came up often. Many in our congregation and in our leadership over the years have expressed the desire to change the name of our church. We began the discussion process in the fall of 2006 by forming a Name Change Team consisting of the Elder Board [six members], Nate Gardner [Church Treasurer], Kathi Leonard, Gary Lotz, and Rob Reed. We sought the wisdom and guidance of God and conducted a general survey of our entire constituency and received an overwhelming response to proceed with the process. 128 letters and response cards were sent out and 119 people responded – a 93% response rate. 69% of the responses were in favor of or open to a name change, including 55 church members.
At a congregational business meeting held on Sunday, February 11, 2007, the Elder Board presented a motion to proceed with the process of renaming our church. The voting membership voted 51-9 in favor of the motion to proceed with the process of renaming the church.
At a congregational business meeting held on Sunday, July 29, 2007, the Elder Board presented a MOTION & SECOND to the voting members of the Church to approve the new name of the church as: CROSSPOINT CHURCH. Each active member of FLBC received an information letter concerning the name change along with a ballot to indicate his/her vote preference. Each member was asked to submit a ballot, sign it and return it to the church office no later than August 10, 2007.
At a congregational business meeting of the church membership on Sunday, August 12, 2007, it was announced that the voting membership of the church approved the new name, “CROSSPOINT CHURCH” by a 62 to 9 vote – an 87% favorable vote of the total membership of 71.
On May 21, 2008 we will celebrate our 50th Anniversary as an organized church.